Today's military world relies on sensitive electronics, and it is essential that these electronics are able to operate efficiently in all sorts of environmental conditions.
Commercially available electronic systems generally provide little to no built-in protection against harsh electromagnetic interference or high-energy particle radiation conditions, which can be found on Earth, in space, and in contested areas of war.
This means Defence assets - from drones to ships, satellites to land vehicles and everything in between that relies on electronics - could be vulnerable to disruption unless fitted with specialised equipment.
Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), alongside university partners, is developing innovative technology to shield sensitive electronics from these radiation effects, potentially extending the operating life of Defence assets and creating more resilient Defence capabilities.
The outcome of this research and development program is the radiation-protected semiconductor chip - a groundbreaking type of electronic device that shields electronics.
The chip's unique design aims to boost the resilience of high-value Defence systems against harmful radiation and interference effects, which can damage their sensitive electronic circuits.
'It's a great honour to me and my colleague Jafar to receive this prestigious award. We are deeply humbled.'
DSTG project lead Kamal Gupta has been collaborating with Jafar Shojaii from Macquarie University, and formerly of the University of Melbourne and Swinburne University of Technology, on the technology since 2022.
"My collaboration with Dr Shojaii over several years has been critical to the success of this research project," Dr Gupta said.
"The result is a radiation-shielded chip that consumes very low power, so it can be integrated effectively and seamlessly with the electronics embedded in electronic systems across all Defence domains."
Dr Gupta and Dr Shojaii were awarded the 2025 Department of Defence Eureka Prize for Outstanding Science in Safeguarding Australia for their work on the radiation-shielded chip.
The Eureka Prizes are Australia's most prestigious science awards.
Chief Defence Scientist Tanya Monro presented Dr Gupta and Dr Shojaii with their award at the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes award ceremony in early September.
"It's a great honour to me and my colleague Jafar to receive this prestigious award. We are deeply humbled," Dr Gupta said.
Work will continue on the award-winning project, with further testing and development already underway.
"The ultimate goal is to see our DSTG and university-designed-and-developed chips shielding Defence systems being used by our warfighters in hostile environments," he said.
