LOS ANGELES – April 25, 2008. HRL Laboratories, LLC, announced today it will spearhead the development of a new millimeter-wave-amplifier technology that will revolutionize communications and Radar capabilities for the U.S. Navy and Marines. Development of the technology, funded by the Office of Naval Research, will address the Military's needs for more powerful radio-frequency amplifiers to enhance surveillance, reconnaissance, communications, all-weather radar, and electronic targeting.

“The goal of HRLs groundbreaking program is to develop a 94-GHz W-band power amplifier that will expand the state of the art for radio-frequency power by 1,000 percent,” said Dr. Miroslav Micovic, Senior Scientist and Manager of the Heteroepitaxial Materials and Devices Laboratory at HRL. “The amplifier will be lighter, more efficient, less expensive, and more easily deployed than current solid-state technologies.”

“With a greater emphasis on urban warfare, future surveillance systems must be able to image ground activities in ‘urban canyons—between the buildings that make up the city landscape,” Micovic explained. “Synthetic aperture radars, or SARs, are limited by the occlusion of tall buildings at conventional microwave frequencies.”

The resolution of a synthetic aperture is proportional to “dwell time” (the time a target is kept in view) and frequency. In the urban landscape, dwell time is fixed by the short time period an aircraft flying over the urban canyon has a line of sight to the street. “Given a fixed dwell time, the only way to get improved resolution is to operate at a higher frequency and higher power,” Micovic said. “For SARs used in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or helicopters, operation at 95 GHz will provide a ten-fold improvement in resolution versus current operation in the X-band.”

HRL scientists propose to use innovative Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology to exploit W-band (75 to 110 GHz) capabilities, resulting in higher resolution radar imagery and increased communication ranges. A ten-fold increase in transmitting power will result in a 300-percent increase in communication operating ranges and a 70-percent increase in radar capabilities. “The technology will make available a new class of radars to missile seekers, helicopters, and UAVs. These radars may also have applications for air defense, ballistic missile defense, and ground surveillance,” Micovic added.

HRL is not new to GaN-based W-band applications. In 2006, HRL first demonstrated the potential of GaN technology in W-band by demonstrating a three-stage integrated circuit with advanced performance capabilities. HRL has developed a GaN device and fabrication process specifically designed for operation at W-band frequencies.

HRL Laboratories, LLC, Malibu, California, is a corporate R&D laboratory owned by The Boeing Company and General Motors. HRL provides custom research and development and performs additional R&D contract services for its LLC Members, the U.S. government, and other commercial entities.