Sky Water has received an order for space semiconductors
The stock of SkyWater Technology Inc. (SKYT) gained almost 25% to $8.94 during the week at the auction on July 18. The market capitalization was $348.66 million. One of the reasons was the contract for the production of semiconductors resistant to radiation. SkyWater specializes in the development of optics and electronics with unique qualities, and it has experience in creating chips for defense tasks, space communication systems, machine vision for cars, etc.
SkyWater received a contract from the US Defense Department to continue developing the new RH90 platform. These are chips with a dimension of 90 nanometers, that is, much larger than modern 7-nanometer processors for computers. But the RH90 can withstand high radiation exposure, from which other processors will quickly fail. The design RH90 architecture uses all the advanced developments in the field of radiation-resistant electronics, which can minimize the degradation of the chip and the number of failures due to radiation.
SkyWater has previously received $170 million from the defense department to develop radiation-resistant electronics. The company managed to complete the work on creating a prototype, and as a result, it received a new contract. If set will use the RH90 architecture on reconnaissance satellites operating in near-polar orbits where radiation levels.
It should note that radiation-resistant chips are used not only in military equipment. They are necessary, for example, for communication satellites that have been in high geostationary orbits for a long time. Also, such chips in sensors and other electronics at nuclear power plants and storage of radioactive materials. Thus, SkyWater can commercialize development on the civilian market as well.
