News: Microelectronics
28 August 2025
SweGaN, Ericsson, Saab and Chalmers collaborate on 6G GaN power amplifier project
SweGaN AB of Linköping, Sweden — a manufacturer of custom gallium nitride on silicon carbide (GaN-on-SiC) epitaxial wafers, based on proprietary growth technology — is coordinator of the project ‘GaN6G+: Unlocking Performance and Efficiency in Future 6G Power Amplifiers’, partnered by communications network provider Ericsson, defense and security company Saab and Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. Funded by Swedish innovation agency Vinnova and lasting from September 2025 to August 2027, the project aims to revolutionize GaN-based power amplifier (PA) technology for next-generation 6G networks.
The project targets the 7–15GHz frequency range (X/Ku bands), a critical spectrum for future 6G applications. By leveraging SweGaN’s proprietary QuanFINE epitaxial GaN-on-SiC solutions, the collaboration aims to deepen understanding of the material properties and the HEMT device characteristics and to develop high-efficiency PA circuits that support energy-efficient, high-capacity wireless systems.
“We’re combining world-class expertise from telecom, defense and academia to unlock the full potential of our QuanFINE materials for 6G,” says SweGaN’s CEO Jr-Tai Chen. The project ensures vertical integration across materials, device processing and system-level design, and it follows a dual-track approach:
- Academic Track: focuses on the influence and process variations on HEMT device-level performance by advanced modeling. The goal is to extract empirical models and define design boundaries for optimal PA efficiency.
- Industrial Track: centers on PA design, fabrication and benchmarking using state-of-the-art foundry processes. Industry partners will supply high-performance devices for modeling and validation, ensuring alignment with real-world system needs.
The collaboration should deliver insights into how epitaxial design, processing, and circuit architecture impact device and system-level performance.
“This collaboration strengthens the bridge between civilian and defense technologies,” notes Johan Carlert, Saab’s head of Microwave and Antenna Design. “By working closely with leading partners across the value chain, we accelerate the development of RF technologies that will have real-world impact in both defense and civilian domains,” he adds.
“We’re thrilled to contribute our modeling and device expertise to a project with such high industrial relevance,” comments professor Christian Fager of Chalmers University of Technology.
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