Mitsubishi ramps HEMTs for satellite receivers
From October this year, Japanese chip giant Mitsubishi Electric is preparing to manufacture its new GaAs HEMTs in large volumes.
The high-gain transistors are said to be ideal for low-noise amplifiers operating at 18-20 GHz, and have been ordered for use in satellite broadcast receivers and very small aperture terminal (VSAT) systems.
"The recent launch of the Ka-band systems is expected to increase demand for [GaAs] HEMTs, because of the expansion of transmission capacity over current satellite communication systems," said the company.
"Mitsubishi Electric responded to this demand by creating a high-gain version of a micro-X package HEMT." The new HEMT has a gain of 13.5 dB, an improvement of 3 dB over the previous generation.
The Tokyo-based company will manufacture 0.5 million of the new HEMTs each month from October onwards. Samples are priced at $0.90.
According to Mitsubishi Electric, the need for faster data links to carry the latest digital and high-definition broadcasts is one of the key reasons behind the need for new high-frequency Ka-band systems.
