TriQuint lands Navy deal for high-voltage amps
GaAs company TriQuint is to improve the design and manufacturability of high-power, high-voltage amplifiers that operate in the so-called S-band of frequencies.
Armed with a $3.1 million stash from the Naval Research Laboratory, TriQuint will first optimize the design of MMICs featuring the advanced transistors, as well as a high-power amplifier operating in the 2-4 GHz frequency range.
In the second part of the exclusive 20-month program, manufacturing improvements will provide the major focus. This will include reducing cycle times, and improving wafer and device yields.
The Hillsboro, OR, firm has been developing high-voltage PHEMTs since 2000, and has already developed a similar process to fabricate devices that operate in the higher-frequency X-band, which spans the 8-12 GHz range.
TriQuint's director of R&D Tony Balistreri says that the 24 V technology will provide the high power density and efficiencies required for near-term Naval applications including phased-array radar, electronic warfare and covert communications.
Gailon Brehm, the company's military business unit director, added: "This enhanced S-band technology provides the higher voltage needed for both military and commercial applications at frequencies below 6 GHz."
TriQuint will carry out the developmental work at its GaAs facility in Richardson, TX, where it houses a 4-inch wafer fab. The company's higher-volume 6-inch facility is located in Hillsboro, OR.
