International Business Machines Corp. (IBM, Armonk, NY) announced an innovative chip design that can improve performance four-fold, or reduce power consumption five-fold in wireless devices for computing applications and high frequency communications applications. The new chip design uses a revolutionary wafer thin enough to maximize the performance of both the computing and communications components.
Until now, no one had been able to find a technique to combine CMOS and SiGe bipolar onto one wafer that would maximize the performance of both. IBM has built SiGe bipolar using a thin SOI wafer, thereby paving the way to build SiGe bipolar and CMOS on the same thin SOI wafer, maximizing the performance of both the computing and communications functions.
"As the wireless industry continues to grow, new devices will require greater functionalities, performance and reliability from their components," said Dr. T. C. Chen, vice president of Science and Technology, IBM Research. "IBM continues to find new methods to improve chips to ensure that the industry can meet consumer demands. The new chip design could be implemented within five years, enabling applications such as video streaming on cell phones."
