Date: 06/02/2009

Analog Devices filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Hittite Microwave

Analog Devices has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against Hittite Microwave Corporation. Analog Devices asserts that products from the Hittite Microwave HMC600/700 series of RF detectors, including the HMC610 and HMC614, infringe Analog Devices' patented technology.

A decade or even earlier, RF components and silicon based semiconductor devices were quite different by their material and also in manufacturing process. At that time, it's hard to imagine an analog semiconductor vendor suing a microwave company over patent infringement.
With the advancement in process, GHz frequency handling microwave and RF components are being made using silicon material. The role GaAs as de-facto semiconductor material for RF ICs might diminish in coming years.

Analog device is leading in this front by developing innovative RF ICs using Silicon.