InP HBT technology for high speed circuits and OEICs

Two areas currently motivate the efforts put into development of InP-based heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs). Due to excellent high speed properties and a DC-characteristic similar to conventional Si-based bipolars, it is an extremely interesting technique for fabrication of high speed integrated circuit prototypes. Further, since the device is based on the same material as, and has a structure similar to, optoelectronic devices used for optical communication, it is also an advantageous choice for optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEICs). The motivations for development of OEICs are potentially higher complexity and higher frequencies at a lower cost, as compared with hybrid solutions, but the main emphasis is on high frequencies at the research level, so the two areas have a common interest in developing high speed integrated circuits.