{"276971":{"#nid":"276971","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Silicon-Germanium Chip Sets New Speed Record","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA research collaboration consisting of IHP-Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics in Germany and the Georgia Institute of Technology has demonstrated the world\u0027s fastest silicon-based device to date. The investigators operated a silicon-germanium (SiGe) transistor at 798 gigahertz (GHz) fMAX, exceeding the previous speed record for silicon-germanium chips by about 200 GHz.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough these operating speeds were achieved at extremely cold temperatures, the research suggests that record speeds at room temperature aren\u0027t far off, said professor \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/faculty-staff\/fac_profiles\/bio.php?id=123\u0022\u003EJohn D. Cressler\u003C\/a\u003E, who led the research for Georgia Tech. Information about the research was published in February 2014, by \u003Cem\u003EIEEE Electron Device Letters\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The transistor we tested was a conservative design, and the results indicate that there is significant potential to achieve similar speeds at room temperature \u2013 which would enable potentially world changing progress in high data rate wireless and wired communications, as well as signal processing, imaging, sensing and radar applications,\u0022 said Cressler, who hold the Schlumberger Chair in electronics in the Georgia Tech \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E. \u0022Moreover, I believe that these results also indicate that the goal of breaking the so called \u2018terahertz barrier\u2019 \u2013 meaning, achieving terahertz speeds in a robust and manufacturable silicon-germanium transistor \u2013 is within reach.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, Cressler added, the tested transistor itself could be practical as is for certain cold-temperature applications. In particular, it could be used in its present form for demanding electronics applications in outer space, where temperatures can be extremely low.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIHP, a research center funded by the German government, designed and fabricated the device, a heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) made from a nanoscale SiGe alloy embedded within a silicon transistor. Cressler and his Georgia Tech team, including graduate students Partha S. Chakraborty, Adilson S. Cardoso and Brian R. Wier, performed the exacting work of analyzing, testing and evaluating the novel transistor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe record low temperature results show the potential for further increasing the transistor speed toward terahertz (THz) at room temperature. This could help enable applications of Si-based technologies in areas in which compound semiconductor technologies are dominant today. At IHP, B. Heinemann, H. R\u00fccker, and A. Fox supported by the whole technology team working to develop the next THz transistor generation,\u201d according to Bernd Tillack, who is leading the technology department at IHP in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESilicon, a material used in the manufacture of most modern microchips, is not competitive with other materials when it comes to the extremely high performance levels needed for certain types of emerging wireless and wired communications, signal processing, radar and other applications. Certain highly specialized and costly materials \u2013 such as indium phosphide, gallium arsenide and gallium nitride \u2013 presently dominate these highly demanding application areas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut silicon-germanium changes this situation. In SiGe technology, small amounts of germanium are introduced into silicon wafers at the atomic scale during the standard manufacturing process, boosting performance substantially.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe result is cutting-edge silicon germanium devices such as the IHP Microelectronics 800 GHz transistor. Such designs combine SiGe\u0027s extremely high performance with silicon\u0027s traditional advantages \u2013 low cost, high yield, smaller size and high levels of integration and manufacturability \u2013 making silicon with added germanium highly competitive with the other materials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECressler and his team demonstrated the 800 GHz transistor speed at 4.3 Kelvins\u0026nbsp; (452 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit). This transistor has a breakdown voltage of 1.7 V, a value which is adequate for most intended applications.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe 800 GHz transistor was manufactured using IHP\u2019s 130-nanometer BiCMOS process, which has a cost advantage compared with today\u2019s highly-scaled CMOS technologies. This 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS process is offered by IHP in a multi-project wafer foundry service.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Tech team used liquid helium to achieve the extremely low cryogenic temperatures of 4.3 Kelvins in achieving the observed 798 GHz speeds. \u0022When we tested the IHP 800 GHz transistor at room temperature during our evaluation, it operated at 417 GHz,\u0022 Cressler said. \u0022At that speed, it\u0027s already faster than 98 percent of all the transistors available right now.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech: John Toon (404894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Brett Israel (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIHP: Dr. Wolfgang Kissinger (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kissinger@ihp-microelectronics.com\u0022\u003Ekissinger@ihp-microelectronics.com\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Rick Robinson\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA research collaboration consisting of IHP-Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics in Germany and the Georgia Institute of Technology has demonstrated the world\u0027s fastest silicon-based device to date. The investigators operated a silicon-germanium (SiGe) transistor at 798 gigahertz (GHz) fMAX, exceeding the previous speed record for silicon-germanium chips by about 200 GHz.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A research collaboration has demonstrated the world\u0027s fastest silicon-based device to date."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-02-17 23:26:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:55","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-18T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-18T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"276921":{"id":"276921","type":"image","title":"Silicon Germanium study","body":null,"created":"1449244151","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:11","changed":"1475894968","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:28","alt":"Silicon Germanium study","file":{"fid":"198801","name":"800g_2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/800g_2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/800g_2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1248232,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/800g_2_0.jpg?itok=jLzecEvM"}},"276911":{"id":"276911","type":"image","title":"Silicon Germanium probes","body":null,"created":"1449244151","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:11","changed":"1475894968","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:28","alt":"Silicon Germanium probes","file":{"fid":"198800","name":"800g_1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/800g_1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/800g_1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1814691,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/800g_1_0.jpg?itok=BTlNVrNL"}},"276961":{"id":"276961","type":"image","title":"Professor John Cressler","body":null,"created":"1449244151","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:11","changed":"1475894968","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:28","alt":"Professor John Cressler","file":{"fid":"198805","name":"800g_8.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/800g_8_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/800g_8_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1636615,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/800g_8_0.jpg?itok=dnR2LG2_"}},"276931":{"id":"276931","type":"image","title":"Silicon Germanium study2","body":null,"created":"1449244151","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:11","changed":"1475894968","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:28","alt":"Silicon Germanium study2","file":{"fid":"198802","name":"800g_4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/800g_4_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/800g_4_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1407858,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/800g_4_1.jpg?itok=xfrAH3Nh"}},"276951":{"id":"276951","type":"image","title":"Silicon Germanium study3","body":null,"created":"1449244151","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:11","changed":"1475894968","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:28","alt":"Silicon Germanium study3","file":{"fid":"198804","name":"800g_6.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/800g_6_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/800g_6_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1423412,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/800g_6_0.jpg?itok=EHKrr6C4"}}},"media_ids":["276921","276911","276961","276931","276951"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"3251","name":"chip"},{"id":"609","name":"electronics"},{"id":"7763","name":"John Cressler"},{"id":"2832","name":"microelectronics"},{"id":"166855","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"},{"id":"167355","name":"silicon"},{"id":"169631","name":"silicon germanium"},{"id":"4261","name":"transistor"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}