CEERI,
Pilani is a pioneer research institute in the country and a constituent
laboratory of CSIR, New Delhi, established in 1957, for advanced Research
and Development(R&D) in the field of Electronics. Since in inception
it has been working for the growth of electronics in the country and has
established the required infrastructure and well experienced man power
for undertaking R & D in the following three major areas:
·Semiconductor
Devices.
·Microwave
Tubes
·Electronic
Systems.
The
activities of Microwave Tubes and Semiconductor Devices areas are done
at Pilani, where as the activities of Electronic Systems area are undertaken
at Pilani as well as at two centers of the institute at Delhi and Chennai.
The institute has excellent computing facilities with many Pentium computers
and SUN/DEC workstations interlinking with internet and E-mail facilities
via VSAT. The institute has well maintained library with a outstanding
collection of books and current periodicals published all over the world.
The manpower keeps abreast with the latest technologies by working in frontier
areas and by interactions with foreign dignitaries through different exchange
programs.
CEERI with its over 700 highly skilled and dedicated staff members, well equipped laboratories and supporting infrastructure is all set to take up the challenging tasks of research and development in the above areas.
The
main thrust of the R & D efforts traditionally carried out by CEERI
has been directed towards the collaborative or grant-in-aid research projects,
funded by Government Departments and Government funded user agencies and
to a lesser extent, towards in-house development projects resulting in
technological know-how which can be transferred to Indian industries. With
the dwindling support for capital resources needed for state -of-the-art
research, it has now become much more difficult to find the support for
developmental activities, which can lead to competitive products or process
of interest to industry.
The
R & D activities of CEERI can be broadly classified into three major
areas viz. Semiconductor Devices, Electronics System and Microwave Tubes.
There are over 12 groups working on various projects on the frontiers of
knowledge in these three trust areas. The major trust areas in which CEERI
is presently concentrating its efforts are:
MICROWAVE
TUBES: for defence and communication.
SEMICONDUCTOR
DEVICES : including, Power devices, Millimeter wave devices, Microelectronic
devices and Hybrid microcircuits.
ELECTRONIC
SYSTEMS: for Industrial and transportation applications.
VARIOUS
DEPARTMENTS :
SEMICONDUCTOR
DEVICES AREA :
(a)Microwave
Devices Processing
(b)Hybrid
Microcircuits
(c)IC
Design
(d)Devices
Processing
(e)Opto-electronic
Devices
(e)Power
Devices
(f)Semiconductor
Materials
ELECTRONICS
SYSTEMS AREA :
(a)Agri-Electronics
(b)Digital
System
(c)Industrial
Electronics
MICROWAVE
TUBES AREA :
(a)Communication
Tubes
(b)Industrial
Tubes
CEERI has set up two chapters, one at Delhi and the other at Madras.New Delhi chapter, has specialised in museum electronics, audio visual systems, and speech technology with special reference to voice communication with machines. CEERI Center, Madras, has specialised in development of process control instrumentation for paper & pulp industry. The significant R & D and infrastructural facilities at the institute are :
·For
Semiconductor Devices :VLSI design
center, mask making, diffusion, thin film coating, Ion implantation, Plasma
etching, material growth facilities, Hybrid microcircuits fabrication Lab,
electron microscopes, CAD & CAM facility, etc.
·For
Electron Tube fabrication controlled atmosphere furnaces, ultra high vacuum
processing and glass blowing section, chemical cleaning, precision machining
etc.
·For
Electronic System : microprocessor development system, PCB facility, specialised
measuring instruments for the development of process control equipment
and power electronic equipment, etc.
·Infrastructure
:Computer Center, Workshops, Drawing
Section, Batch Production and Technology Transfer unit, Engineering Services,
including uninterrupted electricity supply, water supply and civil engineering,
Environmental Testing facility Test, and calibration section, Metal Finishing
section etc.
SEMICONDUCTOR
DEVICES AREA
Semiconductor Devices area has excellent centralized facilities for the computer- aided design and fabrication of the microcircuits. The fabricationinclude: Mask making, Ion Implantation, Diffusion and Oxidation, Chemical Vapour Deposition photolithography, Dry Etching. Metallization and testing facilities
Scientists
working in this area have successfully developed 3 micron CMOS technology
using advanced processing techniques. A number of bipolar devices-p-i-n
diode for Neutron dosimetey, BU208D transistors, and high power Schottky
diodes have been fabricated. Microwave devices, such as W-band silicon
IMPATTs have been fabricated and tested for strategic applications. Space-
qualified metallisation of alumina substrates has been established. The
design group has designed a 16/32 bit microprocessor VLSI based design,
simulation and synthesis environment.
