Publications
Harsh environments electronics : downhole applications
The development and operational sustainment of renewable (geothermal) and non-renewable (fossil fuel) energy resources will be accompanied by increasingly higher costs factors: exploration and site preparation, operational maintenance and repair. Increased government oversight in the wake of the Gulf oil spill will only add to the cost burden. It is important to understand that downhole conditions are not just about elevated temperatures. It is often construed that military electronics are exposed to the upper limit in terms of extreme service environments. Probably the harshest of all service conditions for electronics and electrical equipment are those in oil, gas, and geothermal wells. From the technology perspective, advanced materials, sensors, and microelectronics devices are benefificial to the exploration and sustainment of energy resources, especially in terms of lower costs. Besides the need for the science that creates these breakthroughs - there is also a need for sustained engineering development and testing. Downhole oil, gas, and geothermal well applications can have a wide range of environments and reliability requirements: Temperature, Pressure, Vibration, Corrosion, and Service duration. All too frequently, these conditions are not well-defifined because the application is labeled as 'high temperature'. This ambiguity is problematic when the investigation turns to new approaches for electronic packaging solutions. The objective is to develop harsh environment, electronic packaging that meets customer requirements of cost, performance, and reliability. There are a number of challenges: (1) Materials sets - solder alloys, substrate materials; (2) Manufacturing process - low to middle volumes, low defect counts, new equipment technologies; and (3) Reliability testing - requirements documents, test methods and modeling, relevant standards documents. The cost to develop and sustain renewable and non-renewable energy resources will continue to escalate within the industry. Downhole electronics can provide a very cost-effective approach for well exploration and sustainment (data logging). However, the harsh environments are a 'game-changer' in terms defining materials, assembly processes and the long-term reliability of downhole electronic systems. The system-level approach will enable the integration of each of these contributors - materials, processes, and reliability - in order to deliver cost-effective electronics that meet customer requirements.