Japan reaches beyond silicon: Intent on dominating high-speed computing and optical communications, Japanese laboratories are aggressively studying materials in the gallium arsenide family

Japanese researchers, convinced that a new solid-state technology is needed to accommodate high-speed computing, optical communications, and other special purposes, are urgently exploring the development of nonsilicon semiconductors. Both the Japanese government and the electronics industry are committed to research into semiconductors made from elements in groups III and V of the periodic table. The ultimate goal: to dominate the world market in semiconductors made from compounds such as gallium arsenide - a market that the Japanese estimate will exceed $50 billion by the turn of the century.