Showing results 1 - 10 of 16 for the search terms: gallium.
Results for "gallium"
DARPA to Take Nitride-based Electronics Research to the NEXT Level
21-Oct-2009 13:10 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, C4ISR, Contracts - Awards, DARPA, Design Innovations, Electronics - General, IT - General, Northrop-Grumman, Other Corporation, R&D - Contracted, Radars, Satellites & Sensors, Science - Basic Research
Big, Hairy, and Audacious
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The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) wants to take research on nitride-based electronic devices and integrated circuits – used in tactical radio systems, phased array radar, and satellite communication – to the next level. Or should we say the NEXT level?
That is the name of their research effort: the Nitride Electronic Next Generation Technology (NEXT) Program. The NEXT program is designed to enable revolutionary advances in nitride electronic devices and integrated circuits resulting in their ability to operate at very high frequencies while maintaining extremely favorable voltage breakdown characteristics.
There’ll be no tweaking of existing technology. On its NEXT Web site, DARPA declares: “Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice.” In other words, only Big, Hairy, Audacious Research need apply…
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Seeing in the Dark: ITT Secures US Army Night Vision Goggle Orders
18-Oct-2009 12:20 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, Delivery & Task Orders, Electronics - General, Equipment - Other, Other Corporation, Soldier's Gear
Through a glass, darkly
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ITT Corp received 2 orders for night vision googles worth a combined $91.3 million from the US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command.
Under the 1st order, an indefinite delivery/ indefinite quantity contract worth $72 millon, ITT will supply its aviator night vision goggles (AN/AVS-6), night vision tubes and spare parts to Army rotary-wing pilots. Under the 2nd order, a $19.3 million delivery order under the OMNI VII night vision contract, ITT will supply AN/PVS-14 night vision monocular goggles to the US Air Force, US Navy, and US Army.
ITT’s night vision goggles use light-amplifying technology that takes a small amount of light and converts it into electrons…
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Northrop Grumman Wins $28.9M Contract for DARPA High-Power Transistor Research
17-Sep-2009 14:21 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, C4ISR, Contracts - Awards, DARPA, Electronics - General, Materials Innovations, Northrop-Grumman, Radars, Science - Basic Research, University-related
Northrop Grumman Space & Mission Systems in Redondo Beach, CA won a $28.9 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to conduct research for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Nitride Electronic Next Generation Technology (NEXT) Program.
The NEXT program is designed to enable revolutionary advances in nitride electronic devices and integrated circuits resulting in their ability to operate at very high frequencies while maintaining extremely favorable voltage breakdown characteristics. DARPA is looking for ways to overcome the limitations of nitride-based electronics technologies, such as gallium nitride (GaN). “GaN: DARPA’s 3-Pronged R&D Strategy” has more on DARPA’s GaN research efforts.
The program aims to develop high-speed, high-power transistors for use in radar and electronic warfare systems…
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Sons of Sa’ar? Israel’s Next Generation Frigates
08-Jul-2009 19:37 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, IT - Software & Integration, Lockheed Martin, Middle East - Israel, R&D - Contracted, RFPs, Radars, Spotlight articles, Surface Ships - Combat, Testing & Evaluation
Saar 5 Eilat Class
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The 1,227t/ 1,350 ton Sa’ar 5 Eilat Class corvettes were built by Northrop Grumman in the 1990s for about $260 million each. It’s a decent performer in a number of roles, from air defense to anti-submarine work, to coastal patrol and special forces support – but a master of none. The Israelis are looking for a next-generation vessel with better high-end capabilities, and the USA is their logical supplier. Given Israel’s size and cost requirements, however, the only American option is their Littoral Combat Ship.
