AML Communications Inc., a designer, manufacturer and marketer of microelectronic assemblies for the defense industry, announced the launch of Cal Mimix Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary.

Cal Mimix has been in formation for the last six months as a fabless designer and developer of RF and microwave semiconductor products to serve commercial and military applications. The company has entered into manufacturing contracts with an on-shore foundry for production of GaAs-based semiconductor devices and has taken delivery of low rate production units.

Cal Mimix recently announced the introduction of a family of AlGaAs/InGaAs low noise PHEMT devices with operational frequencies to 26 GHz. First to be introduced is the CM332, a high reliability AlGaAs/InGaAs PHEMT with a nominal 0.25 um gate length and gate widths of 300 um. This device is equally effective for wideband (e.g. 2 to 18 GHz or 18 to 26 GHz) and narrow band applications up to 26 GHz. With minimum noise figure as low as 0.6 dB at 12 GHz, this low noise device is ideally suited for commercial wireless and military applications requiring low noise figure and high associated gain. The CM332 is targeted at a wide range of applications, including broadband military EW, defense communications, wireless communication infrastructures and point-to-point microwave radios. The CM332 low noise device is an ideal choice to replace low noise pHEMT devices from NEC, Eudyna and Mitsubishi.

Sample quantities of the new CM332 die are available from stock. A number of other devices are either in design or manufacturing stages and are planned for release prior to the end of this year.

Jacob Inbar, AML’s President and CEO, commented on this significant development: “Semiconductor devices are a logical extension of our business. There are clear opportunities for new products evolving from our long-term relationships with our customers and for devices that replace products no longer available.”