ADELPHI, Md. -- Army transformation requires modernizing platforms to be faster, lighter and more survivable in contested environments. Researchers from the Army’s fundamental research laboratory are supporting this requirement with the discovery of a microchip that enables intelligent engines and autonomous systems to operate in extreme thermal environments.
According to a widely referenced paper published by Army researchers, the vast majority of electronic memory chips currently in use are unable to withstand extreme temperatures. When subjected to intense heat, these chips fail or suffer from critical data loss. This thermal vulnerability remains a significant bottleneck for deploying electronics in severe, high-temperature environments, including small modular nuclear reactors, helicopters and missiles.
In addition, industry is strongly seeking to make a high temperature digital engine controller for flight platforms, but a memory chip capable of enduring extreme temperatures remains a critical hurdle.
Researchers from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory are able to fill this specific gap.
DEVCOM ARL researchers, in collaboration with academic and industry partners, experimented with a thin-film material called AlScN, or Aluminum Scandium Nitride. This material is ferroelectric, meaning its internal electrical charge can be flipped back and forth and it will stay in that state even without power.
The team, including partners from the NASA Glenn Research Center, GE Aerospace, the University of Arkansas and the Colorado School of Mines, built a memory cell that stores electrical charge using this material and tested it at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 1000 C.
The material successfully kept its stored charge states even at extreme temperatures, showing almost no change in how well the cell retained memory. As the temperature increased, the voltage needed to flip the memory states actually decreased, which could make the memory more energy-efficient at higher temperatures.
According to the researchers, this proves AlScN is a highly viable candidate for making robust, heat-proof computer chips for specialized industrial and military applications.
“This technology will allow military platforms to perform faster, further and operate more reliably,” said Dr. Daniel Drury, ARL research materials engineer who has been with this research project since its infancy in 2022. “Industry modeling shows that high-temperature electronics in engine control units enable faster system responsivity, eliminate heavy analog cabling and expand the operating temperature envelope of aircraft. By pushing computation and memory closer to the point of sensing—even inside jet turbines or near high-power systems—we remove the reliance on heavy cooling systems and vulnerable legacy wiring.”
Drury noted that by replacing centralized, heavily cooled analogue engine controllers with distributed, high-temperature digital microelectronics directly on the engine, they can achieve significant weight reduction, eliminate failure-prone and costly cabling, and substantially improve overall reliability and survivability.
Feedback from industry chip designers indicates this monolithic integration is a gamechanger, as it eliminates the need for bulky off-chip memory modules and extensive thermal management packaging.
Drury said he is highly optimistic for the future of this discovery.
“I have led this research from its start over four years ago as an intriguing laboratory experiment to now coordinating directly with circuit modelers and industrial foundries,” he said. “It is incredibly rewarding as an Army scientist to transition a fundamental material curiosity into a practical, real-world device that will impact aircraft engines and field-deployable geothermal energy.”
While material validation is complete, Drury said, future progress depends on continued strategic investments.
A major milestone in this transition is the acquisition of a new AJA sputter deposition system located at the ARL headquarters cleanroom. This dedicated ferroelectric nitride materials development system ensures the consistency, material cleanliness and scalability required to transition the novel nitride materials directly to industry partners.
Related Publications:
High-Temperature Ferroelectric Behavior of Al0.7Sc0.3N
Ferroelectric epitaxial Al(Sc/B)N/Mo/SiC heterostructures for high operating temperature devices
Ferroelectricity of wurtzite Al1−xHfxN heterovalent alloys
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DEVCOM ARL is the Army’s sole fundamental research laboratory serving as the nexus of science between the military, academia and industry. Operating under U.S. Army Futures and Concepts Command and the U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command, ARL executes globally recognized research to accelerate delivery of war-winning, disruptive technologies for tomorrow’s Army.
For information, visit the Army Research Laboratory website.
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