TEWKSBURY, Mass., April 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon
Company (NYSE: RTN) has achieved another significant milestone for
next generation Gallium Nitride (GaN) Radio Frequency (RF)
semiconductor technology. Through the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Near Junction Thermal Transport
effort under the Thermal Management Technologies program,
Raytheon's team is replacing GaN's current substrate, Silicon
Carbide, with diamond, a material with 3-5X higher thermal
conductivity, to create GaN on diamond devices.
Raytheon has demonstrated that GaN on diamond technology enables
a 3X increase in transistor power density over GaN on Silicon
Carbide, overcoming a major barrier to unlocking the potential of
GaN devices. Data was obtained on a 10x125um (1.25mm) GaN on
diamond HEMT, a device representing a unit cell for constructing
Power Amplifier Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMICs),
the foundation of solid-state RF transmitters and Active
Electronically Scanned Arrays. This result builds on prior
successes, including Raytheon's industry-first demonstration of GaN
on diamond transistors in 2009, and GaN on diamond MMICs in
2011.
"Raytheon continues to be an innovator leading the development
of GaN technology," said Joe Biondi,
vice president of Advanced Technology for Raytheon's Integrated
Defense Systems (IDS) business. "We are now inserting GaN into DoD
systems while remaining focused on continuing to increase
performance of this revolutionary semiconductor to provide our
warfighters with the most advanced sensing, communications and
electronic warfare capabilities in the world."
GaN on diamond offers revolutionary performance improvement by
reducing thermal resistance within the device and enabling GaN to
be used at higher power densities, which will dramatically reduce
the cost, size, weight and power of defense systems. GaN is a
core competency within Raytheon and an integral technology behind
some of the company's major programs (visit
http://www.raytheon.com/capabilities/radar/) including Air and
Missile Defense Radar and Next Generation Jammer. GaN's
unique qualities allow radar, electronic warfare and communications
systems to be smaller, more affordable and highly efficient.
Raytheon Company also recently announced that under the DARPA
MTO Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Program, the company has
systematically matured GaN from basic material to transistors,
MMICs, Transmit/Receive (T/R) Modules and finally Transmit/Receive
Integrated Multichannel Modules (TRIMMs), enabling game changing
system performance for the DOD.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2013 sales of
$24
billion and 63,000 employees worldwide, is a
technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security
and civil markets throughout the world. With a history of
innovation spanning 92 years, Raytheon provides
state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other
capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command,
control, communications and intelligence systems, as well
as cyber security and a broad range of mission support
services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. For more about Raytheon, visit
us at www.raytheon.com and follow us on Twitter
@Raytheon.
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Media Contact
Donna
Ayer
+1.978.858.1495
idspr@raytheon.com
SOURCE Raytheon Company