Self-aligned SiGe NPN transistors with 285 GHz f/sub MAX/ and 207 GHz f/sub T/ in a manufacturable technology

This paper reports on SiGe NPN HBTs with unity gain cutoff frequency (f_T) of 207 GHz and an f_MAX extrapolated from Mason's unilateral gain of 285 GHz. f_MAX extrapolated from maximum available gain is 194 GHz. Transistors sized 0.12×2.5 μm² have these characteristics at a linear current of 1.0 mA/μm (8.3 mA/μm²). Smaller transistors (0.12×0.5 μm²) have an f_T of 180 GHz at 800 μA current. The devices have a pinched base sheet resistance of 2.5 kΩ/sq. and an open-base breakdown voltage BV_CEO of 1.7 V. The improved performance is a result of a new self-aligned device structure that minimizes parasitic resistance and capacitance without affecting f_T at small lateral dimensions     

p-Type SiGe transistors with low gate leakage using SiN gatedielectric

Using high-quality jet-vapor-deposited (JVD) SiN as gate dielectric, p-type SiGe transistors are fabricated on SiGe heterostructures grown by ultra-high-vacuum chemical vapor deposition (UHVCVD). For an 0.25-μm gate-length device, the gate leakage current is as small as 2.4 nA/mm at V_ds=-1.0 V and V_gn=0.4 V. A maximum extrinsic transconductance of 167 mS/mm is measured. A unity current gain cutoff frequency of 27 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency of 35 GHz are obtained     

Dynamic characterisation of Si/SiGe power HBTs

Si/SiGe power heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) grown by MBE were dynamically characterised in the common-base configuration. At an emitter current density of 1.1×10⁵ A/cm², a maximum frequency of oscillation of 49 GHz was observed. At 10 GHz a maximum unilateral gain of 14 dB is available, and a CW output power of 1.3 W/mm for a device with 10 parallel emitter-fingers of 1×10 μm² each was predicted, from CW measurements     

SiGe drift base bipolar transistor with self-aligned selectiveCVD-tungsten electrodes

A new device and process technology is developed for high-speed SiGe epitaxial base transistors. A 60-nm SiGe epitaxial base and the selectively ion-implanted collector (SIC) structure enhance the cutoff frequency to about 40 GHz. Base resistance is minimized to 165 Ω (emitter area: 0.2×3 μm²), and an f_MAX of 37.1 GHz is achieved by employing 0.2-μm EB lithography for the emitter window, selective CVD tungsten for the base electrode and a self-aligned oxide side wall for the emitter-to-base separation. Circuit simulations predict that this device could reduce the ECL gate delay to below 20 ps     

Modelling of SiGe heterobipolar transistors: 200 GHz frequencies with symmetrical delay times

Our basic approach is to develop a symmetrical design with equal delay times for collector, base and the total load to simulate the high frequency behaviour of SiGe heterobipolar transistors (HBTs). On this base we have investigated the feasibility of SiGe HBTs with transit frequencies f_T above 200 GHz. A symmetrical design reaching f_T=208 GHz is presented. The dependence of the high frequency behaviour on Ge content and vertical transistor design is shown. Critical parameters like the maximum current density and the breakthrough voltage are considered. An analytical model is compared to numerical simulations and experimental data.     

Optimization of characteristics related to the emitter-base junction in self-aligned SEG SiGe HBTs and their application in 72-GHz-static/92-GHz-dynamic frequency dividers

Characteristics related to the emitter-base junction of self-aligned selective-epitaxial-growth SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) were optimized for use with a highly-doped base. The thickness of the Si-cap layer affected both the emitter-base junction concentration and space-charge width, so the dc and ac characteristics of the SiGe HBTs were in turn dependent on this thickness. With a 4/spl times/10/sup 19/-cm/sup -3/ boron-doped base, a 131-GHz cutoff frequency and ECL gate-delay time of 5.4 ps were achieved for the optimized SiGe HBTs. A static frequency divider with a maximum operating frequency of 72.2 GHz and a dynamic frequency divider with a maximum operating frequency of 92.4 GHz were developed for optical-fiber link and millimeter-wave communication systems of the future.     

