Abstract

GaAs normally-off FET processes have now reached a maturity level such that their application domains extend to VLSI digital circuits, analogue and mixed-signal analogue/digital circuits. They represent a real market opportunity for the GaAs industry and several manufacturers both in the US and Europe offer now stabilised and industrial normally-off processes. This paper describes typical represervative normally-off processes and review the main application areas with a critical comparison between the competing technologies. Future trends are also pre-sented.