Motorola claims semiconductor triumph

NEWS Motorola's semiconductor division has announced a new breakthrough in chip design, combining high-performance semiconductors onto a low-cost base of silicon. High-performance semiconductors such as Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) and Indium Phosphide (InP) give better performance than a silicon wafer with lower power consumption. For this reason, they are widely used in communications and satellite applications, including mobile phones. However, both GaAs and InP are expensive and difficult to engineer, and Motorola's new solution aims to combine the best characteristics of the two, according to the Financial Times. This is the second major announcement from Motorola's semiconductor division, coming at a time when investors are urging the company to spin off or sell its semiconductor division.