Plextek RF to provide design services to Cree's foundry customers

The commercial availability of GaN transistors has provided a sea change in achievable performance for Solid-State Power Amplifiers (SSPAs). Cree boasts a growing portfolio of discrete transistors, microwave monolithic integrated circuits (MMIC), and GaN foundry services that allow customers to design their own transistors and MMICs for fabrication on Cree’s processes.
 
The arrangement with Plextek RFI will give Cree's European customers access to Plextek RFI’s proven design capabilities to develop their own custom GaN MMICs. In addition to providing design and layout services, Plextek RFI has sophisticated in-house test facilities that allow evaluation of MMICs both in bare die form (directly on wafer) and as packaged parts.
 
“We see huge growth potential for GaN in Europe. Plextek RFI’s experienced design and development team will provide a significant advantage to our European customers. We look forward to working with Plextek RFI to grow this market,” said Jeff Barner, Cree foundry services program manager.
 
“We’re delighted to have forged this relationship with a world leader in GaN technology such as Cree,” said Liam Devlin, CEO of Plextek RFI. “We have been seeing a steady increase in the amount of GaN MMIC design work we are taking on, and being able to provide our clients with access to one of the world’s best foundry processes will significantly enhance the service we are able to offer.”