Serial-to-Parallel Converter Using GaAs D-Mode Transistors

Nowadays, digital circuits use both serial and parallel data transmission. It is important to ensure compatibility between them. The key component for that is the code converter, which can, without proper frequency specifications, be the “bottleneck” of the whole system. High data transmission density implies increasing of digital signal frequency. Thus, circuits for high frequency applications face high requirements. The siliconbased technologies often concede in terms of frequency capabilities. Using GaAs-based pHEMTs is one of the possible ways to overcome this. It might be useful for logic circuits in which data transfer speed and early decisions are crucial. In this paper, the serial-to-parallel code converter using GaAs pHEMT 0.5 μm technology is presented.