News: Microelectronics
4 November 2025
MACOM agrees exclusive license to manufacture products based on HRL’s 40nm T3L GaN-on-SiC process
MACOM Technology Solutions Inc of Lowell, MA, USA (which designs and makes RF, microwave, analog and mixed-signal and optical semiconductor technologies) has entered into an agreement to license and manufacture the proprietary 40nm T3L gallium nitride-on-silicon carbide (GaN-on-SiC) process technology of HRL Laboratories LLC of Malibu, CA, USA (a corporate R&D lab co-owned by The Boeing Company and General Motors).
HRL and MACOM will work collaboratively on a rapid transfer of this proprietary semiconductor process from HRL’s facility to one of MACOM’s US Trusted Foundries. Under the agreement, MACOM will have an exclusive license to manufacture products based on the T3L process.
T3L utilizes a proprietary epitaxial structure and an advanced gate design, which contribute to its performance and enhanced reliability at millimeter-wave frequencies. The process is suitable for supporting commercial and defense applications.
T3L was matured by HRL under the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense’s (OUSD) State-of-the-Art Radio Frequency Gallium Nitride (STARRY NITE) and the Defense Research Advanced Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Dynamic Range Electronics and Materials (DREaM) programs, along with additional HRL funding that includes owner contributions.
“T3L is one of the most advanced high-frequency semiconductor processes in the industry, which we anticipate will enhance our existing portfolio and accelerate execution of our roadmap,” says MACOM’s president & CEO Stephen G. Daly. “We were not part of the STARRY NITE or DREaM programs; however, MACOM and our customers will soon be the beneficiaries of the results, as we industrialize this technology,” he adds.
“This new relationship with MACOM demonstrates HRL’s expertise at developing and proving technology concepts and then transitioning them into production,” says HRL’s president & CEO Rob Vasquez. “Our GaN-on-SiC process technologies were established over many years of diligent work.”
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MACOM to lead US CHIPS Act-funded GaN-on-SiC technology development project