Kopin Announces New HBTs for Advanced Wireless Handsets InGaP/GaInAsN Transistors Offer Enhanced RF Circuit Design and Performance
Source: Kopin
Taunton, MA. Kopin Corporation (NASDAQ: KOPN), the leading provider of gallium arsenide (GaAs) heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) for wireless and fiber-optic telecom applications, announced today the introduction of InGaP/GaInAsN HBTs. These novel structures significantly enhance the performance of HBT transistors within the existing GaAs manufacturing platform.
"GaAs-based HBTs traditionally have been the transistors of choice for power amplifiers in digital handsets. We are delighted to announce our success in incorporating indium and nitrogen into the base layers of our HBTs," said Dr. John C.C. Fan, Kopin s president and chief executive officer. "We have achieved substantial reductions in turn-on voltage of more than 150 mV with these InGaP/GaInAsN structures, while retaining excellent device characteristics. This major technical advance should enable significant improvements in GaAs-based HBT power amplifiers for advanced wireless handsets by lowering the operating voltage, increasing the efficiency and reducing power consumption."
"We have successfully grown InGaP/GaInAsN HBT structures in our current high-volume organo-metallic chemical vapor deposition (OMCVD) production systems using a proprietary and patent-pending process. The reduction in turn-on voltage enabled by GaInAsN base layers should permit better management of the voltage budget for the design of both wired and wireless GaAs-based RF circuits. Additional benefits of the InGaP/GaInAsN HBT structure include stable temperature characteristics, enhanced RF circuit performance, and improved device reliability," stated Dr. Roger E. Welser, Director of Transistor Technology.
"Reducing the emitter/base turn-on voltage is a key requirement for maintaining the performance advantage of GaAs-based HBTs in the next-generation electronic components," commented Dr. M. Frank Chang, professor of electrical engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, director of the High Speed Electronics Laboratory, and IEEE Fellow. "The results reported here represent a significant milestone, and further development along this direction will open new avenues for GaAs-based RF circuit design that would fit well with lower supply voltages in wireless handsets."
"The combination of our dominant commercial GaAs-based HBT position, our recent announcement of InP-based HBTs, and these new GaInAsN HBTs should allow our customers and partners a wide range of HBTs, both for ultra-high speed fiber optics networks and advanced wireless handsets. Our partners are beginning to sample our InGaP/GaInAsN HBTs," concluded Dr. Fan.
About Kopin
Kopin Corporation is a leading manufacturer of GaAs transistor products and miniature flat panel displays for advanced communications and digital imaging applications. The Company s GaAs HBT transistors are used to produce power amplifier circuits for CDMA, GSM, TDMA and PCS wireless telephone handsets as well as multi-gigabit circuits for fiber optic and Internet data transmission. Kopin s CyberDisplay family of ultra-small, high-density imaging devices is designed for portable communications and consumer products including camcorders and digital cameras and wireless Internet appliances. Kopin s Web site is www.kopin.com.
CyberDisplay is a trademark of Kopin.
Statements in this news release about Kopin Corporation s GaInAsN HBTs are made under "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could materially affect future results. Among these risk factors are general economic and business conditions and growth in the gallium arsenide integrated circuit and materials industries, the impact of competitive products and pricing, availability of integrated circuit fabrication facilities, the Company s ability to successfully expand its production facilities, cost and yields of HBT transistor wafers, loss of significant customers, acceptance of the Company s products, continuation of strategic relationships, and other risk factors and cautionary statements listed from time to time in the Company s periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to, the Company s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and subsequent 10Q filings.
Contact: Kopin Corporation Matthew Micci mmicci@kopin.com or Richard Sneider rsneider@kopin.com Tel: (508) 824-6696 or Sharon Merrill Associates, Inc. Scott Solomon ssolomon@investorrelations.com Tel: (617) 542-5300
Kopin Corporation
Matthew Micci
mmicci@kopin.com
or
Richard Sneider
rsneider@kopin.com
Tel: (508) 824-6696
or
Sharon Merrill Associates, Inc.
Scott Solomon
ssolomon@investorrelations.com
Tel: (617) 542-5300
E-mail: ssolomon@investorrelations.com
Web site: http://www.kopin.com
