BAE SYSTEMS Team Achieves Record Digital Circuit Speed.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers NASHUA, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 14, 2004 A team led by BAE Systems BAE Systems British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, naval vessels, and other aerospace and defense products. BAE Systems was formed (1999) from the merger of British Aerospace (BAe) with Marconi Electronic Systems. has developed a next-generation transistor technology that improves speed, integration density and power consumption for solid state integrated circuits Integrated circuits Miniature electronic circuits produced within and upon a single semiconductor crystal, usually silicon. Integrated circuits range in complexity from simple logic circuits and amplifiers, about 1/20 in. (1. . The team, composed of BAE Systems Information and Electronic Warfare Systems (IEWS IEWS Intelligence, Electronic Warfare, and Sensors IEWS Integrated Electronic Warfare System IEWS Integrated Electronic Warfare Suite IEWS Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Surveillance IEWS Intelligence & Electronic Warfare System ), Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Early years: 1867-1880 The Morrill Act of 1862 granted each state in the United States a portion of land on which to establish a major public state university, one which could teach agriculture, mechanic arts, and military training, "without excluding other scientific , recently demonstrated a circuit with a clock frequency of 152 GHz - an industry record for static frequency divider circuits. The indium phosphide phosphide Any of a class of chemical compounds in which phosphorous is combined with a metal. Phosphides exhibit a wide variety of chemical and physical properties. Phosphides that are rich in metal have high melting points and are hard, brittle, and chemically inert; these (InP) heterojunction bipolar transistor The heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) is an improvement of the bipolar junction transistor (BJT) that can handle signals of very high frequencies up to several hundred GHz. It is common in modern ultrafast circuits, mostly radio-frequency (RF) systems. (HBT HBT Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor HBT HyCult Biotechnology (Uden, The Netherlands) HBT Hanbury-Brown-Twiss (interferometer) HBT Herring Bone Twill HBT Heflex Bioengineering Test ) was developed under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), U.S. government agency administered by the Department of Defense (see Defense, United States Department of). (DARPA DARPA: see Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) The name given to the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency during the 1980s. It was later renamed back to ARPA. ) Technology for Frequency Agile Digitally Synthesized Transmitters (TFAST) program. The Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, Md., has principal oversight of the program. Dr. John Zolper, DARPA program manager and deputy director, Microsystems Technology Office, said, "The demonstration of a 152 GHz static divider is a key milestone in developing circuit technology for establishing a new class of high-performance mixed-signal circuits for the Department of Defense." DARPA's TFAST program seeks to significantly improve InP HBT micro-circuit performance and, at the same time, lower power consumption. Higher performance at lower power in more highly integrated packages will benefit DoD RF systems where limited weight and power requirements are crucial. "This is another piece to the technology puzzle that will be used to develop the next-generation of miniature digital receivers and exciters that are needed for future strike, surveillance, and electronic attack missions," said Frank Stroili, BAE Systems technology development manager. "For example, this technology will enable the development of new subsystems such as low cost in-combat programmable electronic warfare (EW) jammers, expendable surveillance sensors, and frequency agile software radios for secure communications," he said. Vitesse developed the VIP-2(TM) InP HBT process used to manufacture the new, high-speed circuits designed by BAE Systems engineers. Research performed by the University of Illinois University of Illinois may refer to:
Using Vitesse's VIP-2 semiconductor process, BAE Systems engineers designed the high-speed divider circuit and achieved the record breaking 150 GHz static operation. "This accomplishment is both a significant technology breakthrough and an example of a successful partnership among DARPA, Tri-Services, industry, and academia," said Aaron Penkacik, BAE Systems vice president of Advanced Systems and Technology and Chief Technical Officer in Nashua, N.H. BAE Systems received the $5.9 million DARPA contract in 2002. BAE Systems is an international company engaged in the development, delivery, and support of advanced defense and aerospace systems in the air, on land, at sea, and in space. BAE Systems Information & Electronic Warfare Systems is a major producer of aircraft self-protection systems and tactical surveillance and intelligence systems for all branches of the armed forces. Other major business areas include microwave, mission and space electronics; infrared imaging; and automated mission planning systems. To obtain additional information about us, visit "What's News" at: www.iews.na.baesystems.com. |
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