DMC Convergence Research Group Localizes AESA Radar Components
Development of two types of AESA gallium nitride power amplifier chips
Equivalent in performance to commercial products from the US and EU, but smaller in volume.


Domestic researchers have succeeded in localizing key components for radar.

The National Research Council of Science and Technology (NST) DMC Convergence Research Group announced on the 28th that it has developed gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor power amplifier integrated circuit (MMIC) technology, a core component of AESA radar.

The AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar, which is installed on the latest fighter jets, can quickly and accurately detect the distance, location, and shape of a target thanks to thousands of transmitting and receiving modules attached to the front of the radar.

The transmit/receive module integrates switches, power amplifiers (PAs), and low-noise amplifiers (LNAs). Last year, the research team developed switch MMIC technology for transmitters and receivers, and this year, they successfully developed PA MMIC technology for X-band (8-12 GHz) and Ku-band (12-18 GHz) radar transmitters and receivers.

PA is a device that amplifies the transmission signal to enable smooth signal processing and target detection and tracking. As radars are changing from vacuum tube amplifier (TWTA) type to semiconductor PA (SSPA) type, PA MMIC has emerged as an essential technology for domestic production of semiconductor PA.

This development is expected to contribute to the development of the domestic defense industry by enabling the domestic production and performance improvement of AESA radar and seeker in preparation for export restrictions on military semiconductors.

The X-band PA can deliver 25W of output power, a bandwidth of 2GHz, and a maximum efficiency of 40%, while the Ku-band PA can deliver 20W of output power, a bandwidth of 2GHz, and a maximum efficiency of 30%. By using GaN GaAs (gallium arsenide), which is suitable for high-power PA components, it secures an output power that is more than 10 times higher than conventional GaAs materials and excellent signal conversion efficiency. Since the signal can be amplified significantly with fewer components, it enables not only a lighter radar but also more accurate target detection.

The PA chip developed by the research team has similar performance to commercial products in the US and Europe, but is smaller, making it advantageous for commercialization. The X-band chip volume is 3.5×3.6×0.1mm, which is 60% of the European product. The Ku-band chip size is 3.1×3.6×0.1mm, which is approximately 23% smaller than the US product.

“For the first time in Korea, we have secured high-power PA and switch MMIC technology with our own design and process technology,” said Lim Jong-won, a senior researcher at ETRI and head of the DMC Convergence Research Group. “This technology will help expand our country’s defense technology and respond to small, medium, and large-scale issues.”

In the future, the DMC Convergence Research Group plans to transfer technology to related industries and support commercialization, while also conducting reliability tests to meet military component performance requirements. In addition, by 2022, we plan to conduct follow-up research on a single-chip MMIC for transmitting and receiving that integrates switches, PAs, and LNA MMICs for C-/X-/Ku-bands into a single chip based on this technology.