News: Microelectronics
26 January 2021
CRADA to transfer AFRL’s 0.14μm GaN-on-SiC process to MACOM
MACOM Technology Solutions Inc of Lowell, MA, USA (which designs and makes semiconductors, components and subassemblies for analog RF, microwave, millimeter-wave and photonic applications) has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) regarding gallium nitride-on-silicon carbide (GaN-on-SiC) technology.
AFRL and MACOM will work together to transfer AFRL’s production-ready 0.14μm GaN-on-SiC process to MACOM’s ‘US Trusted Foundry’ (a designation that it is a preferred facility for US defense business, as a registered ITAR facility). Semiconductor experts from both parties will collaborate to support a rapid process transfer to MACOM.
The AFRL GaN-on-SiC process is suitable for monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) products and is capable of achieving what are claimed to be industry-leading frequency and power density performance. Once the process is transferred, MACOM anticipates that it will expand its standard and custom MMIC product offerings.
“This semiconductor process will enable us to enter the microwave and millimetre-wave GaN MMIC market with high-performance products,” says MACOM’s president & CEO Stephen G. Daly. “Our wafer fabrication facility is already well equipped to support GaN, including installed electron-beam lithography capability, so we can bring the process online with minimal capital investment. We intend to service a wide range of commercial and US defense opportunities, including satellite communication systems, as well as land-, air- and sea-based radar systems,” he adds.
“We look forward to MACOM supporting critical US Air Force and Department of Defense requirements with an industrialized and best-in-class GaN semiconductor process,” says Dr Robert Fitch of AFRL Sensors Directorate. “Expanding domestic advanced semiconductor manufacturing is a national priority.”