Work
is being done on different types of silicon based sensors such as chemical
gases, pressure, humidity, and strain gauge sensors, in collaboration with
the Technical University of Ilmenau, Germany.
Opto-Electronic
devices such as InGaAs/nPPin/APD
photo detectors, optical receivers for a range of data rates between 8
MBps to 2.48 GBps are being developed. The design and technology of C-band
high power GaAs FET for strategic application have been established. Work
is being done for laser array packing, Development of 980 nm pump laser
for EDFA applications, Silica on silicon based IC components for dense
WDM applications - to develop silica deposition process using flame hydrolysis
on silicon suitable for fabrication of integrated components, to develop
integrated technology for WDM components using indigenously deposited silica
on silicon substrate e.g. optical beam splitter arrayed wave guide grating
multiplexer,.
Hybrid
Microcircuits (HMC) technology is another flexible way of converting electric
circuit into a microcircuit. All the required facilities for this process
are available in CEERI. HMCs developed by the group were integrated in
SROSS-I, SROSS-II,INSAT-II,INSAT-IIA, INSAT-IIB, INSAT-IIC satellites.
In
the area of semiconductor devices ,CEERI has developed various devices
such as 1700 v/1300Amp high speed switching thyristors, 100 and 300 Amp
Darlington transistors; ASIC chips for exchange subscribers line (40 pin),
Programmable AD/C interface and PWM signal generator and signal data path
PWM AC motor drives.
HYBRID
MICROCIRCUITS
(a)Hybrid
Microcircuit for INSAT-2D Satellite
(b)Alumina
Bias Circuit Board for IR Detectors
(c)A
new process for Conductor Fabrication in PowerThick-film
HMCs/MICs
IC DESIGN
(a)VHDL
Design of Telecommunication Microprocessor
(b)Training
on VLSI-Design to Industry and Academia
MICROWAVE
DEVICES
(a)Silicon
Microchannel formed by Anisotropic Etching
(b)Glass
to Silicon Anodic Bonding
OPTOELECTRONIC
DEVICES
(a)Hybrid
PIN/FET Receiver Modules working at 68 MBps
(b)GaAs
Power MESFET unit processes
(c)Designed
and built PECVD/RIE System operation
POWER
DEVICES
(a)600,4.3
KVHigh Voltage Rectifier
SEMICONDUCTOR
MATERIAL
(a)Optimization
and characterization of PECVD
(b)Silicon
Varactor Diodes for TV Tuner
Semiconductor
Devices are used in a whole variety of consumer and professional applications.
The miraculous silicon chips, have become a householdword.
In this area, CEERI has received valuable assistance from the Development
Program.After success completion
of the first phase of this project, a second phase is underway. This will
cover power devices, such as transistors for AC motor drives, and Application
Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) for Transportation & Industrial
Applications.
CEERI is the first laboratory in the country to develop hybrid micro-circuits which have been qualified for space applications. These qualifications tests are very stringent, and include accelerations up to 20,000g. the know-how has been transferred to industry. Monolithic integration involves putting several thousand components on a silicon chip of a few sq. mm area. Some ASICs have been carried through the whole range of operations from initial simulation and design through all stages of fabrication. Typical examples are 8-bit counters, microchip for 32-line electronic telephone exchange and signal processing chip for VEM bus compatible microprocessor based system for PWM AC Motor Drives for Transportation.
Microwave
Tubes Area
CEERI
has been doing pioneering work in the area of microwave tubes since 1958,
the year of its inception. Over the years its capabilities have grown considerably
both in terms of expertise and facilities. It has now excellent design
and technology base. The products developed here are a testimony to it.
CEERI’s achievements have contributed significantly towards import substitution
and self reliance. Various user agencies are approaching CEERI for development
of sophisticated tubes to meet their newer requirements. CEERI is well
equipped with necessary facilities to go through various stages involved
in development work. A few important facilities are:
FABRICATION:
·Facilities
for all type of glass working , glass-metal sealing are ceramic-metal sealing.
·Workshops
with precision machines including machine for Helix winding and inspection
tools.
·Auger
Electron Spectrometer.
·SEM,
EDAX & TEM.
ASSEMBLY
AND PROCESSING:
·Clean
air flow benches, spot welders, microscopes, precision, assembly tools,
etc.
·Chemistry
section for electron tube grade cleaning, electroplating and chemical analysis.
·Furnaces
for brazing and heat treatment up to 1500C in controlled atmosphere or
high vacuum.
·DC
sputtering system, Residual gas analyzers, Helium leak detectors.
·Ultra
high vacuum system for processing of tubes with bake out facilities upto
650C.
·Magnet
charger and treater, TIG welding machine.
·Sweep
oscillators, Scalar and Vector network analyzer and microwave components
for cold RF measurementscovering
L-to Ka-band.
