High-speed analog-to-digital conversion with GaAs technology: prospects, trends and obstacles

Author

Larson, Lawrence E.

Author_Institution

Hughes Res. Lab., Malibu, CA, USA

fYear

1988

fDate

7-9 Jun 1988

Firstpage

2871

Abstract

The authors addresses the prospects for widespread use of GaAs technology for analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion, the technological and design trends for improved A/D realizations, and the obstacles to the realization of higher speed and resolution. It is noted that GaAs MESFET and HBT (heterojunction bipolar transistor) technology promise an increase in sample rate and achievable resolution for A/D conversion compared to silicon technology, if a number of technological and design limitations can be overcome. GaAs MESFET technology is relatively mature, but currently suffers from poor threshold uniformity, 1/f noise, and hysteresis. GaAs HBT technology possesses few of the limitations of MESFET technology, but the achievable level of integration is still quite low

Keywords

III-V semiconductors; Schottky gate field effect transistors; analogue-digital conversion; bipolar integrated circuits; field effect integrated circuits; gallium arsenide; heterojunction bipolar transistors; integrated circuit technology; 1/f noise; A/D conversion; GaAs technology; HBT; III-V semiconductors; MESFET; heterojunction bipolar transistor; hysteresis; monolithic ADC; threshold uniformity; Analog-digital conversion; Frequency; Gallium arsenide; Heterojunction bipolar transistors; Integrated circuit technology; MESFET integrated circuits; MODFET circuits; MODFET integrated circuits; Signal to noise ratio; Silicon;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Circuits and Systems, 1988., IEEE International Symposium on

Conference_Location

Espoo

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ISCAS.1988.15538

Filename

15538