Engineers have introduced a transistor to study the moon of Jupiter. He will help find life there

Professor John D. Cressler of the University's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and his students along with

 employees of the Jet LaboratoryNASA and the University of Tennessee in Utah have demonstrated the capabilities of the SiGe HBT (SiGe Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor) for the hostile environment of Europe. A presentation of an improved silicon-germanium transistor was made at the IEEE Conference on Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects.

University of Georgia Employees for Decadesworked with silicon-germanium bipolar transistors. Now engineers have proven that these devices have unique advantages for operating in extreme conditions. Exactly the kind that are observed on the icy moon of Jupiter.

To explore Europe, researchers receiveda grant within the framework of the NASA Concepts for Ocean Worlds Life Detection Technology, COLDTech (concepts of life detection technology in ocean worlds) program. The goal is to develop electronics for upcoming missions to the surface of the icy moon. For example, for the Europa Clipper, which will launch in 2024 and send the Europa Lander to drill through the ice and explore its ocean.

As the authors of the development assure, SiGe HBT is idealsuitable for this hostile environment. Essentially, it is a nanoscale alloy of silicon and germanium inside a typical bipolar transistor. Thanks to the properties of the substances, scientists have created a faster transistor while maintaining the economies of scale and low cost of traditional silicon transistors.

The uniqueness of SiGe HBT is that it retainsperformance under extreme radiation exposure, and its properties naturally improve at lower temperatures. It is this combination that makes the device ideal for exploring Europe and searching for life on it.

Europe is more than just one of manyThe gas giant's moons are also one of the most promising places in the solar system to search for extraterrestrial life. Beneath 10 kilometers of ice lies an ocean of liquid water that could support life. But with surface temperatures of -180°C and With extreme levels of radiation, it is also one of the most inhospitable places in the solar system. 

Like Earth, Jupiter also hasthere is a liquid metal core that generates a magnetic field, producing radiation belts of high-energy protons and electrons. The problem is that they affect Europe. Essentially, any technology developed for the lunar surface must withstand not only the low temperatures, but also the strongest radiation found in the solar system.

Read more:

It turned out what happens to the human brain after one hour in the forest

It became known which tea destroys protein in the brain

Strange sea creatures in the depths of the ocean turned out to be similar to humans