TriQuint’s GaN Expertise Will Help AFRL Develop 2 New Modules to Extend the Range, Abilities of Air Force Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
Defense News: HILLSBORO, Ore. & RICHARDSON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TriQuint Semiconductor (NASDAQ: TQNT - News), a leading RF product manufacturer and foundry services provider, today announced that it has been awarded a contract by the US Air Force Research Laboratories (AFRL) to develop new Gallium Nitride (GaN) modules for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). TriQuint’s new GaN devices will extend the range and capabilities of UAVs that are used for reconnaissance missions over Afghanistan, Iraq and other regions.TriQuint’s new modules will include 20 Watt and 50 Watt devices. A challenging aspect of the program includes fitting new 20 Watt amplifiers into the same space now occupied by the fleet’s existing 1 Watt devices that limit the range and broadcast power of the aircraft.
“We’re very pleased to be working with the Air Force again,” said TriQuint Program Manager, Doug Cole. “The contract is particularly interesting since we need to increase the power of one device 20-fold without increasing the size. We’re using our proven 0.25-micron Gallium Nitride process since it offers excellent power density and ruggedness—key requirements for avionic applications.”
By increasing the output power of RF amplifiers in the UAVs, TriQuint will measurably increase the vehicles’ operational range and mission effectiveness, allowing new UAVs to serve in areas and under conditions that were impossible for their predecessors. TriQuint’s more efficient GaN devices will also reduce the need for thermal mitigation and extend battery life in each vehicle. As estimated by the AFRL, more efficient amplifiers like TriQuint’s can extend UAV patrol time from one to three hours depending on the aircraft involved, payload and other operational conditions.
TriQuint is developing both the 20 Watt and 50 Watt devices using in-house resources including complete module fabrication. TriQuint designs and builds both integrated and multi-chip modules (MCMs) at its Richardson, TX facility, offering customers the added assurance that all resources needed for GaN or Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) programs are available in a single, domestic location.
Mr. Cole indicated TriQuint was chosen by the AFRL for the UAV amplifier contract based on the company’s detailed plan to meet the Laboratories’ accelerated development schedule. Other factors included results from TriQuint’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Wide Bandgap Semiconductor (WBGS) RF GaN program, in which TriQuint led Phase II and is leading Phase III. TriQuint also leads a DARPA contract for highly-advanced MMIC development using Gallium Nitride technology in the Nitride Electronic NeXt-Generation Technology (NEXT) program.
The Air Force UAV program is divided into two primary phases. The initial phase includes developing appropriate high-power GaN amplifier MMICs. This will be followed by the integration of MMIC amplifiers and other components into single packages to provide 20 Watt and 50 Watt Ku-band power amplifiers. TriQuint is on track to deliver the first amplifier MMIC by August 2010. The first 50 Watt prototype packaged assembly high power amplifier (HPA) will be delivered in April 2011.
TriQuint is a leading manufacturer of high-performance, highly-reliable integrated circuits for defense and aerospace applications including phased array radar, communications satellites, guidance, control and related systems. TriQuint became a DoD Category 1A ‘Trusted Foundry’ for GaAs devices in 2008. For more information about TriQuint Semiconductor, visit www.triquint.com; register for defense and aerospace product updates and our newsletter at: www.triquint.com/rf.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. (Nasdaq: TQNT - News) press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. The cautionary statements made in this press release should be read as being applicable to all related statements wherever they appear. Statements containing such words as ‘leading’, ‘exceptional’, ‘high efficiency’, ‘key role’, ‘leading supplier’, or similar terms are considered to contain uncertainty and are forward-looking statements. A number of factors affect TriQuint’s operating results and could cause its actual future results to differ materially from any results indicated in this press release or in any other forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, TriQuint including, but not limited to: those associated with the unpredictability and volatility of customer acceptance of and demand for our products and technologies, the ability of our production facilities and those of our vendors to meet demand, the ability of our production facilities and those of our vendors to produce products with yields sufficient to maintain profitability, as well as the other “Risk Factors” set forth in TriQuint’s most recent 10-Q report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This and other reports can be found on the SEC web site, www.sec.gov. A reader of this release should understand that these and other risks could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations expressed / implied in forward-looking statements.
FACTS ABOUT TRIQUINT
TriQuint Semiconductor (NASDAQ: TQNT - News) celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2010 as a leading global provider of innovative RF solutions and foundry services for the world’s leading communications, defense and aerospace companies. People and organizations around the world need real-time, all-the-time connections; TriQuint products help reduce the cost and increase the performance of connected mobile devices and the networks that deliver critical voice, data and video communications. With the industry’s broadest technology portfolio, recognized R&D leadership, and expertise in high-volume manufacturing, TriQuint creates standard and custom products using gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride (GaN), surface acoustic wave (SAW) and bulk acoustic wave (BAW) technologies. The company has ISO9001-certified manufacturing facilities in the U.S., production in Costa Rica, and design centers in North America and Germany. For more information, visitwww.triquint.com.
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