Tronics, a designer and manufacturer of nano and microsystems, and Airbus Group, a multinational aerospace and defense corporation, announced this week their partnership for the development of capacitive RF MEMS switches and circuits. Under this agreement, Tronics accesses Airbus Group's patent portfolio through an exclusive license for the development of a technology platform for RF MEMS switches. This platform will serve Airbus Group business units, as well as any other company wishing to manufacture nPnT switches or custom circuits, such as tunable filters, switch matrices and switched delay lines.
RF MEMS are a promising technology for a large array of applications such as test and instrumentation, 5th generation (5G) communication infrastructures, satellite communications, and radar systems. The capacitive RF MEMS technology platform developed by Tronics and Airbus Group Innovations, the company's research and technology network, will enable the manufacturing of higher frequency switches and circuits, offering high linearity and wide band coverage with high power handling capabilities. According to Tronics, this approach enables innovative, miniaturized, lightweight, and more efficient system architectures, thus improving sensing capabilities for secure and reliable communications.
Tronics has been collaborating with the Airbus Group since 2012 to transfer their switch design to Tronics' Grenoble facility and integrate the high level of requirements into its hermetic wafer level packaging (WLP) solutions with integrated metal through silicon vias (TSVs). This close collaboration has reportedly demonstrated the feasibility and functionality of the integrated devices, and now enters its second phase in order to further improve the performance and maturity of the technology.
"We are pleased to be partnering with Tronics to jointly advance our technology and industrialize the RF MEMS platform. Their agility, technical expertise, and access to the market are key success factors for our project," said Otto Gies, VP Innovation Nursery and Start-ups of Airbus Group. "Various products of our company will benefit from the availability of this new advanced technology."
"We are delighted to strengthen our long-term partnership with a world-class leader like the Airbus Group," added Pascal Langlois, CEO of Tronics. "The very promising results obtained over the years reinforce our strategic positioning and our capability to provide technology platforms in line with the specific requirements of key players in high growth markets."
Founded in 1997, Tronics is a recognized technological leader in the sector of nano and microsystems. Tronics has technology platforms protected by a portfolio of 25 families of patents, resulting from 15 years of R&D. Addressing high-growth markets relying on increasing miniaturization of electronic devices, Tronics designs, manufactures and sells custom or standard products to the industrial, aeronautics, security, medical and consumer market segment.
Airbus Group is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2014, the company generated revenues of €60.7 billion and employed a workforce of around 138,600.
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