GaAs-Ge Alloys for Optical Processing at 1.3-1.5 microns

Fast electronics talking to optical circuits built right on the same chip are everybody's goal; problem is, it's not so easy to get there with infrared optics. Spire proposes a clever way around this, doubly clever because it's based on well known materials and methods combined in new ways. Starting with GaAs, an excellent choice for high-speed electronics but an infrared dead-head, by mixing in a little Ge, Spire will create a new alloy which is optically alive and fits perfectly on GaAs substrates. Infrared emitters and detectors can be built in the alloy, fast electronics in the GaAs. If this works, Spire argues, it's lower cost and higher reliability will knock existing infrared technologies right out of the market for fiber optic communications.