Northrop researches RF technology - UPI.com LINTHICUM, Md., Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Research to produce enhanced radio frequency transmitters is to be conducted by Northrop Grumman under a U.S. military contract worth $8.9 million. The three-year award from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency aims to expand an RF's amplifier's modulation bandwith to 500 MHz with at least 75 percent efficiency through the use of contour modulation. The work will involve high-efficiency transmitters with gallium nitride Class E power amplifiers with RF wideband contour modulation and sub-banded switching supply modulation. "With more innovative RF power amplifier designs, we can produce much more efficient RF transmitters without increasing their size," said Pat Antkowiak, vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman's Advanced Concepts and Technologies Division. This technique can open the door to creating more powerful electronic systems for a wide variety of applications. Northrop Grumman said its subcontractors on the project are the University of California at Los Angeles and TriQuint Semiconductor, which has headquarters in Texas.