The impact of VHPIC on avionic system architecture, packaging and maintainability

The advent of high performance integrated circuit technology will have a far reaching effect on avionic systems. Currently, the impact is being mainly felt at a high bandwidth, signal processing level where the benefits are self-evident, however, unless the effect of the technology is considered across the whole of the avionic system then there is little doubt that much of the improved mission effectiveness promised by the new, high bandwidth systems will not accrue. A wider, system level approach is therefore needed which not only encompasses the technical aspects of individual sensors but also considers the remainder of the airborne data processing system and more traditional topics such as maintainability, packaging and architecture. This paper highlights some of the areas in which very high performance integrated circuits (VHPIC) could have a major impact on avionics systems and indicates some of the factors that will need to be considered during the design of future systems.