Future European space missions demand even greater processing power, which hinges on producing these circuits at smaller scales. ESA's Ultra Deep Submicron Initiative is aimed at achieving this, pushing toward advanced manufacturing processes where circuit features are reduced dramatically. The initiative seeks to develop microprocessors with finer detail to drive increased performance and capability.
"For space missions as much as everything else, it's the underlying technology that defines performance, which comes down to microelectronics," explained ESA microelectronics engineer Boris Glass, the initiative's technical officer. "In everyday life we're used to Moore's Law, where microprocessors double in power every 18 to 24 months while also dropping in price. This is because more and more miniaturised transistors can be placed on the same area of semiconductor, down to a few nanometres, or millionths of a millimetre."
He added that the space sector cannot directly benefit from the mass production of commercial chips, which are produced in the billions annually, because space applications require custom designs and radiation-hardened features. Space missions operate in a niche market, needing tens of thousands of chips at most, necessitating tailored solutions.
Europe's existing LEON5 processor employs 65 nanometre (nm) node technology. ESA's initiative aims to shrink this to 7 nm, nearly ten times smaller. "While people often think of space technology as always being the cutting edge, that isn't really the case when it comes to microelectronics," said Boris. "We're about seven years behind the current state-of-the-art. So this new initiative is essential if we want to take advantage of the latest performance gains, for more powerful and agile future missions and a more competitive space sector - based on sustainable access to new chips with a rapid time to market with no access restrictions."
One key challenge is the harsh radiation environment in space. Electronics are exposed to high-energy particles and cosmic rays that can disrupt memory or even cause permanent damage. These effects include Single Event Effects (SEE) like bit flips, or more severe outcomes like latch-ups. Engineers combat these risks through protective circuit designs, redundant memory systems, and error detection mechanisms, all of which must be integrated into the chips themselves.
Sweden-based Frontgrade Gaisler, a longstanding player in space-grade microprocessor development, is spearheading ESA's Ultra Deep Submicron Initiative. General Manager Sandi Habinc explained, "Our consortium's initial focus is to establish radiation-hardened libraries and intellectual property (IP) cores that will serve as the foundation for highly reliable and efficient integrated circuits. This is a bottom-up approach, starting with the fundamental building blocks needed for developing advanced products. At the same time, we are setting the system requirements such as computational capabilities and interfacing requirements to define the initial products that will come out of the initiative, such as high performance microprocessor."
Currently, the consortium is collaborating with a non-European foundry for the advanced 7 nm process, but aims to shift production to Europe as capability grows. "It is therefore important that our developments remain generic enough and portable to other manufacturers and foundries, which is a key challenge," Sandi noted. "Europe is already well-positioned when it comes to advanced packaging, and parallel activities will address the packaging challenges, as well as targeting European electronic design tools."
He added, "It will be a challenge to remove all dependencies when it comes to the design and manufacture of state-of-the-art integrated circuits, so we should therefore focus on the most critical areas. This investment will ensure that Europe remains at the forefront of innovation and autonomy, securing the technology necessary for next-generation space exploration and satellite constellations, including advanced AI and Edge computing."
The initiative forms part of ESA's broader 'EEE Space Components Sovereignty for Europe' programme under the EU's European Chips Act. This initiative aims to reinforce Europe's entire space electronics supply chain, from design through to production and testing.
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Frontgrade Gaisler
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