Survey of Manufacturing Capabilities for GaAs Digital Integrated Circuits

GaAs microwave circuits can be found in a number of prototype systems, yet there exists no manufacturing capability for GaAs based components to which a silicon IC producer would deem to give even pilot line status. Until very recently one could not place a purchase order for any GaAs components more complex than a single transistor and these were designed for microwave applications. Digital GaAs technologies have been strictly research curiosities; supported primarily by Government contract or IR&D funds. The need for GaAs components at X-band and above is well recognized. Why hasn't this need for microwave components spawned a GaAs manufacturing capability that could produce digital LSI circuits now that the need for such circuits is emerging in a variety of DoD's future systems? A ready answer was provided in one of the responses received to the questionnaire on Manufacturing Capabilities for GaAs Digital Integrated Circuits - the market character for digital and analog circuits is very different (Table 1). It thus is appropriate that the manufacturing problems of digital and analog GaAs IC be treated as separate topics that may, at best, have a peripheral influence on each other.