Electronics Technology and Devices Laboratory

The Electronics Technology and Devices Laboratory was a research facility under the U.S. Army Materiel Command that specialized in developing and integrating critical electronic technologies, from high frequency devices to tactical power sources, into Army systems. Located at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, ETDL served as the U.S. Army’s central laboratory for electronics research from 1971 to 1992. In 1992, ETDL was disestablished, and the majority of its operations and personnel were incorporated into the newly created U.S. Army Research Laboratory.

History

The Electronics Technology and Devices Laboratory was one of the many laboratories that materialized following the dissolution of the Signal Corps Laboratories. Throughout its history, the SCL was given various different names as it underwent numerous restructuring efforts by the U.S. Army. By the early 1950s, the SCL was known as the Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories before it was redesignated as the U.S. Army Signal Corps Research and Development Laboratory in 1958. That same year, the Institute for Exploratory Research was created to consolidate the ASCRDL's internal research efforts. In 1962, a major Army restructuring program caused the ASCRDL to become a subordinate element of the U.S. Army Electronics Command known as the U.S. Army Electronics Research and Development Laboratory. The lab was again renamed to the U.S. Army Electronics Laboratories in 1964 only to completely dissolve during the Army reorganization of 1965.
On June 1, 1965, the U.S. Army Electronics Command, a subordinate element of the U.S. Army Materiel Command, made the decision to discontinue the operations of the U.S. Army Electronics Laboratories, which had adopted the duties of the Signal Corps Laboratories. The U.S. Army Electronics Laboratories was subsequently divided into six separate laboratories: the Electronic Components Laboratory, the Communications/ADP Laboratory, the Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory, the Electronic Warfare Laboratory, the Avionics Laboratory, and the Combat Surveillance and Target Acquisition Laboratory. In 1971, the Electronic Components Laboratory merged with the Institute for Exploratory Research to form the Electronics Technology and Devices Laboratory. Its operations took place at the Albert J. Myer Center, commonly referred to as the Hexagon Building, at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey.
During the 1980s, ETDL acted as the lead laboratory for the Army for two significant technology programs within the Department of Defense : The Very High Speed Integrated Circuit Program and the Microwave and Millimeter Wave Monolithic Integrated Circuits Program. The VHSIC Program, which began in March 1980 and ended in September 1990, advanced the production of state-of-the-art integrated circuit technology for military applications. This program served to accelerate the process of integrating new IC technology into weapon systems and close the growing disparity between commercial and military microelectronic products. The MIMIC Program, which took place from 1987 to 1995, advanced the development of state-of-the-art microwave and millimeter-wave monolithic devices for military applications. This program focused on creating the infrastructure necessary for the DoD to pursue and realize innovations in IC technology that reduce the size and cost of military electronics used in smart munitions while improving their power and reliability. While the VHSIC Program centered on the development of silicon ICs, the MIMIC Program centered on the development of gallium arsenide ICs.
Both programs emphasized the value of the IC, which quickly became a core component for signal processing in modern electronic systems. Instead of having many discrete semiconductor components make up a circuit, the IC embedded these components on a single semiconductor chip, which enabled significant reductions in size, weight, and cost. Having recognized the IC as a powerful force multiplier for national defense, the DoD invested heavily in programs that reinforced the military’s access to new IC designs and innovations.

VHSIC Program

The U.S. government, as an early proponent of integrated circuits, originally dominated the user market during the 1960s as the leading global force behind their research and development. The government’s strong ties to the emerging IC manufacturing industry oriented much of the IC technology to suit the unique needs and requirements of the military. During the 1970s, however, commercial applications of IC technology generated so much business that the commercial market quickly overshadowed the federal market. As a result, IC manufacturers began tailoring their technology to conform to commercial interest instead of military specifications. By 1978, commercial applications represented more than 90 percent of the total IC market sales, and the DoD’s access to the latest IC designs and advancements had significantly eroded. The lengthy process of qualifying commercial IC technology further delayed their integration into military systems, which resulted in a gap between the commercial introduction of new innovations and their appearance in DoD systems. The semiconductor industry introduced new IC designs and production techniques at such a fast rate that electronic components in some military systems, as well as the facilities that produced them, faced the danger of early obsolescence. Unable to keep pace with the technology’s rapid evolution in the commercial sector, the DoD was left with military technology that relied on outdated electronic subsystems. By 1980, analysts estimated that the semiconductor technology in military systems was lagging behind those in commercial systems by at least 10 years.
The VHSIC Program served to not only address the deficiencies present in the DoD related to IC procurement and integration but also close the 10-year gap between commercial and military microelectronic systems. In service of these goals, the VHSIC Program engaged in the development of new materials, new circuit design concepts, advanced fabrication processes, new manufacturing equipment, higher levels of radiation hardening, and new data interface standards and specifications. Importantly, the program placed a high priority on restoring the capability of the U.S. semiconductor industry to deliver the most advanced military ICs to the DoD. The VHSIC Program, coordinating with a high degree of cooperation among the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force, facilitated partnerships with leaders in the semiconductor industry from 1980 to 1990 to design, manufacture, and implement highly advanced silicon ICs in military systems. Given the urgency of the situation, the program was labeled as one of the highest priority technology programs in the DoD at the time.
ETDL served as the Army’s lead laboratory and principal manager for the VHSIC Program. One of its main responsibilities pertained to in-house testing and evaluation of VHSIC technology. During the program, six prime contractors—Honeywell, Inc., Texas Instruments, Inc., TRW Inc., IBM Corporation, Hughes Aircraft Company, and Westinghouse Electric Corporation—developed advanced microchip components to upgrade the DoD’s weapon systems. At ETDL, researchers conducted functional, parametric, and electrical performance verification tests on these devices to verify performance and identify hidden issues. The resulting microchips demonstrated a computational rate that was 10 times faster than that of commercial microcircuits at the time.

Device	Contractor	Testing Period	Results
Correlator	Hughes	May 1984 to December 1985	ETDL conducted parametric tests that verified the relevant measurements for both the correlator wafer test structures and a packaged device.
Static Random Access Memory	Texas Instruments	September 1984 to October 1987	ETDL and the Rome Air Development Center conducted electrical performance verification tests that eventually validated the technology’s use in the Firefinder radar systems.
Multiport Switch	Texas Instruments	December 1984 to July 1987	ETDL and Texas Instruments conducted electrical performance tests that led to the preparation of a detailed specification in Military Drawing Format for the MPS device.
Static Random Access Memory	Westinghouse	August 1985 to November 1985	ETDL conducted functional and parametric tests as well as electrical performance verification tests over the full range of military temperature.
Arithmetic Element Controller	Hughes	February 1984 to March 1989	ETDL conducted electrical performance verification, functional, and parametric tests over the full military temperature range to validate the technology’s use in the Firefinder radar systems.
Signal Processing Element	IBM	June 1988 to December 1989	ETDL conducted tests which revealed several design and performance problems with IBM subsequently addressed.
VHSIC Bus Interface Unit	IBM	December 1988 to September 1989	ETDL conducted functional and parametric tests at various temperatures.

By the end of the VHSIC Program, ETDL contributed to over 46 development or fielded systems in seven mission areas. Planned implementations of VHSIC technology included applications such as the M1 tank fire control system, smart munitions, the tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided Auto Tracker, the Light Helicopter Experimental, and the Firefinder radar systems. ETDL also facilitated the development of an electron beam lithography system capable of fabricating submicron patterns at a faster rate than conventional electron beam machines. This lithography system was able to produce VHSIC devices planned for smart missiles, electronic warfare technology, radar, electro-optics, and battlefield information systems.