Aixtron AG of Aachen, Germany, has announced that a research group has deposited III-V semiconductors on silicon wafers using the company's low-pressure metallorganic chemical vapor deposition system. The ability to deposit compound semiconductors on silicon substrates should lower costs for electronic devices based on the materials.

Aixtron reports that users have constructed AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors with the technique. The transistors feature 300-nm gates, and they display a saturation current of 0.82 A/mm and a peak intrinsic transconductance of 110 mS/mm.

The achievement follows a report by researchers at Motorola Labs in Tempe, Ariz., who produced a 12-in. wafer of GaAs on silicon.