Feature: Avionics
Semiconductors – the cornerstone of
intelligent systems in avionics By Ross Turnbull, Director of Business Development, Swindon Silicon
Canada and Japan. To maintain the UK’s edge, in June
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2025 the government unveiled Te UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy for Advanced Manufacturing, a ten-year plan to increase business investment and grow the industries of the future, including aerospace. Achieving this vision depends on the adoption of embedded technologies across industries that prioritise both efficiency and reliability. Te strategy emphasises the need for advanced technical development and digital adoption to drive greater efficiency and support the transition to more sustainable air travel. Capitalising on the opportunities
presented by aerospace – but also Industry 4.0 – the UK is focusing on accelerated growth, with the aim of becoming a global leader in advanced manufacturing. Delivering this vision requires more than policy commitments and investment pledges; it requires a resilient foundation
erospace remains one of the UK Export Finance’s most active sectors, yet it faces intensifying global competition, particularly from South Korea,
in microelectronics. For this reason, semiconductors have been identified in the government’s strategy as the cornerstone of driving intelligent systems, their connectivity and automation. To reinforce this foundation and strengthen the UK’s position, an additional £2.6bn has been directed towards semiconductor research and development.
Semiconductors in avionics Te semiconductor ecosystem is broad, encompassing CPUs for general-purpose computing, GPUs for highly parallel operations and AI workloads, and reconfigurable devices such as FGPAs that can be adapted to suit different applications. ASICs occupy a distinct space among
semiconductors, offering capabilities that other semiconductors cannot match. Tey are highly specialised ICs, engineered at the transistor and logic-gate level to execute specifically-defined functions with precision and efficiency. Unlike general-purpose processors,
which are built for versatility, ASICs can be optimised for power consumption, signal integrity and throughput. Tese capabilities
38 September 2025
www.electronicsworld.co.uk
are critical in aircraſt, but also for real-time control in industrial automation, robotics and advanced aerospace systems. By consolidating analogue and digital
functions – signal conditioning, high- resolution data conversion, power management and embedded security features – onto a single chip, ASICs significantly reduce system complexity. Tis consolidation provides extended reliability, power efficiency and latency. In demanding avionics and industrial environments, it also mitigates interconnect bottlenecks, reduces electromagnetic interference and enhances thermal performance, resulting in higher system stability and operation. In aerospace applications every gram
saved lowers required thrust, reduces fuel consumption and decreases carbon dioxide emissions, whilst improving system reliability and signal integrity in high vibration and temperature-variable conditions. Te demands for smaller size, lower weight and greater interconnect complexities of on-board systems such as flight control and sensor networks must be met with highly customisable designs that include several functionalities, such as
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