Integration of GalnP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors andhigh electron mobility transistors

Integration of carbon-doped GaInP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) and high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) is demonstrated by growing an HBT on the top of a HEMT. A current gain of 60, a cutoff frequency of 59 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency of 68 GHz were obtained for a 5×15 μm² self-aligned HBT. The HEMT, with a gate length of 1.5 μm has a transconductance of 210 mS/mm, a cutoff frequency of 9 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency of 22 GHz. It is shown that the GaInP/GaAs HBT on the HEMT is a simple Bi-FET technology suitable for microwave and mixed signal applications     

High performance 0.1 μm gate-length p-type SiGe MODFET's andMOS-MODFET's

High performance p-type modulation-doped field-effect transistors (MODFET's) and metal-oxide-semiconductor MODFET (MOS-MODFET) with 0.1 μm gate-length have been fabricated on a high hole mobility SiGe-Si heterojunction grown by ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition. The MODFET devices exhibited an extrinsic transconductance (g_m) of 142 mS/mm, a unity current gain cut-off frequency (f_T) of 45 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency (f_MAX) of 81 GHz, 5 nm-thick high quality jet-vapor-deposited (JVD) SiO₂ was utilized as gate dielectric for the MOS-MODFET's. The devices exhibited a lower gate leakage current (1 nA/μm at V_gs=6 V) and a wider gate operating voltage swing in comparison to the MODFET's. However, due to the larger gate-to-channel distance and the existence of a parasitic surface channel, MOS-MODFET's demonstrated a smaller peak g _m of 90 mS/mm, f_T of 38 GHz, and f_max of 64 GHz. The threshold voltage shifted from 0.45 V for MODFET's to 1.33 V for MOS-MODFET's. A minimum noise figure (NF_min) of 1.29 dB and an associated power gain (G_a) of 12.8 dB were measured at 2 GHz for MODFET's, while the MOS-MODFET's exhibited a NF _min of 0.92 dB and a G_a of 12 dB at 2 GHz. These DC, RF, and high frequency noise characteristics make SiGe/Si MODFET's and MOS-MODFET's excellent candidates for wireless communications     

112-GHz collector-up Ge/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistorswith low turn-on voltage

This paper reports small-sized collector-up Ge/Ga/As heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT's) operating at low power and high frequency. A heavily B-doped Ge base-layer and a newly-developed self-aligned process reduce the base resistance and the parasitic elements. Intrinsic base resistance is 50 Ω/□; this is the lowest value reported for bipolar transistors. With limiting the active emitter area through B ion implantation, these collector-up HBT's with a collector size of 2×5 μm² exhibit a current gain of 60. They exhibit a maximum oscillation frequency f_max of 112 GHz with an associated current gain cutoff frequency f_T of 25 GHz. The large value of f_max, exceeding 100 GHz, is attributed to the extremely low base resistance caused by the heavily B-doped base-layer and the self-aligned process and to the low base-collector capacitance expected from the collector-up structure. The turn-on voltage of these HBT's is approximately 0.7 V smaller than that of AlGaAs/GaAs HBT's. These results show that these HBT's have excellent potential for low-power dissipation circuits     

40 GHz 7.9 mW low-power frequency divider IC using self-alignedselective-epitaxial-growth SiGe HBTs

A low-power current-mode-logic frequency divider integrated circuit (IC) that operated at 40 GHz with a power consumption of 7.9 mW per master-slave flip-flop was fabricated using 0.2 μm self-aligned selective-epitaxial-growth SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors. This IC also operated at 35 GHz from a supply voltage of -2.2 V. To the authors' knowledge this IC consumes the least power of any for operation in the millimetre-waveband that have appeared to date     

High speed p-type SiGe modulation-doped field-effect transistors

We report on the fabrication and characterization of high-speed p-type modulation-doped field-effect transistors (MODFETs) with 0.7-μm and 1-μm gate-lengths having unity current-gain cut-off frequencies (f_T) of 9.5 GHz and 5.3 GHz, respectively. The devices were fabricated on a high hole mobility SiGe heterostructure grown by ultra-high-vacuum chemical vapor deposition (UHV-CVD). The dc maximum extrinsic transconductance (g_m) is 105 mS/mm (205 mS/mm) at room temperature (77 K) for the 0.7-μm gate length devices. The fabricated devices show good pinch-off characteristics and have a very low gate leakage current of a few μA/mm at room temperature and a few nA/mm at 77 K     

High-speed InGaP/GaAs transistors with a sidewall base contactstructure

We have fabricated InGaP/GaAs double heterojunction bipolar transistors with a sidewall base contact structure. These transistors operate in both emitter-up and emitter-down modes. Symmetric characteristics of the cutoff frequency f_T=68 GHz and the maximum oscillation frequency f_max=31 GHz were obtained at a base-collector bias V_BC of 0 V. For emitter-down operation, f _T was found to reach a maximum of 78 GHz when the base-collector junction was forward biased at 0.9 V. The product of f _T for emitter-down operation and f_T for emitter-up operation was 5.3×10³ GHz², which is about six times that of previously reported SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors     

Low-frequency noise characteristics of UHV/CVD epitaxial Si- andSiGe-base bipolar transistors

