Evolution of the Department of Defense Millimeter and Microwave Monolithic Integrated Circuit Program

The Millimeter and Microwave Monolithic Integrated Circuits (MIMIC) program had its origins in the concern of the smart weapons community for the affordable production of millimeter wave missile seekers, but the broad-based applicability of the technology to radar, communications, countermeasures, and counter-countermeasures was recognized in the formulation of the program. The program was initiated in the turbulent 1980s during the period of high technology trade deficits (and the defense buildup) that created an atmosphere of crisis leading to searching examinations of the reasons for the defeat of the United States in the global marketplaces. The resultant initiatives by the Congress, the Executive and the private sector created a favorable climate for the execution of the program that featured a unique architecture in which goals were framed in system terms to provide the linking mechanism between materials research, device design, modeling simulation and testing leading to application in the four military application areas cited. The program provides a useful model that could be applied to other programs designed to achieve either civilian or military objectives. The report traces the evolution of the technology from program formulation when the market was principally military to completion when the market was principally commercial, leaving the semiconductor industry well positioned to cope with the defense cutbacks and downsizing. The report concludes with an analysis of the elements that made the program a success.