Cermet wins GaN defense contracts
In a first contract, Cermet will tackle bulk GaN fabrication problems and develop low cost, low defect density GaN boules. The substrates will be used in high power, high frequency nitride transistors for advanced radar, on-board monitoring and communication systems.
Cermet is also developing GaN thin-films for UV sensors that can be tuned across all UV wavelengths. The MDA plans to incorporate the tunable sensors into its missile defense systems, and also use them to detect airborne biological agents.
"Many UV detector designs revolve around nitride-based heterostructures grown on incompatible substrates," said Cermet research engineer Vicente Munne. "This incompatibility leads to a large number of defects that can affect sensitivity and device performance, [but] our approach will address these issues."
