. Military Space News .
Northrop Grumman Develops World's Fastest Transistor To Support Military's Need For Higher Frequency And Bandwidth

File image.
by Staff Writers
Redondo Beach CA (SPX) Dec 12, 2007
Northrop Grumman has set a new world record for transistor speed with an ultra-fast device that will provide much higher frequency and bandwidth capabilities for future military communications, radar and intelligence applications. The company has produced and demonstrated an indium phosphide-based High Electron Mobility Transistor (InP HEMT) with a maximum frequency of operation of more than 1,000 gigahertz, or greater than one terahertz.

Researchers at Northrop Grumman's Space Technology sector, led by Richard Lai, detailed how they developed the terahertz-speed transistor in a technical paper delivered at the 2007 International Electron Devices Meeting in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Electron Devices Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.

"This represents, to the best of our knowledge, the state of the art in high frequency transistor capability," according to Dwight Streit, vice president, Technical Development and Microelectronics Technology at the company's Space Technology sector. "These advancements will enable a new generation of military and commercial applications that operate at higher frequencies with improved performance."

The terahertz transistor is the latest generation in a long line of compound semiconductor products that Northrop Grumman has produced by the millions for government and commercial uses, Streit noted. Tests conducted by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., validated the ultra-fast transistor by measuring a three-stage millimeter wave integrated circuit amplifier at 340 gigahertz with greater than 15 decibel gain.

Development of the terahertz-speed InP HEMT was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Sub-millimeter Wave Imaging Focal-plane Technology program, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, and internal company funds. Northrop Grumman has more than 30 years of experience developing advanced semiconductor technologies for space applications.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Read the latest in Military Space Communications Technology at SpaceWar.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Russia launches military satellite: agencies
Moscow (AFP) Dec 9, 2007
Russia successfully launched a military satellite on Sunday from the Baikonur cosmodrome, part of a drive to modernise the armed forces' space infrastructure, Russian news agencies reported.







  • Political power and economic wealth go together in China: researcher
  • Behind the Kitty Hawk spat
  • Euro Thaw Not What It Seems
  • OSCE presidency urges Russia to reconsider arms treaty move

  • US sees Iran threat despite warm words
  • Ahmadinejad slammed for 'letter-writing' foreign policy
  • Ahmadinejad says US Iran report positive step
  • Iran restarted nuclear weapons program in 2004: dissident

  • Lockheed Martin-built Trident II D5 Missile Achieves Record 120 Successful Test Launches In A Row
  • Iran builds new longer-range missile
  • India tests SAM missile near Pakistan border: officials
  • Asymmetrical Iskander Missile Systems

  • US, Russian missile defense experts to meet
  • Iran NIE Hurts BMD Say Some Analysts
  • Whitehouse Says Iran Report Will Have No Impact On Missile Shield Plans
  • Kuwait - PAC-3 Missiles, PAC-2 Missiles To GEM-T And PATRIOT System Upgrade

  • California urges regulation on aircraft emissions
  • Announcement Of Opportunity For Sounding Rocket And Balloon Flights
  • China to order up to 150 Airbus jets during Sarkozy visit: report
  • Time Magazine Recognizes The X-48B

  • EuroControl Outlines Specifications For Use Of UAVs In European Airspace
  • Flying Fish Unmanned Aircraft Takes Off And Lands On Water
  • Teal Predicts UAV Market Will Reach Nearly 55 Billion Dollars Over Next Decade
  • AFRL And Boeing Demonstrate That UAVs Can Perform Automated Aerial Refueling

  • Military Matters: Insurgency patterns
  • Gates warns of Iran threat to US and Mideast
  • Sadr's strategy makes for more peace in Iraq
  • Cooperation helps pacify Hit

  • Raytheon To Provide Surveillance Systems To NATO
  • Thompson Files: USAF airlift options
  • Northrop Grumman KC-30 Tanker Aerial Refueling Boom System Completes Contact With An F-16
  • Outside View: Russia's super sea bombers

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement