GaAs...the technology of the future, future, future

In 1980 the future for gallium arsenide devices and integrated circuits looked very rosy. It was clear that silicon was going to run out of steam as lithography became the limiting factor in raising the high frequency cutoff of the active devices. A change in materials from silicon to GaAs, or some other compound semiconductor, was going to yield a large increase in performance approaching ten to one, if the predicted ballistic effects could be realized at room temperature. The semi-insulating substrate with reduced parasitics was far better than lossy silicon for high frequency circuits. Nothing stood in the way of success. The author reviews what has happened in the past 20 years and looks at the future of GaAs.