Silicon-germanium

The strong points of compound and single element semiconductors are united in a new type of transistor, silicon-germanium heterojunction bipolar transistor (Si-Ge HBT). The device is the offshoot of bandgap engineering and the manufacturing economics of silicon. Silicon-germanium is a new material used in making microchips for less expensive, high-performance communications tools. Low energy consumption and processing at ultra-high speeds make silicon-germanium transistors a treasure for many people in microelectronics. Silicon-germanium is a critical breakthrough in an anxiety-laden field. Practitioners fear that traditional silicon technology is nearing its physical limits. Higher speeds cannot be attained without miniaturization to a point at which the devices no longer function.