LCS-I components
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The Israelis have a long-standing relationship with Lockheed Martin, and a 2,500-3,000t LCS design with the USA’s swappable mission modules could significantly improve Israel’s ability to conduct anti-submarine warfare and mine neutralization missions. Unfortunately, the weak armament of the USA’s LCS ships is inadequate for the Israelis, who need their ships to be able to engage other naval vessels, and to provide their own air defense. Worse, the American design lacks the flexibility to add meaningful weapons upgrades in future. As a result, the Israelis took a different approach, eliminating the ship’s swappable mission modules in favor of a much more heavily-armed vessel.
Initial studies were conducted in conjunction with Lockheed Martin, leading to an RFP and even an official $1.9 billion DSCA request for Lockheed Martin’s LCS-I design. That would have made Israel the first LCS export customer – but now the Israelis are reportedly backing away from the ship’s high costs, and looking at another solution…
- LCS-I: Details and Rationale [updated]
- Contracts & Key Events [updated]
- Additional Readings & Sources [updated]
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GaN: DARPA’s 3-Pronged R&D Strategy
03-Jun-2009 16:28 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, BAE, Budgets, C4ISR, DARPA, Electronics - General, Materials Innovations, Northrop-Grumman, Other Corporation, Procurement Innovations, R&D - Contracted, Science - Basic Research, Transport & Utility, University-related
Gallium Nitride
DID has reported extensively on research contracts related to Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductors, which offer significantly higher power and performance. Unfortunately, they present manufacturing and cost challenges that have stymied their use in commercial applications.
In May 2005, Compound Semiconductor Magazine offered an excellent overview of the GaN wide-bandgap semiconductors program and DARPA’s goals. Key program objectives include rapid transition of the technology developed into military systems. Other important goals include a “great” improvement in understanding the physical reasons behind device failures and the development of physical models to predict performance, reproducible device and MMIC fabrication processes, and improved thermal management and packaging. Reliability is expected to be a key challenge.
GaN represents an innovation in materials technology. DARPA’s approach adds innovative procurement strategies, via a 3-pronged approach that aims to speed the development of GaN-based microelectronics…
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Floatin’ Smokey: The USA’s SBX Radar
23-Mar-2009 12:33 EDT |
Related Stories: ABM, Americas - USA, Boeing, Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Modifications, Delivery & Task Orders, Design Innovations, Materials Innovations, New Systems Tech, Oceans - International, Other Corporation, R&D - Contracted, Radars, Raytheon, Surface Ships - Other
SBX-1, Pearl Harbor
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As rogue state proliferation by North Korea et. al. made missile defense a growing priority for nations like the USA, Japan, Israel, et. al., the USA began to look at the linchpin of any defense: powerful radars that could both track ballistic missiles, and guide interceptors. The USA has its BMEWS tracking system, but that would not serve. America’s Safeguard ABM system, meanwhile, was dismantled long ago – though Russia still maintains its counterpart System A-135 network around Moscow. Something new would be needed.
Raytheon’s giant XBR radar is a distant relative of the X-band radars used by police to detect speeding drivers, but designed to detect and illuminate incoming missiles instead. It floats on a system resembling an oil drilling platform, and will usually provide long-range mid-course guidance for ballistic missile defense systems. It can also provide earlier guidance if positioned correctly. The Sea-Based X-Band radar (SBX) that uses it was originally planned as a land-based system, but a sea-based system became possible when the George W. Bush administration withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Basing the radar at sea offers numerous advantages. One is the obvious ability to move the radar as threats materialize, allowing much greater coverage with fewer radars. Another is the ability to protect allies, without having to invest in expensive systems whose regional capabilities and value to the USA could be put at risk by the decisions of a single foreign government.
In exchange for this freedom from political interference, of course, the designers must contend with nature’s. This is DID’s FOCUS article for the SBX system, which is linked to Boeing’s land-based GMD missile system but can also operate with other naval and land elements. The radar and system have experienced teething problems, which are not unusual for such new technologies, but the program is now entering a make-or-break phase – along with its GMD partner program…
Breaking Barriers: Raytheon/ONR’s AESLA Radar Project
19-Aug-2008 18:11 EDT |
Related Stories: ABM, Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, Design Innovations, Materials Innovations, R&D - Contracted, Radars, Raytheon
APG-77 AESA Test
AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radars offer a number of improvements over previous-generation technologies. They are more sensitive. They have better operational “uptime” because moving parts are eliminated, and the failure of one module doesn’t take the entire radar off line or leave it useless. They are also far better at handling large numbers of targets. AESA radars can do many things at once by just dedicating groups of transmit/receive (T/R) modules to each task, instead of switching rapidly between targets to simulate multi-tasking. Among other abilities.
