A survey of GaAs computer designs

Abstract

Recent advances in the capability of gallium (GaAs) digital technology have made GaAs a viable technology for computer system implementation. Design tradeoffs in the GaAs environment differ from those in the Silicon (Si) environment. These tradeoffs are discussed in this paper. The reduced instruction set computer (RISC) design philosophy provides a good starting point for GaAs processor architecture study, but important modifications are needed, and other approaches are being investigated as well. We outline some of the approaches here. State of the art GaAs computer designs, current trends, and research efforts in the area are reviewed in this paper as well. © 1987.