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John D. Cressler

Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) microelectronics

Professor John D. Cressler is widely considered one of the world's leading authorities on silicon-germanium technology -- probably the hottest field in high-speed communications research today, as evidenced by the fact that Cressler enjoys working relationships with virtually every major RF-industry player in the world.

Cressler, who was named a Byers Professor at Georgia Tech in the School of Electrical Computer Engineering in 2004, and his research team helped pioneer the use of delicate nanoengineering techniques for depositing germanium atoms into conventional silicon integrated circuit chips. This silicon-based bandgap engineering results in high-speed transistors that can double or even triple circuit performance. In addition, the procedure is fully compatible with existing silicon chip production techniques, so there's no cost penalty for the improved performance.

With 20 scientists and graduate students involved in the work, Cressler's group is the largest university team in the world devoted to device and circuit research in silicon-germanium mixed-signal integrated circuits.

The technology holds profound implications for the development of new high-speed, compact, low-cost RF-through-millimeter wave communications devices because it both offers high speed and is highly integrated, allowing many circuits to be placed on the same silicon chip.

In a project collaboration with researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), Cressler's research could transform the way radar systems are designed and built. The bulky and costly multi-chip transmit/receive (T/R) modules, required by the millions in applications such as phased array radars, could each be replaced by a single, low-cost silicon-germanium chip.

A feature of the technology that has attracted NASA funding is that silicon-germanium devices can operate at temperatures approaching absolute zero, without "warm boxes" or other bulky devices required to keep the circuits warm in space or on the surfaces of other planets.

In Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, he is a member of the EDA and Microsystems Technical Interest Groups.

An IEEE Electron Device Society Distinguished Lecturer, Cressler's other research interests include radiation effects in electronics, cryogenic electronics, silicon-carbide microelectronic devices and technology, and transistor-level numerical simulation and compact circuit modeling.

Cressler serves on the IEEE Nishizawa Medal Selection Committee, the Advisory Board on Extreme Environment Electronics for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the IEEE Fellow Selection Committee and as guest editor of IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.

Cressler's research team has published more than 300 research papers on silicon-germanium devices and circuits. In 2004, his team's work appeared in two books and 15 journal articles, and his team delivered more than 15 conference papers. He co-chaired the 2004 IEEE Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems held at Georgia Tech.

Cressler received his BS in physics at Georgia Tech, and an MS and PhD in applied physics from Columbia University. He spent the first 8 years of his career at IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, and ten years on the faculty of Auburn University prior to joining Georgia Tech in 2002.

Phone: 404-894-5161
Fax: 404-894-4641
E-mail: john.cressler@ece.gatech.edu
More information: http://users.ece.gatech.edu/~cressler