Hitting back at China: how the US will get innovative electronics for the military

China controls most of the supply of gallium, today's best semiconductor material, but it could be replaced by artificial diamonds and aluminum.

The US Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has tasked Raytheon ( RTX ) with developing new types of semiconductors in response to restrictions from China. RTX announced this on its official website.

The company signed a three-year contract with DARPA to develop fundamental ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors (UWBGS) based on artificial diamonds and aluminum nitride. Such technologies are expected to “revolutionize” semiconductor electronics by improving power and thermal management in sensors and other electronic devices.

Raytheon added that the UWBGS material has unique properties that enable the creation of very compact , but at the same time very powerful radio frequency switches, limiters, power amplifiers. Another plus — high thermal conductivity so that devices can work in more extreme conditions.

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The main task of the team — to create devices that can be used in existing and future radar and communication systems with enhanced capabilities and range. They are going to be used for cooperative sensing, electronic warfare, directed energy and circuitry in high-velocity weapons systems such as hypersonics.

During the first phase of the contract, the Raytheon Advanced Technology team will develop semiconductor films from diamond and aluminum nitride and integrate them into electronic devices. The second phase involves optimizing and refining diamond and aluminum nitride technology on larger diameter wafers.

“This is a significant step forward that will once again revolutionize semiconductor technology,” said Colin Whelan, Raytheon's president of Advanced Technology.< /p>

According to Tom's Hardware modern power ICs and RF amplifiers use wide-bandgap semiconductor materials such as gallium nitride (GaN).China controls a huge share of gallium supplies and in 2023 introduced restrictions on gallium exports, which carries risks for the US.

Gallium nitride is already the best material for high-power and high-frequency semiconductor chips. , higher power and durability.However, it is a new material for semiconductor manufacturing and it is difficult to set up mass production. Aluminum nitride (AlN) has an even wider band gap, making it even more suitable for such applications.