Integrated circuit impact on millimeter wave sensors

It is pointed out that significant work has recently been accomplished to develop and demonstrate GaAs RF integrated circuits for millimeter wave sensors. These chip components will affect the size, weight, power consumption, and cost of expendable sensors for tactical applications. This has also sparked renewed interest in collocated multimode sensors operating at both millimeter wave and infrared wavelengths. It is noted that the objective of the MMIC monolithic component development is to supplement, but not necessarily replace, all the hybrid circuitry in any given transceiver architecture. It can be predicted that the long-term implementation strategy for millimeter wave sensors will include a carefully controlled mix between MMIC and hybrid technologies with possibly some waveguide-based critical power components