EMBARGOED UNTIL
13.30 MONDAY 14 MARCH 2011 An £11 million investment will test the
safety of electronic systems found in aircraft and cars,
Universities and Science Minister David Willetts announced today.
‘Chipir’ will be the first dedicated facility outside of the US
to look at how silicon microchips respond to cosmic radiation. It
will use an intense beam of high-energy neutrons produced by ISIS,
a set of super microscopes that enable scientists to study
materials at a level 10,000 times thinner than human hair.
Cosmic radiation has the power to cause the failure of electronic
systems, particularly in aircraft and road vehicles. Problems can
range from wiping a device’s memory to complete destruction of the
electronics. The new neutron beam line will replicate the cosmic
radiation affecting microchips from 100 years of flying time in
the space of an hour. The findings will help manufacturers build
more reliable electronic systems, which will in turn make planes
and cars safer.
Announcing the funding during a visit to the STFC Rutherford
Appleton Laboratory, Minister for Universities and Science David
Willetts said:
“ISIS is one of the UK’s major scientific achievements. It
supports an international community of 2,000 scientists including
physicists, biologists, engineers and geologists and helps us
learn more about the material world.
“This new beam line will enable scientists to test the very
systems that we rely upon the most – the electronic components
that keep planes in the air and make sure car airbags deploy at
the right time. Chipir will be the world’s best facility for
screening microchips with neutrons, leading to safer, more
reliable electronic systems and encouraging leading scientists and
manufacturers to do their research in the UK.”
Chipir Project Scientist Dr Chris Frost said:
“I am absolutely delighted that the Chipir project is being
funded as I have been working with colleagues from UK and European
industry over the last few years to study the huge impact that
cosmic ray neutrons can have on the operation and reliability of
modern electronics. Our all pervasive reliance on electronics in
everything from aircraft systems to medical equipment to computer
and communication networks means that making the ISIS facility a
key tool for understanding and overcoming this industry wide
problem is a very exciting prospect.”
Chipir will be funded by the Large Facilities Capital Fund, which
is administered by central Government. The investment will cover
the construction of the facility and the necessary software to
record the data from the microchip testing.
ISIS is owned and operated by the Science and Technology
Facilities Council. It has been running for over 25 years,
produced over 9,000 research papers and improved the performance
of a range of materials, including pharmaceuticals and fuel cells.
Notes to editors:
The Large Facilities Capital Fund (LFCF) is used for providing
additional capital for priority projects to Research Councils, of
which the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is one.
STFC is one of the seven UK Research Councils principally funded
through the Government's Science Budget which is
administered by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
(BIS). Each year a total of around £2.5 billion is invested in
research conducted at UK universities, Research Council
Institutes, and in securing access to international facilities for
UK researchers. Together the Research Councils cover the full
spectrum of academic disciplines from the medical and biological
sciences to astronomy, physics, chemistry and engineering, social
sciences, economics, and the arts and humanities.
ISIS is a world-leading centre for research in physical and life
sciences operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council
at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Didcot, Oxfordshire. ISIS
produces beams of neutrons and muons that allow scientists to
study materials at the atomic level using a suite of instruments,
often described as ‘super-microscopes’. It is the most productive
research centre of its type in the world. More information can be
found at www.isis.stfc.ac.uk.
BIS' online newsroom contains the latest press notices,
speeches, as well as video and images for download. It also
features an up to date list of BIS press office contacts. See
http://www.bis.gov.uk/newsroom for more information.
Contacts:
BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Sally Catmull
Phone: 020 7215 6577
sally.catmull@bis.gsi.gov.uk