Silicon-germanium |
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Authors: | Krol EJ |
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Affiliation: | Loyola Marymount Univ., Los Angeles, CA, USA; |
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Abstract: | The strong points of compound and single element semiconductors are united in a new type of transistor, silicon-germanium heterojunction bipolar transistor (Si-Ge HBT). The device is the offshoot of bandgap engineering and the manufacturing economics of silicon. Silicon-germanium is a new material used in making microchips for less expensive, high-performance communications tools. Low energy consumption and processing at ultra-high speeds make silicon-germanium transistors a treasure for many people in microelectronics. Silicon-germanium is a critical breakthrough in an anxiety-laden field. Practitioners fear that traditional silicon technology is nearing its physical limits. Higher speeds cannot be attained without miniaturization to a point at which the devices no longer function |
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