Triquint Gets $16.2M DARPA Research Contract

NEW YORK (AP) — Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded TriQuint Semiconductor Inc. a $16.2 million contract to research new chips for defense and aerospace applications, the company said Monday.

TriQuint is to investigate the creation of chips using gallium nitride, rather than the more common silicon, to handle high power levels. They could be useful in applications like radar or communications, the Hillsboro, Ore.-based company said.

TriQuint shares rose 25 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $8.30 in afternoon trading.

The company makes chips of gallium nitride and gallium arsenide that it sells to defense contractors like Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp.