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News

30 August 2007

 

NSF grant for integration of compound semiconductor devices on silicon

AmberWave Systems Corp of Salem, NH, USA and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) have been awarded a three-year grant from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to research the integration of compound semiconductor devices on silicon using an AmberWave development called aspect ratio trapping (ART).

ART could open the door to faster, more powerful chips in applications from silicon-based photonics to improved photovoltaic cells, says the firm. In silicon photonics, ART could allow manufacturers to combine different materials onto a silicon base.

“This award plays on the value of industry and university collaboration and the demonstrated strengths of AmberWave in the area of epitaxial thin-film electronic materials, and of RIT’s Microelectronics researchers in the area of integrating novel materials into mainstream silicon microelectronics devices to enhance performance,” says Dr Donald Boyd, VP for research at RIT.

ART would allow manufacturers to capitalize on their investments in current manufacturing technologies, reducing costs considerably, and allowing the devices to be included in a wide range of products at consumer friendly prices, AmberWave claims. “This research holds the potential for seamlessly integrating III-V and silicon microelectronics to retain the best properties of each, opening up the possibility for truly massive speed improvements in memory and processor chips, integrated silicon-photonic devices for ultra-high bandwidth fiber-optic communications, and novel radio frequency chips for wireless communications,” Boyd adds.

The principal investigators for the collaboration are Dr Santosh Kurinec and Dr Sean Rommel of RIT’s Department of Microelectronic Engineering.

See related item:

Intel claims “first high-performance compound devices on silicon”

Visit AmberWave: http://www.amberwave.com

Visit RIT: http://www.rit.edu