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A High Temperature Microelectromechanical Inclination Sensor for Geothermal Drilling--Silicon Designs, Inc., 1445 NW Mall Street, Issaquah, WA 98027; 425-391-8329
Mr. John C. Cole, Principal Investigator
Mr. John C. Cole, Business Official
DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-99ER82885
Amount: $100,000
55497-99-I
Directional drilling, commonly used in oil and gas production, uses magnetometers and inclination sensors to measure the azimuth and inclination of the drill bit. However, for geothermal wells, the drilling equipment must be capable of operating at much higher temperatures than for oil and gas, i.e., up to 300°C. No miniature inclination sensor is now available to accurately measure the direction of earth gravity at such temperatures. This project will develop a family of high temperature accelerometers for measuring inclination and vibration at operating temperatures up to 300°C. With these accelerometers and other digital components, temperature-compensated inclination sensor units will be built for geothermal drilling. Phase I consists of designing a sensor-interface integrated circuit in a high temperature Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor process, evaluating and improving the stability of miniature sense elements when exposed to high temperatures, identifying suitable packaging methods, and designing a high temperature calibration system.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The high temperature accelerometers and inclination sensors would be available to producers of directional drilling equipment for geothermal and oil and gas drilling. They also should be useful in other high temperature industrial applications, as well as in space and military applications where high radiation dose rates are present.