BiCMOS-has the promise been fulfilled?

Abstract

The era of modern BiCMOS technology started in the early 1980s with the promise of significantly improving SRAM and logic (gate array) performance and greater integration of mixed-signal analog systems. The author investigates what has actually been realized seven years later. The fastest commercially available SRAMs in the world, ranging in densities from 1 K to 1 M, are BiCMOS. BiCMOS 100 K SOG arrays with 100-200 MHz capability can be purchased from various vendors. BiCMOS microprocessors are starting to emerge from the lab and into production. Analog BiCMOS capabilities are being exploited in applications such as mobile communication. It is concluded that, all in all, BiCMOS has ben demonstrated to provide CMOS power and densities at bipolar speeds. The author then tries to provide an answer to the question of why BiCMOS has not taken over. He concludes that, even though every major semiconductor company now boasts some form of BiCMOS technology, its relative process complexity keeps cost stubbornly high. It has also taken the circuit and system designers a full seven years to learn how to best exploit BiCMOS, and more must be learned.<>