All Space Systems & Subsystems

The Microelectronics Circuit Design Group (ELAB) of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) conducts research and education in integrated-circuit design, with emphasis on analog, mixed-signal and RF CMOS circuits, wireless communication circuits and systems, semiconductor-device modelling, sensors and microsystems, and advanced microelectronic technologies. Within the space ecosystem, these capabilities are particularly relevant to the design of low-power and high-frequency integrated circuits, RF front ends, mixed-signal electronics, sensing and signal-processing hardware for satellite communications, payloads and other spaceborne electronic systems.

The Microprocessors and Digital Systems Laboratory (MicroLab) specialises in the design and implementation of digital and microprocessor systems (ASIC, FPGA, and system level). It is an official laboratory of the School of Electrical & Computer Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). MicroLab has extensive background and experience in the fields of hardware/software codesign, DSP systems implementation, high-level synthesis, reconfigurable computing, and computer arithmetic. The laboratory is active in the domains of Embedded Systems Design, Microelectronics—Reliability, Rusted computing—Secure computing, Space, Multimedia, and Biomedical applications.

The Microwave and Fiber Optics Laboratory (MFOL) of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) conducts research and education in microwave engineering, antennas, electromagnetic propagation and scattering, fiber-optic communications, advanced wireless systems, and related RF technologies. Its work has included satellite communication channel modelling, millimetre-wave propagation, antenna and microwave component development, electromagnetic imaging, and more recently research relevant to 5G/B5G/6G communications and intelligent metasurface-based systems. Within the space ecosystem, MFOL is particularly relevant to satellite communications, RF and microwave payloads, antennas, propagation modelling, ground-segment technologies and integrated terrestrial–non-terrestrial networks.

The Mobile Radio Communications Laboratory (MRCL) is affiliated with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and with the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS). MRCL was established in 1989, and since 1999 (Law 307, Hellenic Gazette 31/12/1999), it has acted as an official research unit providing services both for academia and the industry. MRCL has also been accredited since 2009 by the Hellenic Accreditation System, according to the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standard (Certificate no. 520) for electromagnetic field measurements from 75 MHz to 18 GHz. MRCL has also been affiliated with the Biomedical Simulations and Imaging Laboratory (BIOSIM) since 2015, extending its research in health information and communication systems.

NOESIS Technologies is a Greek semiconductor and telecommunications technology company based in Patras, specialising in the design and licensing of high-performance, low-power IP cores and hardware-accelerated baseband processing solutions for communication systems. Its expertise includes Forward Error Correction (FEC), OFDM, encryption, networking, DSP and configurable PHY-layer architectures implemented in ASICs and FPGAs, with applications spanning telecommunications, IoT, industrial systems, defence, automotive and aerospace. Within the space ecosystem, NOESIS contributes specialised capabilities in digital communications hardware, signal processing and reconfigurable semiconductor IP that are directly relevant to satellite communications, payload electronics and space-grade communication systems.

Pleione Energy develops, designs, and produces cost-effective products and applications for the energy and space sector. The primary application field is the design and development of advanced storage systems through application of nanotechnology in batteries, capacitors, fuel cells, etc. Advanced materials and nanotechnology expertise, along with extensive research experience in the energy and aerospace sector, empowers the team behind the company to achieve technological breakthroughs. The company is an International Joint Venture between the Greek company ADAMANT COMPOSITES and the German company OMNIDEA-RTG and is based at the Technology incubator of the National Centre for Scientific Research (NCSR) “Demokritos” in Athens, Greece. Pleione Energy has developed two innovative nano-enabled based energy storage systems: a) Graphene based lithium battery and supercapacitors cells; b) Graphene-Based Materials with Improved Gas Barrier Properties for Space Applications. Pleione Energy is also developing a new product for Green Building applications, prefabricated walls with integrated energy storage capabilities.

The Photonic Networks and Technology Laboratory aims at the development of all the critical technology for delivering advanced fibre optic components, tuneable devices for high-capacity optical networks, and fibre sensors. The photonic technology laboratory is a well-equipped laboratory. Its infrastructure includes 40 Gb/s electrical and lightwave test & measurement equipment, a state-of-the-art C-band DWDM testbed, and a 10 Gb/s, programmable GMPLS testbed. We are also working on fibre sensors and tuneable devices for either biomedical or telecom applications.

Pollux Tech develops a downstream LEO-enabled safety infrastructure layer integrating GNSS positioning, satellite communications, and maritime regulatory frameworks for global operations. Its goal is to establish a continuous, human-centric satellite distress layer within existing maritime safety governance structures. The system introduces a complementary safety layer within existing maritime regulatory frameworks (IMO / SOLAS), leveraging Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity to enhance Search and Rescue (SAR) response efficiency and operational resilience.

QRBIT develops hardware photonic systems and sub-systems for integration over optical ground station infrastructure, to assist in the future of satellite-based optical and quantum communications. Additionally, QRBIT provides software solutions for optical classical and quantum satellite communications, regarding scheduling and optimization on satellite optical communications based on the prediction and modelling of the atmospheric channel, aiming to increase the links availability and performance.

