ISRO develops 32-bit chips for space tech

Bengaluru: ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL), Chandigarh have jointly developed 32-bit Microprocessors -- Vikram 3201 and Kalpana 3201-- for space applications, the space agency has said.

Vikram 3201 is the first fully Indian-made 32-bit microprocessor qualified for use in the harsh environmental conditions of launch vehicles. The processor was fabricated at the 180nm (nanometer) CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) semiconductor fab

of SCL.

This processor is an advanced version of the indigenously designed 16-bit Vikram 1601 microprocessor, which has been operating in the avionics system of ISRO's launch vehicles since 2009, ISRO said in a statement released late on Saturday.

A "Make-in-India" version of the Vikram 1601 processor was subsequently inducted in 2016 after the 180nm semiconductor fab was established at SCL, the statement said.