A Meeting of Materials: Integrating Diverse Semiconductor Technologies for Improved Performance at Lower Cost

Using the DAHI approach and NGAS's DAHI foundry, we were able to successfully design and integrate three different semiconductor technologies (InP HBT, GaN HEMT, and Si CMOS) at the micron scale for enhanced RF performance. An InP HBT VCO and a GaN HEMT amplifier were integrated onto a common IBM 65-nm CMOS substrate to simultaneously achieve high efficiency, low phase noise, and high output power, with performance closely matched to design simulations. Spurred on by DARPA's DAHI challenge, Northrop Grumman has developed a working foundry capable of delivering heterogeneous integrated circuits to the microwave market.