26 February 2014

Raytheon outlines continuing maturing of GaN technology DARPA’s WBGS program

Raytheon Company of Waltham, MA, USA says that, under the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) Wide Bandgap Semiconductor (WBGS) program, it has systematically matured gallium nitride (GaN) from basic material to transistors, monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs), transmit/receive (T/R) modules and finally transmit/receive integrated multichannel modules (TRIMMs), enabling what is reckoned to be game-changing system performance for the Department of Defense (DOD).

This is the latest milestone for Raytheon’s GaN technology, which last June was honored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) for successful completion of a Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III GaN production improvement program, a result of more than a decade of Government and Raytheon investment in GaN RF circuit technology (in which GaN yield was improved by more than 300% and cost was reduced more than 75% for MMICs).

GaN technology extends warfighting capabilities, providing radar, electronic warfare, navigation and communication systems with more affordable solutions and increased capability.

“Through our partnership with DARPA we continue to explore new ways to leverage GaN’s limitless capabilities to drive performance and reliability of defense systems,” comments Joe Biondi, vice president of Advanced Technology for Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) business in Tewksbury, MA.

As part of the DARPA MTO Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Program, Raytheon - with the support of a Navy, Air Force and Army technology team - has achieved several first-of-their-kind milestones:

• demonstrated record X-band GaN power amplifier MMIC performance - higher efficiency and power enables more affordable systems with higher capability;

• completed first X-band GaN T/R module demonstrations, involving extensive, successful design verification testing over a range of relevant operating conditions (demonstrating the maturity of the GaN technology); and

• completed the first X-band GaN TRIMM demonstration, involving extensive testing in a relevant array environment (including a 1000 hour operating test in a laboratory pilot array and an insertion validation in a production radar), proving that the TRIMM is ready for transition to production.

See related items:

Raytheon enters 15th year of GaN technology development and system integration

Raytheon wins $279.4m contract for Technology Development phase of US Navy’s Next Generation Jammer program

US government honors Raytheon for completing Title III GaN production improvement program

Raytheon awarded $29.3m Phase 3 contract for wide-bandgap program

Tags: Raytheon Radar GaN

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