Silicon Highway (SiHi) Technologies offers a comprehensive range of VLSI design services and EDA tools. SiHi delivers innovative solutions tailored to meet the needs of modern semiconductor businesses. With a strong focus on quality and customer satisfaction, its offerings fall into two main categories: Design Services and Custom EDA Tools. SiHi provides end-to-end RTL to GDSII implementation services for digital ASICs and SoCs. For customers looking to differentiate themselves from competitors, SiHi also offers both standard front-to-back-end EDA flow solutions and customised tools. Our tools address critical challenges such as chip floor planning, placement, static timing analysis, radiation hardening analysis, and power, performance, and area (PPA) optimization. As a startup, SiHi’s primary goal is to establish strong, collaborative partnerships with its customers by delivering high-quality services and premium tools. Customer support is one of its top priorities, ensuring clients feel confident in the products they are provided. In the coming years, SiHi aims to expand its product portfolio to address even more customer needs and grow its customer base. R&D is the cornerstone of SiHi, with its team bringing a proven track record, particularly in the development of cutting-edge EDA tools. SiHi’s custom EDA solutions are driven by extensive internal research, with a focus on two key areas: a) Low-power design techniques, including the use of asynchronous design methodologies; b) Radiation analysis and optimisation, ensuring robust and reliable chip performance in challenging environments.

SPACE ASICS S.A. is a Greek space microelectronics company founded in 2006 and specialised in the development, verification, testing, characterisation and qualification of low-power, radiation-hardened mixed-signal analog/digital ASICs for space applications. Its technologies support spacecraft subsystems and scientific instruments, with product lines including sensor-interface ASICs, image-sensor acquisition ASICs, rad-hard ADCs, voltage references, instrumentation amplifiers, CAN controllers and other high-reliability components. The company has developed and qualified devices for ESA projects and represents a specialised Greek capability in radiation-tolerant microelectronics and space-grade integrated-circuit design.

Stellar Phronesis is a Greek deep-tech company developing and licensing scalable RF payload and beamforming technologies based on integrated photonics.
The company develops architectures for the scalable processing and distribution of coherent RF signals across large, adaptive antenna systems, addressing the increasing bandwidth, capacity, flexibility and reconfiguration requirements of next-generation satellite communications and Earth-observation payloads. Its technology combines RF photonics, photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and intelligent control software, while remaining compatible with established RF front ends and system-integration workflows.
By transferring demanding RF signal-processing and distribution functions from conventional electronic hardware to photonic integrated circuits, Stellar Phronesis enables antenna and payload architectures to scale without equivalent growth in power consumption, size, weight, thermal burden and implementation complexity. The resulting architecture supports wide instantaneous bandwidth, large numbers of coherent RF channels and dynamic reconfiguration under the stringent SWaP constraints of space systems.
The technology is particularly relevant to satellite communication and multichannel Earth-observation payloads, large phased-array antennas and other advanced RF systems where increasing aperture size, bandwidth and spatial-resource requirements place growing demands on conventional electronic beamforming architectures.
Stellar Phronesis works with space-industry partners through feasibility studies, system co-development, technology integration and IP and software licensing, supporting the development of next-generation RF payload and antenna systems.

Theon Sensors is recognised as one of the most innovative and fast-responding developers and manufacturers of night vision systems, with its products being in service with many armed and special forces, such as in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greece, France, Egypt, Indonesia, Kuwait, Portugal, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, and the UAE. With production facilities and a head office in Athens, as well as offices in Abu Dhabi and Singapore and with more than 200,000 systems in service or under contract in 66 countries around the world, Theon Sensors is one of the market leaders in man-portable night vision and thermal systems for military and security applications.

TRIMSIGNAL is a Greek semiconductor and embedded-systems company, incubated at ESA BIC Greece, specialising in hardware-accelerated deterministic signal processing on FPGA/SoC platforms for space and space-related instrumentation. The company designs and delivers complete electronic subsystems where precision timing is the decisive resource: real-time receivers for coherent wind LiDAR supporting calibration and validation of spaceborne atmospheric sensors, payload electronics and ground digital receivers for optical and quantum communication links, and data acquisition and processing chains built to CCSDS and ECSS practice. Its current LiDAR receiver subsystem, developed under the ESA BIC programme, has reached TRL 7 as an operational prototype: sixteen parallel processing pipelines, end-to-end latency below 50 microseconds, inter-pipeline synchronization below 10 ps RMS, within a 10 to 13 W power envelope. The company’s second technology pillar is Dynamic Frequency Boosting (US Patent 10,740,519 B2), a cycle-level clock adaptation technique that raises computational throughput and energy efficiency in digital ICs and FPGAs by adjusting the clock frequency to the paths actually active at execution time, recovering the worst-case timing margins that conventional synchronous design pays on every cycle. Applied to radiation-tolerant devices, whose silicon trails commercial nodes, DFB translates directly into performance per watt, the scarcest resource of small satellite payloads.

weasic Microelectronics designs, develops, and markets high-quality, complex microwave and mmWave IP solutions for the SatCom, automotive, and 5G handset and backhaul industries. The weasic silicon-verified IP portfolio is designed in the state-of-the-art CMOS and SiGe processes and can be easily ported and customised to serve the development of transceivers for satellite and terrestrial communications. weasic has positioned itself as a world leader in mmWave Analog and Mixed-Signal IP. Their expertise extends to applications such as 5G backhaul, Automotive Radars, and Satellite Radios. The company’s world-class design team has a strong track record of successfully delivering first-pass silicon for the most challenging design specifications in performance, power consumption, and silicon area. weasic’s IP cores are in production with multiple customers, across a variety of foundry processes, selling millions of chips worldwide. The company offers a complete portfolio of IP blocks, including transceivers, front-ends, synthesizers, and many basic building blocks that cover most of their customers’ needs.