IBM Introduces First Mainstream Silicon Germanium Chips
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East Fishkill, N.Y (October 12, 1998) – IBM today announced the first standard, high-volume chips built using its patented silicon germanium manufacturing process. As these chips enter the marketplace, consumers are likely to benefit from cell phones, pagers and other wireless communications devices that have extended battery life, carry out multiple functions and are smaller, lighter and less expensive.
IBM is the first chip maker to introduce silicon germanium technology into high-volume, mainstream manufacturing. Initially pioneered by IBM as an alternative high-speed chip material for mainframe computing, silicon germanium is an ideal technology for building many of the key chips used in wireless communication products. Silicon germanium’s suitability for complex designs is expected to accelerate the integration of cell phone, e-mail and Internet access functions into a single device, spawning a new breed of hand-held “information appliances.”
“IBM’s silicon germanium technology will now be available to a broader set of customers,” said Mike Attardo, general manager, IBM Microelectronics Division. “While IBM has been working with a growing number of companies on projects involving the technology, our unique ability to mass produce silicon germanium will rapidly accelerate its use in a greater number of consumer products.”
Semiconductors used in high-volume communications devices typically require a combination of high speed, low noise and low power that places unique demands on designs and materials that can’t be addressed by traditional chip technologies. Prior to IBM’s ability to mass produce silicon germanium, manufacturers had to rely on more costly, power-hungry and exotic technologies such as gallium arsenide to manage the high-speed signals transmitted via wireless communications devices.
The first silicon germanium chips announced today are basic components found in most wireless product designs. These seven basic building blocks include low-noise amplifiers, voltage controlled oscillators, power amplifiers and discrete transistors. Several of the chips are designed as lower-cost, highly-reliable direct replacements for gallium arsenide parts.
This announcement is part of a series of IBM initiatives to apply silicon germanium technology to a broad spectrum of communications applications. Other activities include:
working through IBM’s CommQuest subsidiary to design silicon germanium-enhanced chip sets that will serve as the basis of next-generation cell phones;
joint development with Leica Geosystems to produce silicon germanium-based chips for Global Positioning System (GPS) products;
providing early technology access as part of manufacturing and development relationships with Hughes Electronics, Harris Semiconductor, AMCC, Nortel Networks and Tektronix in which IBM is building silicon germanium components for a wide array of products from cell phones to satellites; and,
extending the use of silicon germanium in “wired” communications gear, such as Alcatel’s newly-introduced fiber optic system that uses IBM silicon germanium technology to provide a high-speed pipeline in communications networks.
IBM plans to use silicon germanium to capture opportunities for highly integrated, custom chips used in fast-growing communications applications. According to the market research firm Dataquest, the production of wireless devices is expected to grow to over 450 million units annually by the year 2002. The opportunity for chips that process radio frequency (RF) signals alone is expected to reach $7 billion by 2002. A recent US Department of Commerce report indicates that GPS equipment sales will reach $16 billion in 2003.
IBM is already working with dozens of customers to incorporate silicon germanium into real products, using new state-of-the-art IBM design centers in Waltham, Mass., and East Fishkill, N.Y. The company recently completed the transition of silicon germanium technology from pilot production to high-volume manufacturing in its Burlington, Vt., facility to satisfy the growing demand for silicon germanium-based products.
Source: IBM