MEMtronics Receives Missile Defense Agency Contract For Microwave Phase Shifter Components

MEMtronics Corporation recently announced it has received a development contract from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) entitled "High-Power X-Band MEMS Phase Shifters."

The 24-month, $1.25M contract is the second phase of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project sponsored by the Department of Defense. The project's focus is development and demonstration of microwave phase shifters suitable for integration into electronically scanned antennas for military radar and communications systems.

"These circuits take advantage of MEMtronics' developments in radio frequency microelectromechanical systems (RF MEMS) technology, which have been demonstrated to operate with lower loss, less power consumption, and improved linearity compared to conventional electronics technology," said Dr. Chuck Goldsmith, MEMtronics president. "We will provide advances in design, manufacturing, and packaging necessary for the demonstration of low loss, high power phase shifters that operate in the X-band frequency range of the electromagnetic spectrum."

This contract is the second phase of a previous SBIR award by MDA that MEMtronics successfully completed last year. This phase of the program will build upon last year's development to produce working prototypes with the necessary form, fit, and function for integration into radar systems.

"The phase shifters being developed during the course of this program will be important components for next-generation military phased array antennas, having applicability to both radar and communications systems," added Goldsmith. "These advances in phase shifter performance will enable phased array antenna system architectures that significantly reduce expensive electronic component count and greatly reduce hardware costs."

About MEMtronics Corporation
MEMtronics is a privately-held company focused on the commercialization of RF micromachined switch technology. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, MEMtronics is developing integrated RF MEMS components such as phase shifters and tunable filters. Target systems include military and commercial communications and radar systems in the microwave and millimeter-wave frequency ranges.

SOURCE: MEMtronics Corporation