Glass-Based Millimeter Wave Antenna Arrays

Mosaic Microsystems has developed a game-changing  RF packaging technology based on the use of thin glass with through-glass vias.  Mosaic has been working with General Electric and AFRL to use this technology for a man-portable Ka band phased array antenna for SOCOM.  Phased array technology provides special operations forces with satellite communications without the need for large parabolic antennas.  Glass is a superior substrate material for RF applications, particularly at millimeter wavelength frequencies, providing improved performance and reduced SWaP-C.  Glass is also more stable under the wide range of environmental conditions found on the battlefield.  Mosaic’s proprietary manufacturing technology allows for the first time thin glass to be processed using standard semiconductor processing equipment.  The base technology uses aluminaborosilicate glass and has been developed for 5G wireless communications.  In Phase I Mosaic will adapt the technology to use fused silica which provides superior performance for demanding defense applications.   Phase-I will also allow Mosaic to work directly with SOCOM to better understand the technical requirements as well as cost, volume, and timing targets.  Phase-I will also be used to allow Mosaic to identify other applications and end users in the DoD with the help of GE, AFRL, L3Harris and Lockheed Martin.