Toshiba Introduces Ka-Band High Power GaN MMIC

June 20, 2012

New Chip Targeted to SATCOM


MONTREAL, — 2012 INTERNATIONAL MICROWAVE SYMPOSIUM, Booth #2710  Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC*) and its parent company, Toshiba Corp., today announced a Ka-Band High Power gallium nitride (GaN) microwave monolithic integrated circuit (MMIC) featuring one of the highest power and efficiency performances in its class.  Targeted to SATCOM applications such as high definition video broadcast and broadband data communication, Toshiba is planning to release a complete family of Ka-Band products to support those applications.

Ka-Band SATCOM has been on the rise, and is continuing to show steady growth to support broadband communication and increasing demand for higher bandwidth in SATCOM frequencies.

Due to the limited availability of high power microwave Solid-State devices, replacing tube-base amplifiers with Solid-State Power Amplifiers (SSPA) for Ka-Band has not been a cost-effective design option. Toshiba's new Ka-Band MMIC will provide a solution to support the anticipated surge of solid-state amplifiers to the millimeter wave frequency range for SATCOM applications.

The target specifications for the Ka-Band High Power GaN MMIC are:

Technical Specifications

Product Characteristics  
Frequency 29.0-31.0GHz(1)
Band Ka-Band
Output Power, P(out)(typ.) 15W
Liner Gain, GL(typ.) 15dB
Power Efficiency(typ.) 20%

"As a longtime supplier of high-performance GaN and gallium arsenide microwave devices for wireless applications in various frequency bands, Toshiba plans to continue efforts to expand the product line with new solutions," said Homayoun Ghani, business development manager, microwave devices, for TAEC's Discrete Business Unit.

Pricing and Availability

A datasheet for Toshiba's new MMIC will be available in Q4 2012, with sampling beginning Q1 2013.

Toshiba Microwave Product Overview

Toshiba is a leading supplier of high-performance gallium nitride (GaN) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) microwave devices that operate in C, X, Ku and Ka frequency bands.  Featuring high power added efficiency and high gain, these products are used in wireless applications such as RADAR systems, SATCOM, microwave link, medical equipment, and industrial applications.

*About Toshiba Corp. and TAEC

Through proven commitment, lasting relationships and advanced, reliable electronic components, Toshiba enables its customers to create market-leading designs.  Toshiba is the heartbeat within product breakthroughs from OEMs, ODMs, CMs, VARs, distributors and fabless chip companies worldwide.  A committed electronic components leader, Toshiba designs and manufactures high-quality flash memory-based storage solutions, solid state drives (SSDs), hard disk drives (HDDs), discrete devices, advanced materials, medical tubes, custom SoCs/ASICs, imaging products, microcontrollers and wireless components that make possible today's leading smartphones, tablets, MP3 players, cameras, medical devices, automotive electronics, enterprise solutions and more.

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, Japan’s largest semiconductor manufacturer and the world’s third largest semiconductor manufacturer (Gartner, 2011 Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue, March, 2012). Toshiba Corporation was founded in 1875 and today has over 554 subsidiaries and affiliates, with 210,000 employees worldwide. Visit Toshiba's web site at www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm.

(1) For purposes of measuring frequency in this context, one Gigahertz (GHz) = 1,000,000,000 cycles per second.


Information in this press release, including product pricing and specifications, content of services and contact information, is current and believed to be accurate on the date of the announcement, but is subject to change without prior notice. Technical and application information contained here is subject to the most recent applicable Toshiba product specifications. In developing designs, please ensure that Toshiba products are used within specified operating ranges as set forth in the most recent Toshiba product specifications and the information set forth in Toshiba’s "Handling Guide for Semiconductor Devices," or "Toshiba Semiconductor Reliability Handbook." This information is available at www.chips.toshiba.com, or from your TAEC representative.

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