October 19, 1999 Meeting

On October 19, Dr. Herbert S. Bennett of National Institute of Science and Technology and a Distinguished Lecturer of EDS, gave an impressive talk entitled, “Implications of Trends in the silicon industry on the Compound Semiconductor Industry: Do we need a Technology Roadmap for Compound Semiconductors?”.  Dr. Bennett provided a historical context for the development of silicon
industry and its coexistence with compound semiconductors for some applications.  He went on to highlight the recent emergence of the compound semiconductor industry that is distinct from that of the silicon.  The lecture also covered the roles envisaged for the compound semiconductors in various versions of the optoelectronics and high frequency roadmaps.  Dr. Bennett presented convincing arguments for the development of a consensus-based technology roadmap for the compound semiconductors but it appeared that the industry, faced with the exploding short term market demands, is not investing resources in long range planning.  Being mostly from the silicon industry, the audience was very grateful to Dr. Bennett for providing a very educational overview of
the issues of a ‘sister’ industry.