Glossary comparison
GAA vs GaAs: what is the difference?
The difference
GaAs is gallium arsenide, a compound semiconductor material. GAA is a transistor shape, normally built in silicon.
GAA (gate-all-around) is a transistor architecture used in advanced silicon logic. GaAs is a material.
The two terms
GAA
A transistor architecture in which the gate completely surrounds the channel on all sides, giving the best electrostatic control and the steepest subthreshold behaviour.
GaAs
A direct-bandgap III-V compound semiconductor with high electron mobility, used for RF power amplifiers, 850 nm lasers and high-efficiency solar cells. Its direct bandgap lets it emit light efficiently, which silicon cannot.
Side by side
| Field | GAA | GaAs |
|---|---|---|
| Stands for | Gate-All-Around | Gallium Arsenide |
| Type | Acronym | Material |
| Domain | Process Technology | Photonics, MEMS & Sensors |
| Group | Transistor architecture | Compound semiconductors |