Indra Group and the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) have taken a further step in their alliance in microelectronics by completing the design and sending for manufacturing of their first four chips within the UPM-Indra Group Chair "The microelectronics that will transform the future." These circuits have already been produced, delivered, and are currently in the evaluation and characterization phase.
The work has been developed in a pre-competitive environment, with the active participation of students and industrial doctoral candidates, aiming to contrast different technological solutions in silicon and integrated photonics. The purpose is to strengthen the analysis and integration capabilities in areas considered strategic for Europe's technological autonomy.
In detail, the designs comprise three integrated circuits in 65-nanometer silicon technology, sent to the TSMC 'foundry', along with a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) in indium phosphide technology, conceived to investigate beamforming architectures.
As explained by Indra, the silicon circuits include an architecture based on RISC-V and two others aimed at 3D heterointegration testing, in order to progress towards more miniaturized radiofrequency modules, sharing the goal of "evaluating technologies that contribute to greater integration of advanced radiofrequency modules."
Overall, the four developments pursue the same goal: to analyze technologies that allow increasing the degree of integration of advanced radiofrequency modules, a line that will require new validation phases and close cooperation with the specialized ecosystem to assess their possible transfer to future applications.
The activity of the Chair has been completed with the preparation of reports for Bachelor's and Master's final projects in areas of interest for Indra Group, in addition to advanced technological studies and various training actions aimed at capacity development.
The involved students have also had the opportunity to visit the advanced laboratories of Research & Technology (R&T) of the Indra Group Technology Innovation Center, where they have been able to learn firsthand about equipment and capabilities related to radiofrequency, GaN technologies, photonics, and advanced packaging, as well as explore possible pathways for professional incorporation into the company.
From the entity, they emphasize that these progresses consolidate the role of Indra as "a driving company in the ecosystem of microelectronics and semiconductors," a technology "increasingly demanded and critical" to ensure technological sovereignty and strategic autonomy for Europe.
In this context, it is noted that Indra Group is the majority partner of Sparc Foundry, a company specialized in the manufacturing of III-V semiconductors oriented towards photonics, whose plant is expected to begin operations in 2027 in Vigo.
The company also emphasizes that the Sparc project represents a public-private collaboration initiative "unique for its characteristics in Spain and one of the most ambitious in Europe in chip production," conceived to position the country among the actors with advanced technological and productive capabilities through the evaluation, maturation, and integration of strategic semiconductor technologies.