Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Yale Univ., New Haven, CT
Abstract :
Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technologies have recently attracted interest in the development of next-generation high-performance micro-systems. The absence of latch-up, the reduced parasitic capacitance, the circuit isolation and multi-threshold devices are just a few of the advantages of this technology. This article introduces a flavor of SOI called silicon-on-sapphire (SOS), describing the fabrication process, the advantages for innovative low-power, low-voltage, high-speed microsystem design. We present the design and development of several advanced SOS micro-systems, such as: analog-to-digital converters, monolithic digital isolation buffers, image sensor arrays, low-voltage and low-current detectors, and communication systems.
Keywords :
integrated circuit design; low-power electronics; mixed analogue-digital integrated circuits; sapphire; silicon-on-insulator; SOI technologies; Si-Al2O3; analog-to-digital converters; communication systems; fabrication process; high-speed microsystem design; image sensor arrays; innovative low-power; latch-up circuit; low-current detector; low-voltage detector; mixed-signal microsystems; monolithic digital isolation buffers; multithreshold devices; reduced parasitic capacitance; silicon-on-sapphire; CMOS process; CMOS technology; Circuits; Energy consumption; Fabrication; Insulation; Isolation technology; Radio frequency; Silicon on insulator technology; Substrates;
