Title :
Silicon-on-Sapphire, a replacement for gallium arsenide?
Author :
Imthurn, George P.
Author_Institution :
Peregrine Semiconductor Incorporated, USA
Abstract :
Silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) was invented in 1961 and as such is the first of the SOI technologies. Its original purpose was to provide radiation tolerant circuits for satellites and missiles. Now, SOS is ready to displace gallium arsenide (GaAs) as the technology of choice for RF communications in commercial applications. What are the reasons for this? In this paper, I will share what we have learned at Peregrine semiconductor about how to use CMOS for RF devices and why silicon will eventually displace GaAs from many RF applications.
Keywords :
CMOS integrated circuits; III-V semiconductors; elemental semiconductors; gallium arsenide; radiofrequency integrated circuits; silicon; silicon-on-insulator; wide band gap semiconductors; CMOS; GaAs; Peregrine semiconductor; RF communications; RF devices; SOI technologies; Si; missiles; radiation tolerant circuits; satellites; silicon-on-sapphire; CMOS logic circuits; Costs; Decoding; Electron mobility; FETs; Gallium arsenide; Radio frequency; Silicon on insulator technology; Switches; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
SOI Conference, 2009 IEEE International
Conference_Location :
Foster City, CA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-4256-0
Electronic_ISBN :
1078-621X
DOI :
10.1109/SOI.2009.5318759
