Work on DOD semiconductor to continue

Raytheon Co. won a $7 million follow-on contract from the Office of Naval Research to continue work on a project to develop a new semiconductor for the Defense Department.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is funding the project. This is the second phase of the Compound Semiconductor Materials on Silicon program.

"The COSMOS program focuses on integrating high-performance compound semiconductors, such as Indium phosphide or Gallium arsenide, with low-cost silicon transistors to achieve superior cost benefits and performance than what is available today," said Michael Del Checcolo, vice president of engineering for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. "These technological advances allow us to provide more complex and highly sophisticated solutions for our warfighters."

During phase two of the project, Raytheon's team will design and fabricate high-speed, low-power consumption digital-to-analog converters whose performance cannot be realized with today's existing semiconductor technology, according to Raytheon.

Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems is partnering with Raytheon Systems Limited, Glenrothes, Scotland; Soitec, Bernin, France; Teledyne Scientific Imaging Company, Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.; Paradigm Research LLC, Windham, N.H.; IQE, Bethlehem, Pa.; and Silicon Valley Technology Center, San Jose, Calif.