Wavevis is showing strong performance. The company's stock price appears to be influenced by the news that a domestic research team has developed localization technology for gallium nitride (GaN) integrated circuits used in military radar and satellite transceiver modules. Gallium is a rare metal with the world's largest reserves in China, which has controlled its export since August 2023. Gallium nitride is considered one of the most advanced semiconductor materials.
The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), in collaboration with Wavevis, has developed, for the first time in Korea, a gallium nitride (GaN)-based transceiver semiconductor integrated circuit (MMIC) as a fab-based technology. This MMIC is a core component used in military radar and high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR). The achievement is significant as it is the result of valuable convergence research on core defense semiconductor technology using Wavevis’s gallium nitride semiconductor foundry technology.
As of 9:43 a.m. on May 27, Wavevis was trading at 9,900 KRW, up 12.88% from the previous day.
By combining ETRI's semiconductor design technology with Wavevis's manufacturing process technology, the team succeeded in developing three types of transceiver chips operating in the X-band. The performance is equivalent to commercial products from leading overseas foundries in the United States and Europe. It is also the first result using Korea's only mass-production fab facility for gallium nitride, making it highly significant.
The gallium nitride MMIC offers higher output and efficiency than conventional gallium arsenide (GaAs)-based products. It is expected to dramatically improve the performance of military and satellite communication radars, such as active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars. AESA radar is the latest radar technology that electronically steers its beam to quickly detect and track targets.
Since 2020, ETRI has been accumulating basic research achievements in gallium nitride semiconductor technology through the 'DMC Convergence Research Group.' This achievement is a follow-up study that connects these results with domestic mass production technology in collaboration with Wavevis.
The research team is accelerating the technological self-sufficiency of semiconductor components in the defense sector, which had previously depended on overseas products, based on this technology. The transfer of design technology to Wavevis has been completed, and full-scale commercialization is being pursued.
Wavevis CTO Choi Yoonho said, "We have established a foundation for self-sufficiency in core military components based on domestic infrastructure capable of mass-producing gallium nitride semiconductors. This will greatly help in the development of stable systems and their deployment in real-world operations."
Wavevis achieved sales of 6.5 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year. The company has recently secured a stable order backlog by signing mass production contracts for major weapon systems. With concentrated defense project deliveries scheduled for the second half of the year, a significant improvement in annual performance is also expected.
Last month, Wavevis signed a 26.5 billion KRW mass production contract with Hanwha Systems for high-power amplifier boards for long-range surface-to-air guided weapon (L-SAM) multifunction radar. This has laid the foundation for substantial sales growth. The company has also completed localization of core components for the Army's short-range surface-to-air missile system 'Cheonma (K-31).' In addition, Wavevis succeeded in winning orders for advanced weapon systems for India, paving the way for expanded global expansion.
Wavevis CFO Lim Seungjun emphasized, "The signing of mass production conversion contracts for existing weapon system development projects such as L-SAM, which was a key goal for the first half of this year, and R&D for X-band process commercialization, are proceeding smoothly as planned. Considering the concentrated mass production and delivery schedule in the second half, we believe it is possible to achieve our performance targets."
In addition to L-SAM, sequential mass production conversion contracts are planned for weapon systems that have been successfully developed in the past, including multifunction radar for naval vessels, air defense weapons, and aviation weapon systems. Wavevis is expected to secure both long-term sales stability and a foundation for growth.
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