New technology for space chip production developed in Belarus

A new technology for manufacturing chips for space, which is more efficient and less expensive than its analogues, has been developed at the United Institute of Mechanical Engineering of Belarus’ NAS and patented at the Eurasian Patent Office, sb.by reports

Photo by Eurasian Patent Office

Conventional microchips are usually unsuitable for operation in outer space, because they can be destroyed under the influence of streams of high-speed charged particles of electrons and radiation. Therefore, components made of silicon-on-sapphire composites are used for microchips in the space industry: they are less susceptible to destruction. Actually, the production technology of such components is complex and expensive: i.e. a small chip may cost up to $100,000.

“Belarusian developers have reduced the cost of such chips. They have improved the technology of manufacturing a sapphire substrate, which reduces its roughness to 4nm or less, with almost complete absence of cracks and residual stresses in the substrate. Patented methods for processing flat surfaces of thin sapphire plates and a device for its implementation make it possible to reduce the processing time and ensure a roughness of the treated surface of less than 4nm. This meets the demands of modern industry to reduce the technological norm of crystals to 7-10nm," the Eurasian Patent Office shared some details.

The development will be protected on the territory of eight Eurasian states: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.