Tomsk university presents new avionics chip
"We have made a revolution and created samples of the highest precision in a few years. The latest chip that we developed has a size of 0.5x0.5 mm. In fact, it is a computer inside," TUSUR rector Alexander Shelupanov told at a news conference on Tuesday.
The chip is a low-noise amplifier for active electronically scanned array, he said, adding that it is used to navigate an aircraft in poor visibility conditions and in the presence of a large number of extraneous signals.
"The same chips of the first generation were installed in Micran-made AESA radars aboard Mikoyan MiG-31 and MiG-35 supersonic aircraft. Now you see the next generation of the chip," he said.
The new chip can not only be used in the military and space spheres, Shelupanov said. "When you hear at an airport that your flight is delayed due to weather conditions, it is because your jet has no AESA radar. Or it has, but they are outdated," he said.
The main technical feature of such a system is a gate size or the size of a dielectric that determines the size of a transistor on the chip, he said. The new chip has 80 nanometers gate size, which is not unique but competitive on the global market, he said. The frequency of the amplified signal can be increased up to 12 gigahertz (X-band), he said. "Our dream is to achieve one terahertz. But the technology is not yet ready to accept such a high frequency," he said.
The development of a new chip costs about $1 mln, Shelupanov said.
The TUSUR University was established in 1962 as the Institute of Radio Electronics and Electronic Engineering. It became a university in 1997. It teaches students under bachelor and master programs in radio and electronics, software, information security, electronic and computer technology, automation and control systems, and information technology.
NPF Micran specializes in designing and manufacturing telecommunication equipment, microwave modules and components, radars and other equipment.