IBM announced it has created the world's fastest semiconductor circuit, operating at speeds of over 110 GigaHertz (GHz) and processing an electrical signal in 4.3 trillionths of a second. The circuit was built using IBM's latest silicon germanium (SiGe) chip-making technology, extending basic silicon to speeds never thought possible. IBM is now making the technology, dubbed "SiGe 8HP," available to top-tier communications equipment makers to help increase the speed of today's networks. The first chips built with the technology are expected to appear later this year... The "ring oscillator" circuits built by IBM are common building blocks used in communications chip designs and are frequently used to assess the capabilities of new chip-making technology, such as SiGe 8HP. Work with these circuits demonstrates the technology's ability to support communication speeds of over 100 gigabits-per-second. It also demonstrates SiGe's much lower power consumption than the gallium arsenide and indium phosphide materials traditionally viewed as necessary for such high-speed operations. "Many chip-makers are just starting to show they can build SiGe transistors, while we're into our fourth generation of the technology," said Dr. Bernard Meyerson, IBM Fellow and vice president of the IBM Communications Research and Development Center in his keynote address to the 2002 Compound Semiconductor Outlook Conference.
"We're translating SiGe's benefits into real customer applications. With multiple SiGe technologies, a full suite of design tools, and a significantly expanded R&D operation, we have the resources to help anticipate and meet our customers communications requirements." Source: IBM