Northrop Grumman delivers GaN MMIC in record time
Northrop Grumman has built a new GaN chip that is claimed to set a new standard of performance for military and commercial use.
The chip, which uses the W-band spectrum (75 to 110 GHz), was developed and market-ready in under six months. The company has not released precise details of the functions or performance of the MMIC chip but it is believed to be a high output power amplifier that lets military radar systems send secure data through satellites, while also supporting next-gen 5G/6G connectivity.
Manufactured at Northrop Grumman’s semiconductor facility in California, the chip was developed through a project with the Microelectronics Commons California DREAMS hub, where Northrop Grumman is a leading partner. DREAMS has a semiconductor prototyping platform called MOSIS 2.0 that cuts chip fabrication timelines down to as little as four months.
DREAMS was set up to accelerate the prototyping of RF technologies and processes for 5G/6G and EW. It includes compound-semiconductor labs and fabs dedicated to fulfilling US government defence orders.
The program is funded by the US Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW(R&E)) as part of a US industry-government-academia partnership.
