MANUFACTURING COST ANALYSIS - GALLIUM ARSENIDE MMIC FOR PHASE ARRAY RADAR TRANSMIT/RECEIVER MODULES

MMIC YIELD IS THE SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN DETERMINING BOTH CHIP COST AND LEVEL OF INTEGRATION. IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE YIELD, IT IS NECESSARY TO ESTABLISH A CONSISTENT, REPRODUCIBLE PROCESS CONTROL, COUPLED WITH CREATIVE CIRCUIT DESIGN TECHNIQUES USED TO CREATE SHIP SETS WHICH ARE TOLERANT TO PROCESS VARIATIONS. A LARGE PROPORTION OF THE FINAL COST FOR THE END PRODUCT IS RELATED TO THE ASSEMBLY AND FINAL TESTING. THIS EXPLORATORY STUDY WILL CONDUCT COST ANALYSIS RESEARCH ON COMPUTER ASSISTED TECHNIQUES THAT WILL HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON THE YIELDS AND HENCE, COSTS AT VARIOUS MONITOR POINTS DURING THE MANUFACTURE, ASSEMBLY AND TESTING OF MMICS. AN X-BAND PHASE ARRAY RADAR CHIP SET WILL BE UTILIZED AS A TEST VEHICLE FOR THIS STUDY. DIRECT COST AND YIELD COMPARISONS WILL BE CONDUCTED AGAINST AN EQUIVALENT MIC FABRICATION.