Raytheon seeks to triple gallium nitride capabilities

Raytheon Company has been awarded an 18-month, $1.8 million contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop next-generation Gallium Nitride devices bonded to diamond substrates. The technology, called Thermally Enhanced Gallium Nitride (TEGaN), seeks to increase the power handling capability of GaN devices by at least three times. TEGaN enables state-of-the-art transistors and monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) to achieve their full performance potential by reducing thermal resistance. TEGaN acts as a multiplier for GaN's unique qualities, which may dramatically reduce the cost, size, weight and power of defense systems. Over the course of the 18-month contract, Raytheon seeks to develop and test TEGaN's capabilities and establish a clear path to technology insertion into military systems.