News Article
Compound semiconductors 'could help with research limitations'
Compound semiconductors could help the industry deal with current physical limitations of some research, it has been suggested.
DataWeek highlighted a paper – entitled Seamless On-Wafer Integration of Si MOSFETs and GaN HEMTs – which was produced by investigators at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The scientists claim that a new generation of hybrid microchips can be formed if semiconductor materials that possess different and potentially complementary properties are combined.
DataWeek explained: "Compound semiconductors such as gallium nitride (GaN) or indium phosphide have properties such as … being capable of handling higher power … that make them superior to silicon for a variety of applications."
It added that combining semiconductors could create a high electron mobility transistor.
However, such technology would need to be scaled up six times or more before it could be used in a commercial context, the online resource concluded.
The research paper was published in the October 2009 issue of IEEE Electron Device Letters.
The scientists claim that a new generation of hybrid microchips can be formed if semiconductor materials that possess different and potentially complementary properties are combined.
DataWeek explained: "Compound semiconductors such as gallium nitride (GaN) or indium phosphide have properties such as … being capable of handling higher power … that make them superior to silicon for a variety of applications."
It added that combining semiconductors could create a high electron mobility transistor.
However, such technology would need to be scaled up six times or more before it could be used in a commercial context, the online resource concluded.
The research paper was published in the October 2009 issue of IEEE Electron Device Letters.
