HRL Laboratories’ T3L 40-nanometer gallium nitride (GaN) on silicon carbide (SiC) technology has achieved Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) 6 through the Office of the Under Secretary of War. The MRL 6 validation confirms the manufacturability of the 40nm T3L GaN-on-SiC technology on production-relevant fabrication flows. It includes repeatable process control and supply chain stability in alignment with U.S. Department of War manufacturing standards, enabling the technology to support purchasing for a variety of U.S. government programs.
HRL is on track to transition high-volume manufacturing of this technology to MACOM, as announced in November 2025. The company will retain low-volume engineering foundry access and support for multi-project wafer (MPW) runs for qualified customers.
This setup combines open-access MPW capability for rapid prototyping of baseline and advanced variants of T3L GaN with scalable production through the partner, all within a unified ecosystem.
“Reaching MRL 6 and defining high-volume transition to MACOM represent decisive steps toward sustainable domestic RF GaN production,” said Dr. Erdem Arkun, Group Manager at HRL Laboratories.
The process has been established as compatible with advanced heterogeneous integration and 3DHI (three-dimensional heterogeneous integration) architectures. This supports higher-level integration with digital control electronics, beamforming networks, and next-generation radar and communications modules, which can reduce system size, weight, and power (SWaP) in defense and commercial systems.
"The GaN T3L process excels in enabling 3DHI which drives next-generation array systems by meeting the growing demands for higher performance, compact designs and energy efficiency in advanced electronic systems," said Dr. Andrea Arias-Purdue, Principal Investigator at HRL Laboratories.
HRL’s open foundry has offered GaN processes to fabricate commercial and defense customer designs since 2019. The company also provides design and high-frequency testing services and maintains a catalog of high-frequency monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs). It is fielding requests for higher-level integration and prototyping projects.
HRL stated it is open to partnering with interested entities to integrate the technology into higher-level assemblies for defense and commercial applications. Inquiries can be directed to ganmpw@hrl.com.