·High
voltage DC supplies, modulators, electromagnets, waterloads, dryloads,
power meters, etc. for environmental high power measurements.
·Retarding
field potential analyser for work function measurement.
·Vibrating
testing systems, shock test equipments, bump test systems, humidity chamber,
etc. for environmental tests.
CEERI
has developed high technology components such as microwave tubes. These
are items used in radar sets and communication systems. Travelling wave
tubes have been developed at CERRI for ISRO. The microwave tube group has
developed ‘Klystron’ which is used in troposcatter communication links.
Besides technology, CEERI has also developed the components, jigs and fixtures
and assembly tools.
COMMUNICATION
TUBES:
1.Mini-TWT
delivers 25W RF output power over frequency band
7.5-18GHzand40W
at 12GHz.
2.Two
prototypes of C-band 70KW Coupled-Cavity TWT testing.
3.1KW
CW L/S-band Klystron.
4.2W
CW S-band TWT.
5.20W
CW C-band TWT.
INDUTRIAL
TUBES:
1.2-MW
Pulsed Tuneable Magnetron delivered.
2.New
project on specific MWT.
In
the area of communication, defence and industrial application CEERI has
successfully developed know-how of technology microwave tubes such as magnetrons,
muti-cavity Klystrons, TWTs, and devices such as medium and high power
flash tubes, power triodes, induction heating equipment etc.
ELECTRONIC
SYSTEMS AREA
The
main objective of the Electronic Systems area (ESA) is to provide complete
system level solutions to Indian Industry. CEERI has entered several key
sectors viz. Agro based and Process control Industries. Energy, Transportation,
Consumer Electronics, Speech and Telephony etc. and developed field proven
technologies during last two decades. Currently the emphasis is being laid
in modernising these core sector industries. The scientists of this area
closely interact with industry and academic institutions and have international
collaborative projects with counterparts from Australia, Germany, Italy,
UK and USA.
For
the automation of unit operations in the agro and process control industries
such as Sugar, Paper and pulp, Leather, Wood and Tea, a number of sensors
and systems based on microprocessor, micro-controller and PC’s have been
developed and field tested successfully. The know- how of these systems
has been transferred to entrepreneurs and these are produced and supplied
to user industries on commercial basis. Retrofit automation programs are
currently going on at two paper mill and one sugar mill to propagate the
technologies and modernise the industries .The systems developed are based
on the state of the art technologies employing Supervisory Control And
Data Acquisition (SCADA), distributed digital control systems, local area
networks. soft-sensing techniques, neuro- fuzzy and advanced control algorithms
etc. In addition to these activities ESA is expanding its horizon by taking
up challenges of instrumentation and control for leather industry mushroom
cultivation, food processing, distilleries, greenhouse cultivation etc.
It is also working towards the development of Profibus compatible smart
transmitter for use in industrial networks using one of the widely used
field-bus standards. ESA is also working for Industrial. Transportation
and Power Sectors . Different types of inverters, converters, drive and
UPS are successfully developed and commercialised. Induction motor drive
system for an Electric Vehicle.10kVA UPS, Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM),
brushless dc motor and synchronous reluctance motor etc. are being developed.
Advanced control techniques such as vector control, robust sliding mode,
and neuro-fuzzy algorithms are being implemented in these activities.
CEERI
had been a pioneer for R& D in the field of television. Recent developments
in this area consist of the NICAM receiver for digital stereo/bilingual
sound and Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD) for satellite based TV reception
according for MPEG (Motion Picture Expert Group) standards. These are plans
to extend this work using the techniques of high speed ATM (Asynchronous
Transfer Mode) channel along with multimedia for different applications.
Digital
mapping system (DIGIMAP) for digitising the maps for survey of India has
been developed. Work is in progress on Geo Referencing Area Management
Network system (GRAMNET) and other GIS-based technologies for local development
planning.
Active
work is going on in the areas of speech synthesis and speech recognition.
Phonetic database of Hindi words is developed. Successfully completed the
acoustic analysis of Hindi Germinates and developed Isolated Word Recognition
Systems (IWRS) with different vocabulary sizes. This has been implemented
along with a stepper motor controller for voice operated wheel chair. Work
is in progress to make speaker-independent IWRS.
AGRI-ELECTRONICS
2Retrofit
Automation of Sugar Mill
3Monitoring
and Control System for Tea Manufacturing Process.
DIGITAL
SYSTEMS
1NICAM
Decoder for reception of Stereo Sound in TV sets
2RF-Head
for SQUID Electronics
3PC-Based
Interface for Rapid Thermal Processing.
INDUSTRIAL
ELECTRONICS
1DC
Drive for Mining Locomotive
2Controller
for RTP System