Technical Insight
IBM claims record for Si-based transistor (GaAs News)
IBM has announced modifications to its SiGe process that will allow the manufacture of ICs with speeds of 100 GHz within two years. The company has developed what it claims to be the world s fastest silicon-based transistor, which can reach speeds of 210 GHz while drawing a current of just 1 mA. This represents a 50% reduction in power consumption and 80% performance improvement over existing designs. The latest design incorporates a thinner base region in the HBT structure, shortening the electrical path and leading to higher operating speed. IBM believes that the new design "gives SiGe a new performance plateau, opening the door to further penetration of SiGe devices into the networking equipment market". Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (AMCC) is already applying IBM s SiGe process to components for optical networking applications and is looking to the improved process to provide the performance needed for OC-768 (40 Gbit/s) parts, such as transimpedance amplifiers and multiplexers (see Compound Semiconductor June 2001, p29).
