The ASTEP Laboratory

The ASTEP laboratory example best illustrates how actors located in the Hautes-Alpes can take advantage of an ideal geographical positioning between the two major innovations clusters SCS and MINALOGIC. ASTEP measures the perturbation effect of natural cosmic radiations on highly integrated microelectronic components. Its research teams from academic institutions and from the industry, as well as members of its industry consortium, are located part in PACA (Marseilles and Aix) and part in Grenoble (Crolles). The laboratory benefits from funding and grants at a European, national, regional and local level.

Located at an altitude of 2,550 m, on Plateau de Bures, ASTEP takes profit of an exceptional site that allows it to reduce by a 10-factor the time needed to test a component, compared to sea level, due to the higher intensity of cosmic rays at this altitude. Characterizing the behavior when exposed to cosmic rays is a key step to assert the reliability of electronic components for which constant miniaturization improvements generate additional constraints and reliability concerns, common to industries in both SCS and MINALOGIC clusters. ASTEP has gained worldwide recognition and its first operations addressed a world leader based in Europe and another one based in the USA.

Created by a common initiative of Joseph BOREL, a former vice-President of ST Microlectornics and native of Devoluy, and CNRS L2MP, a research laboratory of materials and microelectronics in Provence, ASTEP illustrates the efforts deployed by the Hautes-Alpes to be fully part of the SCS cluster, to support the development of the ICT industry in the territory, to strengthen the historic scientific vocation of Plateau de Bures which already hosted the IRAM (Millimetric radioastronomy Institute) observatory, and finally to contribute to the international recognition of the Hautes-Alpes as a place for high technology companies and initiatives.