Applied Radar Inc. has been selected to receive a $2.2 M contract from the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) to develop active RF circulators employing Gallium Arsenide (GaAs)-based chips. The device is used to separate strong transmitted radar pulses from the weak radar echos from targets. According to William Weedon, president/CEO of Applied Radar Inc., "The GaAs microwave integrated circuit technology employed is much more controllable than bulk ferrite devices typically used, and allows much greater signal separation than previously possible. This novel technology is of great interest to the US Air Force because an airborne platform such as an aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has limited space for sensors and antennas. The device will allow the ability to transmit and receive simultaneously from the same antenna, and hence perform multiple sensing or communications functions at the same time." DARPA is the research and development arm of the US Department of Defense (DoD), and typically funds high risk, high payoff technology programs across the DoD, including the Air Force.
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