Project ORanGaN - DCMS project to help develop UK supply chain for RF GaN Devices for 5G Communications

DCMS Announce 15 UK Consortia-Led Projects To Deliver Open-RAN As Part Of A £36m Investment To Support Telecom Supply Chain Diversification

Custom Interconnect Ltd (CIL) is pleased to play a central role in Project OranGaN

Late December 2021, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) announced 15 UK consortia-led projects to deliver Open-RAN (radio access networks) as part of a £36m investment to support telecom supply chain diversification.

CIL is pleased to play a central role in Project ORanGaN and will work with project partners

• INEX Semiconductor
• Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult  
• Viper RF

To develop a sovereign UK supply chain, manufacturing processes, and packaging solutions, for radio frequency gallium nitride (RF-GaN) devices which are critical to 5G communications systems electronics hardware.

This project will accelerate the deployment of secure 5G support telecom diversification and improve network efficiency while building resilient UK supply chains for compound semiconductor. 

The ORanGaN project will look to develop a sovereign UK supply chain, manufacturing processes, and packaging solutions, for radio frequency gallium nitride (RF-GaN) devices which are critical to 5G communications systems electronics hardware.

Almost every piece of 5G Open-RAN hardware requires multiple semiconductor switching devices to generate the RF signals being transmitted. GaN switching devices are used in a wide range of applications from consumer electronics to defence radar systems. GaN has become the technology of choice for 5G communications hardware due to its high frequency operation and high-power density. GaN and other types of semiconductor switching devices are in high demand due to growth in new applications like 5G communications, electric vehicles, energy systems, computing and other applications. This high demand has led to a worldwide shortage of manufacturing and design capacity for semiconductors including GaN devices. There are no UK manufactured GaN devices suitable for 5G applications. All current 5G hardware uses semiconductor devices made offshore. RF-GaN MMIC’s are application specific devices that are designed for the specific use case using a software tool called a Product Development Kit (PDK)