RFHIC Selected for Domestic Development Project of Gallium Nitride Semiconductor Integrated Circuits

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] RFHIC announced on the 3rd that it has been selected for the X-band Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductor integrated circuit localization project, conducted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of National Defense to foster defense industry materials, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang) companies.

The X-band Gallium Nitride semiconductor ultra-high frequency integrated circuit (GaN MMIC) is a core component applied to radars installed on KF-X (Korean Fighter eXperimental) and other platforms.

RFHIC, a domestic leader in Gallium Nitride (GaN) related businesses, will serve as the general project manager to lead stable project execution, while SK Siltron will participate in the production of silicon carbide (SiC) substrates and Gallium Nitride (GaN) epitaxial (Epi) layers. LIG Nex1 will be involved in system production and verification, completing the SoBuJang supply chain necessary for the project's success.

Only the United States and China have established a Gallium Nitride supply chain (GaN Supply Chain) from SiC materials to systems. Among them, the company explains that the U.S. is the only country that has succeeded in commercialization.

Since this project applies semiconductor fine processes, localization is possible not only for X-band but also for Ku-band and Ka-band, making it applicable to 5th generation (5G) communication equipment and satellite communications, which will expand to 28GHz.

According to market research firm Markets and Markets, the global MMIC market size combining X-band, Ku-band, and Ka-band is expected to grow about twofold from $2.3 billion in 2019 to $4.4 billion in 2024 over five years.

An RFHIC official stated, "We will definitely succeed by closely cooperating with domestic large corporations, SMEs, and ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute) on the core source technology projects promoted by the government," adding, "We will also secure export competitiveness."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.