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Temperature's effect on MTTF (Source: Fujitsu Ltd.)
Fujitsu's GaN transistors will work at 200 degrees Celsius for over a century

At the 2007 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS), Fujitsu Laboratories announced the development of a new technology that enables the transistors to operate at 200 degrees Celsius for more than one million hours – equivalent to over 100 years.

Fujitsu’s technology utilizes high power gallium nitride (GaN) high electron-mobility transistors (HEMT), and is applicable towards high-speed wireless communications market, such as for satellite communication (VSATs), cellular base stations, WiMAX base stations, and other high-speed wireless communications infrastructure.

As wireless communication data-rates continue to become increasingly faster, power consumption in base stations – such as those for mobile phones – is also increasing. GaN HEMT are ideal for such uses not only for their lower power consumption, but also their reliability in high power, high voltage-endurance devices and harsh usage conditions.

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Hot Phones
By qwerty1 on 6/25/2007 3:12:25 PM , Rating: 1
It's great to see this kind of advancement but I don't expect to see it used in mobile phones unless they somehow make it work at a lower temperature than the ones currently in use. Cellphones are already pretty warm after an extended call duration. We don't need cellphones that can operate at 200 Celcius when we can't even survive at 100.




RE: Hot Phones
By Operandi on 6/25/2007 11:18:29 PM , Rating: 2
200c for the transistor not the entire phone.

Besides it's more a unit of measure for the durability of the component than anything else. Example; (motherboard, graphics card) capacitors are rated at 85, or 105c a certain number of hours but rarely if ever are they subjected to such temps.


RE: Hot Phones
By DeepBlue1975 on 6/26/2007 9:27:23 AM , Rating: 2
I guess a phone operating at 200°C could get to feel a tiny bit warm on the ears (if you just can make it travel there with your bare hand), wouldn't it? :D


haha
By HardwareD00d on 6/25/07, Rating: -1
RE: haha
By AsicsNow on 6/25/2007 3:05:11 PM , Rating: 2
You must be new to reading news about computers, because the promise of gallium based chips has been promised for years and years, but the chemistry and engineering just hasn't gotten to where it is economical yet, and probably still wont for a good long while to come.


RE: haha
By DeepBlue1975 on 6/25/2007 8:43:32 PM , Rating: 2
True. First it was the gallium arsenide superconducting chips, now these ones.
It's evident that gallium + something else (?) brings promise, but a long term one as no mass chip maker is using gallium - anything yet.
Maybe the could come up with some material called gallything.


RE: haha
By peternelson on 6/26/2007 12:59:39 PM , Rating: 2
Gallium Arsenide chips are well proven and don't need to be operating at superconducting temperatures. The only problem with them is they are more expensive than their silicon equivalents (because silicon is plentiful).

It tends to be applied to niche applications that can justify the extra cost.

As for this news, I'm not really so interested in the temperature it can deal with, but in the clocking speed they are able to achieve in the Gallium Nitride process so far.

For the apps listed eg base stations, it seems that the processing power is the important thing rather than being able to run sustained at 200C. Hence I have to ask what is the actual performance?


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