AmberWave deal assures strained silicon wafer supply
By David Lammers
EE Times
(03/14/02 12:39 p.m. EST)
siliconstrategies.com
AUSTIN, Texas — AmberWave Systems Corp. (Salem, N.H.), a licensor of strained silicon technology, and IQE Silicon Compounds Ltd. (St. Mellons, United Kingdom), an epitaxial wafer specialist, have reached an agreement that will provide a supply of strained silicon wafers to the commercial market.
Aside from AmberWave, IBM Microelectronics and several Japanese semiconductor companies are also developing strained silicon process technology, which places a layer of germanium atoms atop a layer of silicon. A thin layer of silicon is then grown on top of the germanium, which is strained by the thicker germanium atoms. The strained silicon lattice allows faster electron and hole propagation, proponents claim.
Mark Wolf, chief executive officer of AmberWave, said the agreement with IQE Silicon will allow licensees of AmberWave's strained silicon intellectual property (IP) to gain immediate access to commercial quantities of 200-mm strained silicon wafers. Though Wolf declined to name the companies developing ICs with AmberWave's technology, he said some of them may bring products to market by the end of next year. |
