Qorvo® Awarded Air Force Contract to Accelerate GaN Design, Performance and Reliability

Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) contract aims to reduce modeling and simulation costs in next-generation defense and commercial systems

GREENSBORO, N.C., Nov. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Qorvo^® (Nasdaq:QRVO), a leading provider of innovative RF solutions that connect the world, today announced it has been awarded a four-year contract by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to develop and implement a physics-based, unified gallium nitride (GaN) modeling framework to accelerate the design of GaN devices.

GaN’s superior power density and ability to deliver higher output power and efficiency – including at millimeter wave frequencies – make it the semiconductor technology of choice for radar, electronic warfare and communication systems for defense and commercial applications.

Qorvo, the leading supplier of GaN devices to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), will lead a group of industry and university organizations to create a single tool that unifies physics modeling and device modeling to provide powerful predictive capabilities. The tool will allow circuit designers to make performance and reliability trade-offs at the design stage, which is not currently possible.

This new capability will significantly reduce the number of design-build-test iterations, enhance reliability, and achieve reductions in cost and delivery times for capabilities critical to the Air Force, DoD and commercial industries.

James Klein, president of Qorvo’s Infrastructure and Defense Products business, said, “This award enables the Air Force to leverage Qorvo’s nearly 20 years of expertise developing the industry’s most reliable, highest-performing GaN process. We are proud to be selected by the Air Force to develop this new modeling and simulation tool, which will accelerate advanced GaN designs for mission-critical applications even as it reduces costs.”

As the prime contractor on the Engineering Predictable Behavior into GaN Devices Foundational Engineering Problem (FEP) contract, Qorvo will head a team that includes Modelithics, Inc., the University of Padua, NI AWR, HRL and the University of Colorado-Boulder. Delivery of the final, unified modeling framework is expected during 2022.

About Qorvo

Qorvo (Nasdaq:QRVO) makes a better world possible by providing innovative Radio Frequency (RF) solutions at the center of connectivity. We combine product and technology leadership, systems-level expertise and global manufacturing scale to quickly solve our customers' most complex technical challenges. Qorvo serves diverse high-growth segments of large global markets, including advanced wireless devices, wired and wireless networks and defense radar and communications.  We also leverage unique competitive strengths to advance 5G networks, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and other emerging applications that expand the global framework interconnecting people, places and things. Visit to learn how Qorvo connects the world.

Qorvo is a registered trademark of Qorvo, Inc. in the U.S. and in other countries.

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