The global market for next-generation telecommunications systems (B5G, 6G) demands products with higher speeds, better energy efficiency and sufficient power output. The project aims to meet these needs by developing and industrializing next-generation semiconductor technologies (SiGe BiCMOS for ST, RF GaN for UMS) and the associated integrated circuit design and characterization environments. Innovative analog and digital RF integrated circuits will be designed with the technologies developed and integrated as ‘FEM’ modules of innovative telecommunications system demonstrators. New assembly techniques that can solve RF signal integrity and heat dissipation issues, or greatly simplify RF systems, will also be explored. Demonstrators of innovative telecommunications systems will be developed (10 demonstrators; by NOKIA, SAFRAN, SIAE, and other partners), to validate new semiconductor and assembly technologies, on use cases envisaged for wireless B5G/6G networks (more particularly for network access and network trunks), very high-speed optical networks, and Earth observation and satellite telecommunications. The SHIFT consortium brings together players covering the entire value chain of these telecommunications applications, from laboratories to manufacturers, thus guaranteeing the highest scientific level and the possibility of validating the work carried out on suitable demonstrators. Activities will include environmental and economic impact assessments.

The GENGHIS KhAN project proposes to develop new AlInN/GaN WGB technology for millimeter wave applications dedicated to satellite communications. In the RF business, GaN HEMT is now ready to challenge Si LDMOS and GaAs pHEMT in the telecommunication base stations market (3G, 4G, WiMAX...). With devices reaching 150W @ 6GHz under 48V bias, the GaN technology could be implemented within the 2 millions deployed mobile phone base stations and emerging WiMAX infrastructures. Nevertheless, developments are still on going to widen the market of WBG technologies toward high frequency. Researches and developments are ongoing from X-band (8 GHz) up to E band (90 GHz) in Europe (UMS, SELEX SI), Japan (FUJISTU, NEC, Matsushita Electric Industrial) and in the United States (TRIQUINT, RFMD, CREE, RAYTHEON, HRL, NORTHROP GRUMMAN…). This proposal is focused on the evaluation and development of a new generation of wide band gap (WBG) GaN technology for high frequency operation. This project will take advantage of the new lattice-matched AlInN/GaN heterostructure, which shows evidences of better frequency performances than other components. The main technologies, which can be used today for solid-state microwave power generation, are based on silicon (Si), gallium arsenide (GaAs), and AlGaN/GaN. Considering 10W output power target, the operation frequency cut-offs of those different technologies are roughly 4GHz, 10GHz and 18GHz respectively. The new AlInN/GaN heterostructure was pioneered by Europe through the EU programs “ULTRAGAN” (Future Emerging Technology STREP - FP6, c.f. http://www.ultragan.eu/ ) and “MORGAN” (NMP - IP - FP7, c.f. http://www.morganproject.eu/ ) , both projects being lead by Alcatel Thales III-V Lab. Those projects improved drastically the reputation of the European research in GaN for microelectronics, thanks to disruptive results, with the demonstrations of 10W/mm at 10GHz with power added efficiency (PAE) of 56%, 13W/mm at 3.5GHz with PAE up to 70%, and 4.3W/mm with 43% PAE at 18GHz. These PAE are impressive; they were not expected few years ago for nitrides. Moreover it was also demonstrated an incredible thermal stability never observed previously for any other transistor type with electrical operation at temperatures of 800°C for hundreds of hours.

Our society is on the brink of a new age with the development of new visionary concepts such as internet of things, smart cities, autonomous driving and smart industries. This stimulates the use of the millimetre-wave frequencies up to 100 GHz to support much higher data rates and to increase the capacity of mobile wireless communication systems. For achieving this, new system concepts such as Distributed Massive Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (DM-MIMO) in which instead of a single base-station, the cell is covered by multiple remote antenna stations, all connected to a central unit. To overcome existing limitations, such as poor power efficiency and poor signal quality, we propose to investigate an innovative antenna system concept utilizing both silicon and III-V semiconductor technologies, advanced signal processing concepts and radio-over-fibre interconnect between a central unit and the remote antenna stations. As current doctoral trainings are lagging behind in training researchers with the right skillset to resolve future wireless communication challenges, an EID is urgently needed. MyWAVE establishes a unique and well-structured training network with leading R&D labs from European industries, universities and technology institutes in the domain of wireless infrastructure and proven track-record in joint collaborations. The 15 ESRs will form a research team that is embedded in leading industrial and academic R&D labs. The programme will strongly enhance the employability and career prospects of the ESRs by offering a high-quality consortium with in-depth training in the technical areas as well as a comprehensive set of transferable skills relevant for innovation and long-term employability. The ESRs will all spend at least 18 months of their time at industry, ensuring that the training includes a significant industrial experience and application know-how. MyWAVE will result in a structural European Graduate School program organised by the consortium.

Telecom infrastructures are based on various standards using different modulation schemes (PSK, QPSK…..) characterized by a Peak to Average signal Ratio (PAR) which can reach 10.5dB for W-CDMA modulation. The expected 4G standards (Evolved UMTS and WiMax) are operating OFDM multiplexing technology which presents the advantage to be robust but leads to increase the PAR in parallel. Combining stronger electric performances requirement (linearity and RF power) and the economical constraint of the zero defect, it is evident that the reliability of power amplifier appears to be a crucial aspect. UMS, main industrial actor in the field of microwave electronic components and circuits, intends to industrialize GaN based power component covering such telecom applications. Wide band gap technologies represent the corner stone for the next generation of telecommunication systems and such development is critical to maintain independence and industrial competitiveness in Europe. The technological process maturity is a key factor to reach reliability requirement. This explains why the purpose of this project is the development of a specific and dedicated methodology for characterization and physical analysis of GaN technologies. The ReaGaN project clearly aims at supporting the industrialization of GaN technologies. This requires a deeper understanding of the physical mechanisms taking place in GaN devices as well as the investigation of material properties and their evolution during the process as they determines the resulting performances of the amplifier. To reach this end, new analysis techniques dedicated to Wide Band Gap semiconductor technologies have still to be improved or developed. These analytical techniques include electrical diagnostics as well as physical and structural characterization techniques. In particular, it is expected that the correlation of the results given by electrical and physical techniques proposed and used in this project will lead to the identification, characterisation and localization of nano-structural defects and physical mechanisms taking place in GaN technologies and potentially responsible for degradation. During this project, devices issued from the evaluation and qualification of UMS processes will be analyzed in significant details. UMS is currently developing two GaN technologies built on SiC substrate for high thermal properties: Power bar GH50, and Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) GH25 technologies based on 0.5µm and 0.25µm gate length transistor respectively. During this project, specific devices or structures will be procured to the consortium partners to investigate particular processing options of the technology (eg gate module, passivation, epistructure …). The life tests of the devices will be performed in the frame of UMS internal projects. The comparative analysis of different processing steps will provide important and pertinent information to support the step-up of the GH25 and GH50 technologies from one generation to the next one. The complementarities between techniques will be demonstrated as a proof of the existing interaction between electrical transport properties, light characteristic and material structural properties. This project involves three academic partners (IMS UMR CNRS, LAAS UPR CNRS, LEPMI UMR CNRS) and three companies (UMS, TRT, SERMA). The project duration isof three years.