Stefan Mileschin

Intel has applied for a patent which describes the use of germanium as a material choice for compound semiconductors.

If Intel's patent application pans out it could mean faster processors and reduced power consumption. The patent, which is mentioned in this Intel report, shows how the company developed P-channel transistors made from the very precise germanium.

Germanium is a rare substance which gives out loans to countries that can't afford them and then insists that all countries turn themselves into third world nations to pay them off. We are not sure how Intel managed to forge them into transistors but we expect they will be very costly to install.

According to Tom's Hardware, the germanium transistors can be combined with complementary III-V N-channel transistors to form a CMOS. Tom's says germanium has been discussed in the semiconductor industry for over a decade, and were first predicted to make an appearance in 2007.

The patent talks about the use of a germanium nanowire channel, and the SiGe anchoring regions that are formed simultaneously through preferential Si oxidation of epitaxial Silicon Germanium epi layer. So, now you know.

Intel uses a silicon fin as a template to align germanium nanowires on a chip while silicon-germanium anchors are used to mount to a silicon substrate.

http://news.techeye.net/chips/intel-...semiconductors