Electronic industry of Russia. The development of the electronics industry

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The domestic electronics industry has passed its 50th anniversary. It originates in the USSR, when the formation of leading research centers and high-tech enterprises took place. There were ups and downs along the way. At the moment, a strategy for the development of the electronic industry until 2025 has been defined, and the joint program of the Union State "Osnova" is being implemented.

Locomotive of industry

Electronics can be compared to the "gray cardinal" of the economy - achievements in this area rarely grace the media headlines, but the global state of many industrial enterprises and the military industry depends on its development. For security reasons, it is not always possible to use components from foreign partners, and the economic benefits of using domestic products are obvious. It is no coincidence that in the days of the USSR the Ministry of Electronic Industry operated with such giants of microelectronics as Mikron, Integral, Angstrem, Zenit, LOMO, Dalnaya Svyaz and others.

Past andfuture

In the Soviet Union, electronics industries were dispersed over a vast territory, mainly in the European part of the Russian Federation, Belarus and Ukraine. At the same time, they constituted a single interconnected complex, which ceased to exist with the collapse of the Union.

In the "dashing 90s" the vast majority of Russian specialized enterprises actually lost their potential. The Russian electronics industry was largely curtailed: only the permanent leaders OAO Research Institute of Molecular Electronics and the Mikron plant (OAO NIIME i Mikron) and OAO Angstrem, located in Zelenograd, survived.

Minsk "Integral", supported personally by President Lukashenko, found itself in slightly better conditions. However, he also lost large dual-use orders. The enterprise reduced the scale of production, but thanks to government support and focus on small-scale orders of high-tech products from domestic consumers and buyers of electronic component base (ECB) from other countries, it stayed afloat.

Fortunately, in the mid-2000s. The Russian leadership understood the strategic importance of developing its own electronics, and in 2007 the "Strategy for the Development of the Electronic Industry until 2025" was adopted. There are already obvious positive developments in this area, especially in the military space and security sectors.

Basis

In parallel with the development of the internal Russian concept, the Osnova program was launched, providing for the restorationresearch and production chains between research institutes and enterprises of Russia and Belarus within the framework of the Union State. Moreover, the Osnova project has become one of the highest priorities, pushing development programs in cosmonautics, the chemical industry, optics, the production of diesel units, and the development of laser technologies.

In fact, the electronic industry of the USSR is being revived, or rather, its potential. Betting on joint work in this segment, the initiators of integration are trying to write a new page in the history of the revival of electronics, but with a more modern accent, delving into the submicron region. Here, strategic tasks for our states are put at the forefront - ensuring security and maintaining defense capability.

Foreign experience

Meanwhile, the world's electronics industry is advancing by leaps and bounds. In the United States, for example, electronics came out on top in terms of product added, ahead of the automotive and aviation industries. China, Taiwan, India, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia provide active state support to this industry. Here, electronics is seen as an effective lever for boosting national economies and entering the global market.

High-tech corporations seek to spur this scientific direction, sparing no financial injections. Up to $12 billion is allocated annually for science and technology programs.

Trends and developments

Special attention is paid to the development of submicron production technologiessuper-large integrated circuits (VLSI). Over the past 30-40 years, the element base has gone through several generations of development: large (LSI), super-large and, based on them, complex-functional systems-on-a-chip (SoC) have appeared.

Analysts have long noted that in the modern world, electronics predetermines progress in various areas - communications, industry, transport, telecommunications, he althcare, banking and social areas, military equipment, etc. New technologies in the electronics industry have allowed a number of countries, such as the USA, England, Japan, Germany, France and others, to hold the levers of world domination: military, technical, financial, political.

On the edge of progress

It is significant that in terms of the volume of products created, the world electronics industry exceeds the production of oil, gasoline and minerals by almost 4.5 times, chemical products and plastics - 3 times, the volume of cargo transportation - 2.5 times, the production of electricity and gas - more than 2 times. The calculated economic efficiency of electronics in developed countries looks no less positive:

• industry growth rate three times higher than GDP growth;
• average global payback period for projects is 2-3 years;
• one dollar of investment allows you to receive up to $100 in the final product;
• 1 kg of microelectronic components costs more than 100 tons of oil;
• creating one job in the electronics industry leads to the creation of 4 jobs in othersindustries.

Why develop electronics

Based on the experience of world leaders, it can be argued that the development of the electronics industry leads to an integral effect that goes far beyond just this industry. This contributes to the growth of science-intensive products, increasing the competitiveness and technical level of computing, rocket and space, aviation, machine building, motor transport, machine tool building and other equipment.

