A $1.8 million appropriation from the U.S. Congress is a sign of things to come for Microsemi Corp.’s operations in Bend, officials from the semiconductor manufacturer said Tuesday.

The government funding will go toward the company’s development of silicon carbide semiconductors for military avionics applications. It’s only one of several opportunities Microsemi is pursuing for the fledgling technology, officials said.

If Microsemi is successful in getting those opportunities, of which no specifics were disclosed, the company could hire more people for its Central Oregon facility in the future.

”It will grow with (silicon carbide technology) for the next three to five years,” said Steve Litchfield, Microsemi’s vice president of business development. ”It’s a new technology right now, and we don’t have a whole lot in place yet. But we’re excited with the opportunities.”

Silicon carbide has more power and heat capacity than conventional semiconductors and can accomplish similar tasks at a reduced size and weight.

Microsemi’s silicon carbide production will be handled by its Power Products Group, formerly Advanced Power Technology Inc., which employs about 144 people in Bend. Microsemi purchased APT, a semiconductor maker founded in 1984 specializing in radio frequency equipment, for $139 million in April.

Litchfield said Microsemi is looking at industries beyond the military and defense sectors for selling silicon carbide products. The company entered into an agreement earlier this year to make products using the technology for defense giant Northrop Grumman Corp.

”(Silicon carbide) technology itself can really be used in any sort of avionics,” Litchfield said. ”And it can get into improving efficiencies in ship building, improving efficiency in (motor) vehicles and improving the power grid system.”

He added that future deals could range from licensing to production agreements in those fields, although he declined to outline specific plans.

Mike Mallinger, Microsemi’s director of business development for wide bandgap technology, said the Northrop Grumman deal and the federal appropriation are only the beginning of his company’s plans for silicon carbide.

”The company has made the decision to enter into silicon carbide technology, and the announcement earlier this year (regarding Northrop Grumman) was the first piece of that puzzle,” Mallinger said. ”This (appropriation) is just another major step.”

The challenge now, he added, is to develop products based on the new technology and to find which markets would demand those products.

Roger Lee, executive director with Economic Development for Central Oregon, an organization promoting local business and industrial growth, said local officials were originally weary that Microsemi may downsize its Bend operations after acquiring it.

”I think that fear was pretty quickly deflated (with the Northrop Grumman announcement),” Lee said, adding he is optimistic about the potential of Microsemi’s Bend operation.

He noted that jobs associated with new technology tend to be well-compensated, and the injection of such jobs could provide a significant boost to the local economy.

”These are the type of jobs every city in the United States is looking for,” Lee said. ”The greater-paying positions require higher education levels, but that’s really the wave of the future. It’s a niche that the U.S. manufacturing industry has to fill for the future.”

He added that goods produced in Central Oregon that are then shipped elsewhere could bring additional capital to the region.

Microsemi’s Litchfield said that, with silicon carbide’s potential, Microsemi’s Power Products Group isn’t going anywhere for the time being.

”We have the facility in Bend, and there’s a commitment to grow in Bend,” he said. ”We’re invested.”

what is silicon carbide?

This crystalline compound, one of the hardest known substances, is used as heat-refractory material and as semicon-ductors in single crystals, especially in high-temperature applications.