IBM Corp has joined forces with Analog Devices Inc, Norwood, Massachusetts to exploit the ultra-high-vacuum chemical-vapour deposition Silicon-Germanium process that IBM has developed: the two will develop parts for the radio frequency and mixed-signal markets; the chips will initially be manufactured at the IBM Microelectronics Advanced Semiconductor Technology Center in Hopewell Junction, New York; key feature of the new technology is that it enables cycle times of 60GHz at 3V and 1.5V levels, making it ideal for high-volume, affordable radio front ends and can be integrated with digital CMOS into BiCMOS, opening the way for single-chip digital telephones; the partners will also use the process to produce high-speed circuits such as the 1GHz digital to analogue converters to enable broadband video over fibre optics or co-ax cable for multimedia telecommunications and data commmunications markets such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode Synchronous Optical Network and digital cable television.
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