editor's blog
Subscribe Now

What Comes After Silicon?

It’s the perennial question (or one of them): how long can silicon last?

Without giving dates, imec’s Rudy Lauwereins opined that silicon will be replaced by GaAs and by germanium.

This is like back to the future in two different ways. Germanium was the semiconductor of choice before silicon was taken up – back when few were actually making a choice. Meanwhile, GaAs was supposed to take over many years ago, and silicon refused to yield its premier position.

One of the things that gives silicon an edge is its cost: ingots of GaAs and germanium will be expensive. Which is why that’s not what imec sees coming. They see deposition (not transfer) of the materials on silicon. Why waste expensive materials on what is essentially an inactive substrate?

But, you point out… you’re going to have a hard time matching the lattices between the silicon substrate and the deposited active layer. This is true, and it’s where much of the work is being done. But that mismatch can actually be useful, providing strain that improves performance.

They are apparently working this with an unnamed company, preparing a fab transfer..

Leave a Reply

featured blogs
Mar 21, 2023
We explain computational lithography and explore how our partnership with NVIDIA accelerates semiconductor scaling and the chip design flow in the AI age. The post How Synopsys and NVIDIA Are Accelerating Semiconductor Scaling in the AI Age appeared first on New Horizons for...
Mar 20, 2023
Electronic design has evolved over the years to provide methods for optimizing power, space, and energy needs for the most demanding market applications in areas including hyperscale computing, consumer, 5G communications, automotive, mobile, aerospace, industrial, and health...
Mar 10, 2023
A proven guide to enable project managers to successfully take over ongoing projects and get the work done!...

featured video

First CXL 2.0 IP Interoperability Demo with Compliance Tests

Sponsored by Synopsys

In this video, Sr. R&D Engineer Rehan Iqbal, will guide you through Synopsys CXL IP passing compliance tests and demonstrating our seamless interoperability with Teladyne LeCroy Z516 Exerciser. This first-of-its-kind interoperability demo is a testament to Synopsys' commitment to delivering reliable IP solutions.

Learn more about Synopsys CXL here

featured chalk talk

Inductive Position Sensors for Motors and Actuators
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Microchip
Hall effect sensors have been quite popular for a variety of applications for many years but inductive positions sensors can provide better accuracy, better noise immunity, can cost less,  and can reject stray magnetic fields. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton chats with Mark Smith from Microchip about the multitude of benefits that inductive position sensors can bring to automotive, robotic and industrial applications. They also check out the easy to use kits that can help you get started using them for your next design.
Dec 19, 2022
12,840 views