News: Microelectronics
5 November 2020
Qorvo to create US-funded Heterogeneous Integrated Packaging RF production and prototyping center
Qorvo Inc of Greensboro, NC, USA (which provides core technologies and RF solutions for mobile, infrastructure and defense applications) has been selected by the US government to create a State-of-the-Art (SOTA) Heterogeneous Integrated Packaging (SHIP) RF production and prototyping center. The SHIP program aims to ensure that microelectronics packaging expertise and leadership is available for both US defense contractors and commercial clients that require design, validation, assembly, test and manufacturing of next-generation RF components.
The exclusive SHIP Other Transaction Agreement (OTA), worth up to $75m, was awarded to Qorvo by the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Crane Division. The program is funded by the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering’s (OUSD R&E) Trusted and Assured Microelectronics Program (T&AM). It is administered by the Strategic & Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted System (S2MARTS) Other Transaction Agreement (OTA), managed by National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL).
Under the SHIP program, Qorvo will design and deliver the highest levels of heterogeneous packaging integration. This is essential to meet the size, weight, power and cost (SWAP-C) requirements for next-generation phased-array radar systems, unmanned vehicles, electronic warfare (EW) platforms and satellite communications.
“This award reflects Qorvo’s proven track record as a global leader in RF technology with over 35 years of experience,” says James Klein, president of Qorvo’s Infrastructure and Defense Products (IDP) group. “As part of this collaboration, Qorvo will expand its proven capabilities in Texas to create a SOTA facility that best serves the needs of the US government and commercial customers.”
Qorvo’s US-based capabilities include advanced manufacturing, packaging and testing for both high- and low-power applications ranging from DC to 100GHz. The firm holds a Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) Category 1A trusted source certification for package assembly, test and wafer foundry services at its plant in Richardson, TX. Qorvo says that it further provides defense customers with greater value by applying high-yield manufacturing and scale expertise gained from serving the commercial market – to which it supplies more than 4 billion heterogeneous modules annually.
