Raytheon, G&H to develop US source for key material for defence applications

A gallium nitride wafer at Raytheon's foundry in Massachusetts. Raytheon is leveraging its expertise with materials like this to develop the process for manufacturing TFLN wafers under the Mastermind programme. (RTX)

Raytheon, an RTX company, has been tapped by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to “develop a domestic production capability for thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) wafers, a material essential to high‑speed, secure communications and advanced sensing systems” under the Mastermind programme, according to an RTX statement on 17 February.

The value of the contract has not been made public.

“TFLN is used in next-generation photonics” for a variety of commercial and defence applications, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and computing technologies, data centres, and telecommunications, the statement said.

“TFLN wafers have become foundational in high-performance communications and sensing technology,” Jack Holloway, senior technical fellow and director, strategic growth for Raytheon's Advanced Technology business, told Janes on 13 February. He added, “They provide a platform for compact, fast, low-loss, low-power, high-bandwidth photonic components – especially modulators – that are critical for modern optical networks and precision sensing applications.”

A single Chinese TFLN wafer manufacturer currently dominates the international market, he said, noting that RTX currently sources these materials through intermediaries that import them.

“Our approach on this programme will enable a domestic supplier with higher quality,” Holloway said.

“The raw materials of lithium and niobium are available to the US from the world market, including from US allies,” he said, adding that “bulk lithium niobate wafers are produced domestically by our partner, Gooch & Housego [G&H]. However, the production of lithium niobate wafers in a thin film format is currently dominated by a Chinese manufacturer”.