Why in the News?
Union Minister for Electronics & IT has presented PM with a memento containing the first ‘Made in India’ Vikram 32-bit Launch Vehicle Grade Processor (VIKRAM3201).
About Vikram 32-bit Processor (VIKRAM3201):
- Overview: India’s first fully indigenous 32-bit space-grade microprocessor, developed by VSSC–ISRO with Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL), Chandigarh.
- Lineage: Successor of 16-bit VIKRAM1601 (used since 2009 in ISRO launch vehicles), designed for avionics, navigation, guidance, and mission control.
- Launch & Validation: Unveiled at Semicon India 2025 as a symbol of India’s semiconductor self-reliance. Validated in space during PSLV-C60 (2025) via POEM-4 experiments.
- Applications: Primarily for space missions, but also suited for defence, automotive, and energy systems due to its rugged reliability.
- Policy Support: Developed under India Semiconductor Mission and Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme, reflecting policy thrust on indigenous chip design and manufacturing.
Key Technical Features:
- Architecture: 32-bit design with support for 16/32-bit fixed-point and 64-bit floating-point (IEEE754) operations, essential for trajectory precision.
- Registers & Memory: 32 registers (32-bit wide), capable of addressing up to 4096M words of memory.
- Instruction Set: 152 instructions with microprogrammed control for flexibility in aerospace computations.
- Performance: Operates at 100 MHz, single 3.3V supply, consumes <500 mW power, with <10 mA quiescent current.
- Environmental Tolerance: Functions between –55°C to +125°C, fit for space and military conditions.
- Interfaces: Equipped with four 32-bit timers, 256 software interrupts, and dual on-chip 1553B bus interfaces for avionics communication.
- Software Compatibility: Optimised for Ada language (aerospace standard); C compiler support under development by ISRO.
- Packaging & Fabrication: Built in a 181-pin ceramic PGA package, fabricated on 180 nm CMOS process at SCL, Mohali.
| [UPSC 2008] Which one of the following laser types is used in a laser printer?
Options: (a) Dye laser (b) Gas laser (c) Semiconductor laser (d) Excimer laser |
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
