For the first time, researchers from CNRS France and ETH Zurich have succeeded in producing high-performance high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) made of gallium nitride (GaN) on a silicon(110) wafer. (Photo: courtesy of C. Bolognesi / ETH Zürich)

El transistor de nitruro de galio más pequeño, rápido y económico

Researchers under ETH-Zurich professor Colombo Bolognesi are working on a new gallium nitride transistor technology using silicon(110) as a substrate. As the new combination of materials has many advantages, gallium nitride is poised to conquer the electronics market and help power the green revolution.

For the first time, researchers from CNRS France and ETH Zurich have succeeded in producing high-performance high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) made of gallium nitride (GaN) on a silicon(110) wafer. This makes these transistors compatible with current complementary metal oxide semi-conductor (CMOS) chips based on silicon of the same crystal orientation. CMOS chips are generally produced on silicon wafers with the so-called (100) or (110) crystal orientation. GaN, on the other hand, could previously only be used on (111)-silicon until now. This new development makes it possible to construct hybrid electronic components that combine the computational power of the CMOS chip and the power handling capability of GaN transistors, which means power electronics can be made even more compact.