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Title: New trends in the commercial IC industry and the impact on defense electronics

Conference ·
OSTI ID:634063

The unprecedented rate and scope of change in the commercial microelectronics industry presents a significant challenge to, and a significant opportunity for, achieving affordable superiority in defense electronics. A proactive approach to making the industry inherently more leveragable is discussed. Defense microelectronics is inexorably linked to the commercial semiconductor industry. This is obvious in the case of COTS (Commercial Off the Shelf parts) and MOTS (Modified--e.g., upscreened--Off the Shelf parts) as these parts are produced by the commercial industry. However, even captive defense integrated circuit lines building specialized parts are being forced by their dependence on a commercial-industry-driven supplier base to follow commercial product/process/design trends. The just released 1997 version of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (NTRS) describes the unprecedented changes occurring in the commercial industry. The industry is evolving from a more stable pre-1994 technology evolution to a discontinuous post-1997 technology evolution. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how these changes present both major challenges and major opportunities, for defense microelectronics, especially for applications involving long lifetimes, harsh environments and/or high consequences of failures.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000
OSTI ID:
634063
Report Number(s):
SAND-98-0325C; CONF-980328-; ON: DE98002724; BR: DP0102021; TRN: AHC2DT01%%74
Resource Relation:
Conference: 1998 Government microcircuit applications conference, Arlington, VA (United States), 16 Mar 1998; Other Information: PBD: Feb 1998
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English