Complementary GaAs technology for a GHz microprocessor

A DARPA-funded project at the University of Michigan has as a goal the development of technologies and tools needed to implement microprocessors that can be clocked at GHz speeds. A Complementary GaAs HIGFET technology from the Motorola CS-1 facility (CGaAs) is the target semiconductor process. While this technology is immature, it is years ahead of CMOS in terms of fast gate delay at low power supply voltages. A major focus of this work is advanced packaging, which supports partitioning of the design into multiple integrated circuits, each having an integration level that should be achievable in CGaAs. This paper touches on the major aspects of the project, process technology, circuit design, packaging, architecture, CAD tools and software, with an emphasis on application of the CGaAs technology.