GaAsbased

GaAs-based refers to gallium arsenide and its alloyed compounds used as the semiconductor material in a range of electronic and optoelectronic devices. This class includes GaAs itself and ternary or quaternary alloys such as AlGaAs, InGaAs, and AlInGaAs, which are commonly grown as heterostructures to tailor electronic and optical properties.

GaAs is a direct-bandgap III–V semiconductor, which enables efficient light emission and absorption in the near-infrared region. It also offers higher electron mobility than silicon, supporting high-speed operation and low-voltage switching in microwave and millimeter-wave devices. The combination of a direct bandgap and mobility underpins the widespread use of GaAs-based lasers, light-emitting diodes, detectors, and high-frequency transistors.

Manufacturing of GaAs-based devices typically uses epitaxial growth techniques such as metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) or molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) to deposit thin, highly ordered layers on GaAs substrates or lattice-matched templates. Common designs form heterostructures like AlGaAs/GaAs to confine carriers and photons, enabling efficient optoelectronic and electronic devices. Device architectures include high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs), heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs), laser diodes, and photodetectors used in fiber-optic communications and spectroscopy.

Limitations of GaAs-based technology include higher material and processing costs compared with silicon, lower thermal conductivity, and mechanical brittleness. These factors influence manufacturing scale and integration with silicon-based systems, though GaAs-based devices remain essential for niche high-speed and optoelectronic applications.