The volume of production of electronic components is steadily growing, determining progress in the most promising areas - aerospace and radio-electronic industries, robotics and instrumentation, etc.

Electronic industry of Russia and Belarus

It is clear that the countries in the post-Soviet space could not remain aloof from such global processes. It was possible to give priority attention to the development of electronics and the no less demanded direction - microelectronics, as "points of growth" of the economy and national security, as a result of joint work within the framework of the Union State.

The foundations of interaction and effective solution of the tasks set for the revival of microelectronics as a priority industrial sector and for the creation of new semiconductor devices on the Russian-Belarusian element-component base were laid by the allied programs "Microsystem Engineering", "Baza", "Pramen".

The national electronics industry has already received a powerful boost: dozens oftypes of functionally specialized products of microelectronics corresponding to the world level. In 2013, another important project was completed with the participation of specialists and scientists from our countries - the program "Development and development of a series of integrated circuits and semiconductor devices for special-purpose and dual-use equipment." The budget from the Russian side is set at 975 million Russian rubles, from the Belarusian side – 525 million.

Near future

Judging by the noticeable revival in the domestic market of electronic components, increased attention and support from government agencies, media reports, very active work is underway. The prospects for the development of microelectronics in the near future have become more real and foreseeable. The most important tasks are being solved to create an element base for the development of an expanded range and implementation of radio-electronic equipment, systems for household, general industrial and special purposes, to eliminate the dependence of the national electronics industry on imports and to significantly increase its export potential.

By the way, the Russian academician K. A. Valiev spoke about the need to create and develop domestic technologies in microelectronics in the early 2000s. He admitted, however, that this task is not easy, and it can be done only with special modern technological equipment. The necessary financial and organizational support for microelectronics can be provided by targeted programs that are deployed at the state level.

On guard of the motherland

As for the military sphere, high-precision microelectronics has been registered here for a long time. Today we can talk about the creation of a modern electronic component base for the production of highly effective defense equipment. New semiconductor devices and microcircuits have found application in more than a hundred of the latest weapons. Main uses:

• radar stations;
• anti-aircraft missile systems, including the famous S-400 and the S-500 under development;
• electronic warfare systems: interference suppression, interception, jamming of radio transmissions.

New design and technological solutions and IC typologies patented in the Russian Federation have proven themselves well among consumers of the Russian military-industrial complex, providing high reliability and performance of devices under conditions of exposure to increased radiation, neutron irradiation, gamma and X-ray radiation, and an electromagnetic pulse. Such technical characteristics and parameters are extremely important for weapons systems, electronic control systems for military and space technology, control and safety systems for nuclear power plants.

Microelectronics flagships

To create such high-precision equipment equipped with complex electronic components, it was necessary to combine the efforts of research centers and flagships of microelectronics in Russia and Belarus. Thus, the Osnova program has become the next stage in the creation of the latest technologies.

In total, in its implementation, the main executors and co-executors areabout 40 research institutes and industrial enterprises. The main supplier of the microelectronic element-component base for dual and special purposes is the Belarusian OJSC Integral. On the Russian side, the baton for the creation of high-tech products based on modern electronics is picked up by the Mikron group of companies, the largest microelectronics manufacturer in the post-Soviet space, which is part of the RTI industrial holding.

JSC NIIME i Mikron is an enterprise with almost half a century of history, a technology leader in the Russian semiconductor industry. Today they are engaged in scientific research, development, production and sale of integrated circuits, including for export. In 2012, a new line for the production of microchips with a topological level of 90 nm was launched. The partners are the state corporation RUSNANO and the European giant STMicroelectronics.

Science and production

Electronic industry is impossible without scientific research. Mikron's parent company has been entrusted with a comprehensive R&D (research, development and development) complex, with the help of 15 largest radio-electronic enterprises in Russia.

The R&D complex included one research and development and 26 development projects to create 54 types of import-substituting electronic component base with a high degree of integration, with high accuracy and functional characteristics. In particular, Mikron solves a wholea set of tasks, one of which is devoted to the development and implementation of a microprocessor-based VLSI with an embedded operating system for smart cards and electronic documents.

Afterword

It is necessary to understand that Western companies are in no hurry to sell the latest high-quality microelectronics for military and space equipment to domestic enterprises. Therefore, the priority task for the near future in the course of the implementation of strategic industry programs is the implementation of a technological breakthrough into the future.