Raytheon, an RTX subsidiary, this week announced a three-year, two-phase contract from DARPA to develop foundational ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors (UWBGS) based on diamond and aluminum nitride technology. These semiconductors could revolutionize semiconductor electronics, increasing power delivery and thermal management in sensors and other applications.
During phase one of the contract, the Raytheon Advanced Technology team will develop diamond and aluminum nitride semiconductor films and integrate them into electronic devices. Phase two will optimize and mature the diamond and aluminum nitride technology onto larger-diameter wafers for sensor applications.
According to the company, Raytheon has previous experience developing similar materials for Department of Defense systems, like Gallium Arsenide and Gallium Nitride.
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The unique material properties of UWBGS offer several advantages over traditional semiconductor technologies, enabling highly compact, ultra-high power radio frequency switches, limiters, and power amplifiers. Their high thermal conductivity also allows the ability to operate at higher temperatures and in more extreme environments.
The team’s goal is to spearhead the development of these materials towards devices that are well suited for both existing and future radar and communication systems with extended capability and range, including cooperative sensing, electronic warfare, directed energy, and circuitry in high-speed weapon systems such as hypersonics.
Work on this contract will take place at Raytheon’s foundry in Andover, Massachusetts.
According to a recent report from the Congressional Research Service, a public policy research institute, the U.S. has actively pursued the development of hypersonic weapons—anything that travels Mach 5 or faster—since the early 2000s.
Keeping pace with weapons are countermeasures for hypersonic threats. Last week, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency picked Northrop Grumman to develop a first-of-its-kind defensive countermeasure against hypersonic missile threats.
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