Company Overview

Products

Engineering Tools

Product Support

Quality & Reliability

Sample Requests

Submit Inquiry

Literature Request

My Subscription

Home » Company » Facilities

Facilities

Offices & Plant


Hittite Microwave operates a design, assembly, & test facility at its Chelmsford, Massachusetts, USA location. There are two Class 100,000 clean rooms, an environmental test lab and several general labs used for assembly and test respectively. Our test capability covers from DC to 110 GHz and includes automated and semi-automated testing/handling of RFIC/MMIC, module and subsystem products. Electrical and mechanical design occurs in several CAD/CAE labs throughout the facility. Corporate Sales & Application Engineering is located on-site.

Hittite Microwave also maintains offices worldwide with sales staff located in the USA, London; Munich; Stockholm; Seoul; Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Tokyo. We have established engineering design centers in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Istanbul, Turkey and Ottawa, Ontario.

Hittite Microwave Corporation is committed to the protection of the local community, the environment and health and safety of its employees, customers, and neighbors. Our company environmental policy is available for review. Hittite Microwave is committed to meeting the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) European Union directive and has an active program in place to eliminate halogen compounds, antimony compounds and lead (Pb) from our products.

Design Center For Standard & Custom MMICs, Microwave & Millimeterwave Subsystems

The Design Center consists of networked workstations and PCs running commercial and proprietary design software. Commercial electrical CAE/ CAD software includes; ADS, Eagleware, HSpice/ PSpice, Cadence and Sonnet EM. Our proprietary CAE software for design and modeling has been developed over the last decade to provide accurate simulations, matching closely the performance of fabricated devices. Commercial mechanical CAE/CAD software includes AutoCAD, PC Pads & EPD. We undertake custom MMIC, MIC subassembly, and system designs to achieve cost-effective, highly integrated solutions for commercial and military applications. Our engineering staff has extensive semiconductor device to system level knowledge, enabling an understanding of the system designer’s needs. Our custom analog and mixed-signal RFIC/MMIC design experience includes MESFET, HBT, pHEMT, mHEMT, devices on SiGe and GaAs IC fabrication processes. Our custom projects include microwave & millimeterwave designs to 110 GHz, RF/IF processing, and digital signal processing.

Manufacturing & Test

Hittite’s production facility in Chelmsford, Massachusetts performs order management, assembly and test/inspect functions. We employ the services of leading gallium arsenide and high speed silicon foundries for semiconductor wafer processing. High volume IC assembly and environmental screening is performed at qualified subcontractors in the United States and abroad. All RF/microwave testing and final inspection is performed at Hittite. The production flow is seamlessly managed from design through final test. This business model allows the company to focus on its strengths in digital IC, RFIC, and MMIC design, products, applications, and test while leveraging the most appropriate processing capability from its various foundry, assembly, and screening sources. Please see Standard Product Die, Ceramic Package Die and Plastic Packaged Die manufacturing flows herein.

Cleanroom Assembly and Test

Our clean rooms are used for MMIC wafer and die handling/inspection, die mount/wirebond, and package sealing. We have the capability to assemble single RFICs/MMICs into SMT packages up to complex hybrid microwave/baseband/logic assemblies for hi-rel commercial, Military and Space applications. We process and supply MMIC die in waffle-pak or Gel-pak™ carriers to commercial, military and space level specifications as well. Testing from DC - 110 GHz of exposed wafers, open packages, and hybrid assemblies is conducted in our Class 100,000 clean room. Space level die products are tested & inspected under Class 100 laminar flow hoods. Other test labs contain equipment for automated and semi-automated RF testing of packaged products.

Wafer Fabrication

Wafers for our MMIC product line are supplied by major commercial GaAs and Si foundries worldwide with whom we have established ongoing business relationships. We accept wafers based on compliance to written foundry PCM (Process Control Monitor) parameter specifications and visual/mechanical inspections. We have the capability to maintain multiple foundry sources to produce a specific MMIC product on their respective processes with identical electrical characteristics.

IC Package Assembly

High volume assembly and test requirements are met through relationships with United States and Pacific Rim IC assembly and test subcontractors. These partners have been qualified by our manufacturing and quality staff to ensure that our standards for quality and service are met. Dual IC assembly sourcing is implemented for high volume MSOP, SOIC, SOT, QFN (LPCC) and QSOP SMT packaged products. Our IC subcontractors perform visual inspections at receipt of wafers, at assembly prior to encapsulation, and at shipment of the packaged ICs. For each assembly lot received our incoming inspection reviews all assembly process cards, bond-pull/die shear records, and non-conforming material reports. Assembly, test, and inspection data is filed for each product so that traceability is maintained. The product then moves on to 100% RF, microwave, or millimeterwave test and external visual inspection at Hittite.

High Volume RF Test

Our production facility employs automated handlers and test equipment to ensure product consistency and compliance to the specification. All packaged products are 100% RF/DC tested for selected critical parameters. Tape and reel carriers are available for delivery of surface mount products. Our production test & inspection capacity exceeds several hundred thousand parts per day.