UK-based Cobham plc (which designs and manufactures equipment, specialized systems and components for the aerospace, defense, energy and electronics industries) has established a strategic partnership to incorporate the gallium nitride (GaN) technology of RFHIC Corp of Anyang-Si, South Korea into its next-generation RF products.
Cobham and RFHIC will jointly develop GaN high-power amplifier (HPA) modules for integration into a prototype 175kW solid-state transmitter. Development activities under this memorandum of agreement will be executed by Cobham Integrated Electronics Solutions, a business unit of Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions (CAES) at its site in Exeter, NH, USA that brings together RF technology and motion control solutions for the integration of high-performance systems.
"GaN-based solid-state transmitter technology is affordable, reliable and scalable, and has a number of advantages over traditional vacuum electronic devices (VED) used in current transmitter designs," notes Bob McArthur, business area VP for Cobham Integrated Electronic Solutions. "Benefits include a significant increase in mean time between critical failure (MTBCF), substantial decreases in operational and sustainment costs, and graceful degradation in the event of hardware failure, as opposed to single point of failure or instantaneous shutdown," he adds.
"Cobham is revolutionizing radar, communication, and EW [electronic warfare] markets with its proprietary solid-state transmitter, using RFHIC's GaN amplifier technology," comments RFHIC's founder & chairman Dr Samuel Cho.
Cobham has developed a 35kW prototype S-band solid-state transmitter for air-traffic control and weather radar applications. RFHIC has a comprehensive product portfolio ranging from discrete components to integrated high-power amplifiers. The firms reckon that their combined expertise will enable further exploration of domestic and international civil and military radar applications for GaN-based solid-state technologies. Additionally, the partnership may help provide offset obligations between Korean military and US Navy contracts. RFHIC has an ITAR-registered and ISO 9001-certified facility in Morrisville, NC, USA to support US military/aerospace customers.
