NEW YORK-Frequency Electronics Inc., Mitchell Field, N.Y., received what it called its first multiyear agreement for its rubidium synchronization product line, a contract with Motorola Inc. valued at $20 million over two years, Joseph P. Franklin, chairman of the board, said April 29.
Frequency Electronics manufactures time and frequency control systems for terrestrial wireless, satellite and other communications and tracking functions.
Rubidium-based components are superior to those using quartz in such applications because they offer a longer life, provide better and more consistent accuracy despite temperature variations and require recalibration less frequently.
A comparatively high manufacturing cost relative to quartz-based components has been the stumbling block to the widespread use of rubidium-derived components, company executives said. Frequency Electronics also uses quartz to manufacture these precision timing and frequency assemblies, which generate, synchronize, transmit and receive signals to locate a position, secure a communications system or guide a missile.
“We are looking to reduce the price of rubidium to make it more competitive with quartz because, for terrestrial wireless, [rubidium] is the most robust system,” Martin B. Bloch, president and chief scientist of Frequency Electronics, said last November.
The company had launched an initiative to develop mass production manufacturing capabilities in-house, he said at that time.