Abstract

GaAs MMICs offer significant advantages for space applications. As the technology reaches maturity and as applications are being identified, GMMT together with ESA have embarked upon the first stage of space qualification of the GMMT GaAs foundry. The most appropriate procedure for qualification of a foundry process which is required to produce relatively small quantities of a wide range of custom designs is capability approval. This paper presents results from the early stages of the evaluation phase of the ESA capability approval programme which is currently underway.