NM-Tech and Don State Technical University Develop Unique Matrix Chips for Extreme Conditions
The chips built on these devices are intended to operate in high-radiation environments and at extremely high and low temperatures. The partnership will combine manufacturing capabilities with advanced scientific expertise.
The two parties signed a scientific and technical cooperation agreement at the Microelectronics 2026 industry forum.
The goal is to establish a complete domestic development cycle for electronic components. Under the agreement, DSTU engineers are to design circuit layouts and analog blocks, while NM-Tech is to fabricate them in silicon.
DSTU established its Research Laboratory for Design Challenges in Extreme Microelectronics in 2016, at the initiative of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for Design Problems in Microelectronics and the university itself. Since then, the team has steadily expanded its expertise and adopted advanced approaches to developing radiation-hardened intellectual property (IP) modules.
Matrix Chip Architecture
Basic matrix chips (BMCs) are semiconductor devices with a pre-formed array of transistors and analog components. The final chip is configured at the last stage by creating metal interconnects between the cells. This approach makes it possible to produce semi-custom circuits tailored to specific customer requirements.
A modern analog BMC library contains hundreds of combinational cells, complex functional blocks, interfaces, and signal converters. Using a single chip, engineers can build multichannel analog-to-digital conversion circuits or complete modules that collect telemetry from sensors.
Semi-custom circuits can replace a substantial portion of imported microchips. In 40% of cases, replacing a foreign component requires only a new interconnect layout on a domestically manufactured chip.
Radiation and Extreme-Temperature Resistance
The matrix chips are designed to operate reliably in outer space, reactor cores, and harsh industrial environments. Current technologies enable devices to function at temperatures ranging from minus 60 to plus 125 degrees Celsius and beyond.
The chips offer high resistance to cumulative radiation exposure and can withstand the impact of heavy charged particles without failing. This makes them particularly valuable for monitoring and control systems at nuclear power plants. Sensors and controllers built around these BMCs could continuously track equipment parameters close to radioactive circuits.
Using a single BMC-based integrated design instead of a printed circuit board populated with several separate chips increases module reliability severalfold. Mean time between failures for these specialized devices can reach 200,000 hours. Fewer solder joints and intercomponent connections also reduce the risk of sudden failures caused by vibration and thermal cycling.
Manufacturing Capabilities and Development Timelines
NM-Tech is a resident company of the Technopolis Moscow Special Economic Zone and handles the full cycle of integrated circuit development and manufacturing. Its facility produces chips using process nodes of 250, 180, 130, and 90 nanometers in an ISO Class 6 cleanroom.
The production lines are configured to process 200-millimeter wafers. Up to ten different chip designs can be fabricated on a single semiconductor wafer at the same time. This significantly reduces the cost of producing small batches of chips, the quantities typically needed for specialized nuclear and space equipment.
Projects based on analog BMCs take three to nine months to complete, significantly less time than developing a fully custom chip from scratch. Bringing these devices into production quickly allows nuclear industry companies to meet their needs for analog controllers and signal amplifiers without lengthy delays.
NM-Tech previously signed an agreement with the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) under the Center for Advanced Microelectronics program. Integrating industrial manufacturing with scientific research will help build a sustainable talent pipeline for the microelectronics industry and lay the groundwork for technological sovereignty in critical areas of electronics.
