InP HBTs-present status and future trends

The fundamental materials advantages of III-V compound semiconductors are described. InP-based HBTs are shown to be a promising technology for high performance applications where the speed-breakdown product must substantially exceed that available from Si/SiGe. The primary challenges for InP are scaling down the device size, while simultaneously scaling up the number of transistors per chip. The results of such scaling efforts are expected to enable ICs requiring tens of thousands of transistors with clock frequencies approaching 250 GHz with useful breakdown voltages.