Defense Industry Daily has done a number of recent articles on R&D around Gallium Nitride semiconductors. The Boston Globe places these developments in a competitive context, noting the commercial advantages that various players in the defense industry stand to gain if they can make breakthroughs in this area.
Darpa’s research chiefs have identified gallium nitride as a critical material for future military applications not only in radar, but also in air-to-ground, air-to-satellite, and ground-to-ground communications systems. The technology is also useful in electronic warfare that involves protecting signals and jamming enemy signals. Nevertheless, improving the reliability of the materials and guaranteeing the availability of high-quality substrates for gallium nitride semiconductors offers significant technical challenges.