The U.S. Department of Defense has announced that the Southwest Advanced Prototyping Hub (SWAP Hub) based at Arizona State University (ASU) has secured $5.7M in funding through the CHIPS and Science Act for an innovative project led by Alphacore Inc. to advance radio frequency (RF) transceiver technology to improve national defense and commercial capabilities.
This is one of five project awards to the SWAP Hub, part of the CHIPS and Science Act-funded Microelectronics Commons, a network of regional technology hubs. It connects the Southwest — the fastest-growing and largest semiconductor cluster in the United States with more than $100 billion in private investment — to a growing network of defense and electronics partners across the country. The SWAP Hub is one of eight U.S. DOD Microelectronics Commons Hubs across the country dedicated to advancing technology for national security.
The Alphacore-led project aims to create a transceiver integrated on a single microelectronics chip, capable of both communications and sensing functions with novel capabilities for devices using 5G and 6G mobile networks and beyond.
“Combining expertise from Alphacore and its partners, plus resources from the SWAP Hub, ensures the highest quality product and fastest development time possible,” says Esko Mikkola, PhD, CEO of Alphacore. “We look forward to a fruitful collaboration to enhance U.S. national defense.”
Integrating communications and sensing in a single system-on-a-chip increases resource efficiency, optimizes spectrum utilization, reduces latency and improves reliability while reducing the size and cost of transceivers. Integrated circuits (ICs) based on Alphacore’s “Scalable Modular Architecture for RF Transceivers” (SMART) for integrated communication and sensing are optimized to achieve all these goals. Alphacore’s machine learning (ML)-based hybrid digitizer architecture helps tune the IC for exceptional accuracy.
In addition, the chips are designed to tolerate high levels of radiation, as found in outer space, without sacrificing functionality or performance for low-radiation terrestrial environments.
The monolithic IC transceiver will also be one of the first devices to incorporate multi-channel and multiband technology in one system, allowing it to send and receive communications on multiple frequencies and bandwidths simultaneously. The proposed device’s reconfigurable, flexible and scalable architecture will enable it to cover a very wide frequency range of seven to 52 GHz.
The system will also be the first capable of use in either radar or wireless communications technologies, leading to the development of new, more advanced standards.
In addition to the new chip, the project includes designing separate parts that can be used as building blocks for transceivers that the DOD can incorporate into future 5G and 6G communications technology.
Alphacore is collaborating with SWAP Hub members Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMCO), ASU, Rice University and Auburn University on the project. The design team at Alphacore has extensive expertise in designing rugged products for harsh radiation and extreme temperatures, as well as radiation effect evaluations. ASU contributes leading knowledge and abilities in RF integrated circuit design and development and hardware security. Rice and Auburn will be spearheading the development of the wideband transceiver front end along with reconfigurable subsystems.
“Lockheed Martin is committed to advancing domestically produced microelectronics and innovating 21st Century Security capabilities to enhance U.S. national security,” says Valerie Browning, PhD, Lockheed Martin vice president of Research and Technology. “With this collaborative effort to increase access to high-speed and low-power transceiver technology, we are supporting the future of DOD 5G and 6G communications and sensing with innovative solutions, driven by a domestic industry source.”
Krishnendu Chakrabarty, chief technology officer of the SWAP Hub and the Fulton Professor of Microelectronics at ASU, says the collaboration is critical for the field of electronic communications.
“We’re eager to advance national security and push the limits of communications technology through this collaboration with Alphacore,” Chakrabarty says. “This project represents an ideal example of how the SWAP Hub’s collaborative environment advances microelectronics to improve U.S. national defense.”
Work on the project begins in September 2024. Alphacore will continue development toward production of the chips for a wealth of commercial applications, including telecommunication towers/base stations, satellite communication/networks, remote sensing, indoor positioning/navigation, security systems (warehouses, airports, shopping malls, etc.), drone swarms for search and rescue, and many others.
Alphacore will also work closely with LMCO to integrate the chips into DOD programs related to military communications, including Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Electronic Warfare (EW), perimeter defense, and other critical U.S. defense missions.