Technical Insight
IQE supplies InP HBT epiwafers to GTRAN (Materials and Equipment)
GTRAN has partnered with IQE for the supply of InP HBT epitaxial wafers for use in GTRAN s range of 40 Gbit/s fiber-optic components. The companies say that the collaboration has already resulted in a high-volume HBT wafer fabrication process that exhibits a cut-off frequency of 150 GHz and maximum oscillation frequency of greater than 200 GHz. GTRAN, which has a headquarters facility in Westlake Village, CA and a product design center in Newbury Park, CA, is currently developing 10 and 40 Gbit/s components such as transponders for SONET applications. At the recent Optical Fiber Communication conference, the company announced 1310 and 1550 nm transponders compatible with current multi-source agreement configurations for short and intermediate range applications. GTRAN has also developed its own InP device fabrication process for 40 Gbit/s devices, and has a foundry agreement with Global Communication Semiconductors (see Compound Semiconductor April 2001, p16). Commenting on the recent epiwafer supply agreement, IQE s chief technology officer Tom Hierl said: "Using MBE, we have been able to achieve the required base doping levels of 4.0 1019/cm3 necessary for these structures. We have proven this growth capability with both single and double heterojunction designs, using either beryllium or carbon as the base dopant."