The challenge for AESA radars has been cost, specifically the cost of the thousands of individual T/R modules that make up an AESA array. In July 2008, Raytheon produced a release regarding a variant technology called AESLA, an Active Electronically Scanned Lens Array radar. Their approach was aimed at improving the cost of an AESA radar’s T/R modules, a move that could have industry-wide significance if successful.
To find out more, DID talked to Joe Smolko, Raytheon’s program manager for the AESLA effort….
- AESLA: The Imperative, and the Idea
- AESLA: Employment and Uses
- AESLA: Funding and Next Steps
- Additional Readings & Sources
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SiC ‘Em: $6.1M to Superior Graphite to Develop US Manufacturing Sources
13-Mar-2007 05:17 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, Other Corporation, Policy - Procurement, Public Partnering, Support Functions - Other
Silicon Carbide
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Superior Graphite Co. in Chicago, IL received a $6.1 million technology investment agreement with cost-share contract to establish a domestic manufacturing base capable of supplying the DoD with silicon carbide powder. SiC is used as a key substrate for higher-performance, higher-expense Gallium Arsenide semiconductors. It is also a common component in ceramic vehicle armor and some body armors (some US body armors use boron carbide instead, which is lighter but highly toxic to manufacture; China is a major source of supply).
At this time, $3.1 million has been obligated. Solicitations began August 2006, negotiations were complete Jan. 2007, and work will be complete in June 2009. The Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH issued the contract (FA8650-07-2-5308).
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$19.7M to Develop Domestic Manufacturing Capability for SiC Circuit Devices
09-Aug-2005 07:34 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, C4ISR, Contracts - Awards, DARPA, Design Innovations, Electronics - General, Materials Innovations, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, R&D - Contracted, Radars, Raytheon
Silicon Carbide
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Cree Inc., in Durham, NC received a $19.7 million cost share/ technology investment agreement contract. The objective of the subject Technology Investment Agreement is to establish a domestic source to develop a manufacturing capability for Silicon Carbide Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit Devices, for commercial applications and next generation military radar systems. As noted in DID’s summary of DARPA’s research strategy for technlogical advantage through the next-generation semiconductor material Gallium Nitride (GaN), Silicon Carbide (SiC) will be the substrate material of choice for GaN circuits.
Cree was also the recipient of a previous SiC-related research contract, and they are teamed with Raytheon for part of DARPA’s GaN research strategy. Solicitation for this contract began in March 2005, negotiations were completed July 2005, and work will be complete by March 2010. The Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH issued the contract (FA8650-05-2-5507).
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Gallium Nitride Electronics Move to Proof of Concept
08-Aug-2005 10:47 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, Design Innovations, Materials Innovations, New Systems Tech, R&D - Contracted, Radars, Raytheon
Gallium Nitride
DID has covered DARPA research into higher-power Gallium Nitride electronics as a future source of American military advantage. Now Raytheon Co., Tewksbury, MA has won a $10 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to develop and demonstrate a proof of concept of the next generation Transmit/Receive Integrated Multi Channel Module using 28V Gallium Nitride power amplifiers, high efficiency power supplies, and advanced thermal management techniques to implement affordable advanced capability radars.
Work will be performed in Tewksbury, MA (50%) and Andover, MA (50%), and work is expected to be completed August 2008. The contract was competitively procured under a Naval Research Laboratory Broad Agency Announcement (Number 53-05-02). The Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC issued the contract (N00173-05-C-2040).
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