Toshiba Announces Gallium Nitride Power FET with World's Highest Output Power in Ku-band.--Achievement of 65.4W Output Power at 14.5GHz-- TOKYO -- Toshiba Corporation (company) Toshiba Corporation - A Japanese technology manufacturer with 364 subsidiaries worldwide. Toshiba makes and sells electronics for home, office, industry and health care including information and communication systems, electronic components, heavy electrical apparatus, today announced that it has developed a gallium nitride An alloy of gallium and nitrogen (GaN) that is used in semiconductor devices for lasers and LEDs, including blue lasers. Gallium nitride has the thermal and chemical stability required in laser applications. See gallium arsenide. (GaN) power field effect transistor See FET. (electronics) field effect transistor - (FET) A transistor with a region of donor material with two terminals called the "source" and the "drain", and an adjoining region of acceptor material between, called the "gate". (FET FET: see transistor. (Field Effect Transistor) One of two major categories of transistor; the other is bipolar. FETs use a gate element that, when charged, creates an electromagnetic field that changes the conductivity of a silicon ) for the Ku-band (12GHz to 18GHz) frequency range that achieves an output power of 65.4W at 14.5GHz, the highest level of performance yet reported at this frequency band. The main application of the new transistor will be in base stations for satellite microwave communications, which carry high-capacity signals, including high-definition broadcasts. Toshiba plans to start sample shipment of the new power FET by the end of 2007 and to go into mass production by the end of March 2008. Advances in Ku-band microwave amplifiers focus on replacing the electron tubes conventionally used at this bandwidth with semiconductors, particularly GaN devices, which offer advantageous high power characteristics at higher microwave frequencies. The new power FET has a high electron mobility Electron Mobility In physics, electron mobility (or simply, mobility), is a quantity relating the drift velocity of electrons to the applied electric field across a material, according to the formula: transistor (HEMT See FET. ) structure that Toshiba has optimized for the Ku-band. The company replaced source wire bonding Wire bonding is a method of making interconnections between a microchip and other electronics as part of semiconductor device fabrication. The wire is generally made up of one of the following:
Demand for GaN power FET for radars and satellite microwave communications base stations is growing steadily, both for new equipment and replacement of electron tubes. Toshiba will meet this demand with early commercialization of its new Ku-band power FET. Full details of the new GaN power FET will be presented at the European Microwave Conference 2007, in Munich, Germany from October 8 to 12. Background and development aims Ever increasing communications flows in satellite microwave communications are driving demand for higher output power in signal amplifying devices, as is development of more powerful radar systems. Demand is particularly strong for GaN devices, which offer advantages over conventional gallium arsenide An alloy of gallium and arsenic compound (GaAs) that is used as the base material for chips. Several times faster than silicon, it is used in high frequency applications such as cellphones, DVD players and fiber optics. devices in heat dissipation Noun 1. heat dissipation - dissipation of heat chilling, cooling, temperature reduction - the process of becoming cooler; a falling temperature and high power performance characteristics at high frequency. Toshiba has taken the lead in applying GaN technology to power FET for microwave frequency applications. The company directed its initial efforts to the development and marketing of power FET for the 6GHz band (2005) and 9.5GHz (2006) band, and developed devices that achieved the worlds highest output power at those frequencies. The company has now extended its line-up to 14.5GHz. Toshiba will continue development for the 18GHz to 30GHz frequencies (Ka-band) and beyond. Outline of development 1. Device technology Toshiba achieved the outstanding performance of the new FET by optimizing the composition and thickness of the AlGaN and GaN layers formed on the highly heat-conductive silicon carbide silicon carbide, chemical compound, SiC, that forms extremely hard, dark, iridescent crystals that are insoluble in water and other common solvents. Widely used as an abrasive, it is marketed under such familiar trade names as Carborundum and Crystolon. (SiC) substrate of the HEMT structure. To assure high performance at Ku-band frequencies, Toshiba has applied a shorter gate length of below 0.3 microns, and optimized the shape of each electrode and element configuration to enhance heat dissipation. 2. Process technology To reduce the parasitic inductance and improve higher frequency performance, Toshiba developed a unique technology for forming via holes, which pass from the surface source electrode through the chip to the ground. Success in forming via holes in SiC substrate, recognized as a highly demanding process, is a breakthrough in development of the new FET. As gate lengths shorten, suppression of current leakage at the gate electrode is essential for achieving high level performance. A unique overcoat process applied around each gate electrode contributes to suppressing gate leakage to 1/30 that of Toshiba's conventional approaches. Electron beam A stream of electrons, or electricity, that is directed towards a receiving object. See electron beam imaging and electron beam lithography. exposure technology is applied in order to secure stable processing of gate lengths below 0.3 micron meters. Key characteristics < Linear gain < 8.2dB Saturation power < 65.4W Drain voltage < 30V Operating frequency < 14.5GHz Chip size < 3.4mm x 0.53mm Package size < 21.0mm x 12.9mm (external dimension) (1) A technology of forming through hole and filling metal electrode in the hole for connecting surface source electrodes to the backside ground electrode, that enables to reduce the parasitic inductance, and thus, to improve high frequency performance. Note Information in the press releases, including product prices and specifications, content of services and contact information, is current on the date of the press announcement, but is subject to change without prior notice. |
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