News

14 May 2010

 

GCS announces THz diode foundry process for mm-wave transceivers

Pure-play III-V compound semiconductor wafer foundry Global Communication Semiconductors Inc (GCS) of Torrance, CA, USA says that its proprietary terahertz diode monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) foundry process is now being offered to address millimeter-wave transceiver requirements. 

“Until now, a THz diode has only been available as a discrete device. The integration of a discrete THz diode into a circuit assembly with other active and passive components required wire bonding. Although this approach was not desired, it was unavoidable for many millimeter-wave applications due to the lack of a monolithic solution," says CEO Jerry Curtis. 

"Our engineering team has overcome the technical challenges by developing a planar Schottky diode process with THz performance,” he adds. The fully monolithic process, with MIM capacitor, spiral inductor, thin-film resistor and backside via features, is now offered as a standard foundry process.

The THz diode process has been demonstrated as a mixer in a W-band up-converter with a conversion loss of 6dB, with a LO frequency of 91.8GHz (12dBm) and an IF of 2.25GHz. The process suits applications in mm-wave frequency transceivers, as well as terahertz imaging systems, GCS concludes.

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