GaAs ICs for new defense systems offer speed and radiation hardness benefits

In connection with rapid technical growth affecting the world of electronic warfare (EW), it will be necessary to design both electronic support measure and electronic countermeasure systems with improved algorithms and processing techniques. The designs will have to be implemented with higher speed electronic components. It is pointed out that the performance advantages of GaAs integrated circuits, particularly in the area of speed, make this technology the prime candidate for satisfying next generation wideband signal and data processing system requirements. GaAs digital integrated circuits offer advantages in speed, power dissipation, radiation hardness, and operating temperature range. Activities to reduce electron transit time for the improvement of device speed are focused on second generation GaAs devices referred to as heterostructures, since they consist of two different material systems, GaAs and AlGaAs. New developments related to the use of GaAs ICs are reviewed.