We report the first measurements of low-frequency noise in high-performance, UHV/CVD epitaxial Si- and SiGe-base bipolar transistors. The magnitude of the noise power spectral density at fixed frequency for both Si and SiGe devices is comparable for similar bias, geometry, and doping conditions, indicating that the use of strained SiGe alloys does not degrade transistor noise performance. The best recorded values of noise corner frequency were 480 Hz and 373 Hz for the Si and SiGe transistors, respectively, for multi-stripe devices with an emitter area of 0.5×10.0×3 μm². A functional dependence of the noise power spectral density on base current for both device types of I_B^1.90 was observed, and noise measurements as a function of device geometry suggest that the contributing noise sources are uniformly distributed across the emitter of the transistors, not at the emitter periphery     

High-speed small-scale InGaP/GaAs HBT technology and itsapplication to integrated circuits

We have developed the advanced performance, small-scale InGaP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) by using WSi/Ti base electrode and buried SiO₂ in the extrinsic collector. The base-collector capacitance C_BC was further reduced to improve high-frequency performance. Improving the uniformity of the buried SiO ₂, reducing the area of the base electrode, and optimizing the width of the base-contact enabled us to reduce the parasitic capacitance in the buried SiO₂ region by 50% compared to our previous devices. The cutoff frequency f_T of 156 GHz and the maximum oscillation frequency f_max of 255 GHz were obtained at a collector current I_C of 3.5 mA for the HBT with an emitter size S_E of 0.5×4.5 μm², and f_T of 114 GHz and f_max of 230 GHz were obtained at I_C of 0.9 mA for the HBT with S_E of 0.25×1.5 μm². We have also fabricated digital and analog circuits using these HBTs. A 1/8 static frequency divider operated at a maximum toggle frequency of 39.5 GHz with a power consumption per flip-flop of 190 mW. A transimpedance amplifier provides a gain of 46.5 dB·Ω with a bandwidth of 41.6 GHz at a power consumption of 150 mW. These results indicate the great potential of our HBTs for high-speed, low-power circuit applications     

一种低噪声SiGe微波单片放大电路

介绍了一种利用SiGe技术制作的低噪声SiGe微波单片放大电路(MMIC)。该电路以达林顿结构的形式级联,由两个异质结双极型晶体管(HBT)和4个电阻组成;HBT采用准自对准结构,其SiGe基区为非选择性外延。在1 GHz频率下,电路噪声为1.59 dB,功率增益为14.3 dB,输入驻波比为1.6,输出驻波比为2.0。     

75-GHz fT SiGe-base heterojunction bipolartransistors

The fabrication of silicon heterojunction bipolar transistors which have a record unity-current-gain cutoff frequency (f_T) of 75 GHz for a collector-base bias of 1 V, an intrinsic base sheet resistance (R_bi) of 17 kΩ/□, and an emitter width of 0.9 μm is discussed. This performance level, which represents an increase by almost a factor of 2 in the speed of a Si bipolar transistor, was achieved in a poly-emitter bipolar process by using SiGe for the base material. The germanium was graded in the 45-nm base to create a drift field of approximately 20 kV/cm, resulting in an intrinsic transit time of only 1.9 ps     

Analytical modelling of current gain and frequency characteristics under high injection levels in Si/SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors at 77 and 300 K

This paper reports an analytical modelling of current gain and frequency characteristics in Si/SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) at 77 and 300 K. Important transistor parameters, such as current gain, transconductance, cutoff frequency and maximum oscillation frequency are calculated as a function of Ge concentration in the base under different injection levels. The main physical mechanisms for the current and cutoff frequency rolloff at high injection levels are also analyzed. It shows that the high-level injection effect is more pronounced in the SiGe HBTs as a result of the increasing minority carrier concentration in the base and the Ge concentration and distribution will have a decisive influence of device performance. The results may provide a basis for the design of low temperature operation SiGe HBTs.     

MBE-grown Si/SiGe HBTs with high β, fT,and fmax

Si/SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) were fabricated by growing the complete layer structure with molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The typical base doping of 2×10¹⁹ cm^-3 largely exceeded the emitter impurity level and led to sheet resistances of about 1 kΩ/□. The devices exhibited a 500-V Early voltage and a maximum room-temperature current gain of 550, rising to 13000 at 77 K. Devices built on buried-layer substrates had an f_max of 40 GHz. The transit frequency reached 42 GHz     

A 5-GHz SiGe HBT return-to-zero comparator for RF A/D conversion

This paper presents a monolithic comparator implemented in a 0.5-μm SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) process. The SiGe HBT process provides HBT npn transistors with maximum f_T over 40 GHz and f_max over 55 GHz. The comparator circuit employs a resettable slave stage, which was designed to produce return-to-zero output data. Operation with sampling rates up to 5 GHz has been demonstrated by both simulation and experiments. The comparator chip attains an input range of 1.5 V, dissipates 89 mW from a 3-V supply, and occupies a die area of 407×143 μm². The comparator is intended for analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion of 900 MHz RF signals     

A very small bipolar transistor technology with sidewall polycidebase electrode for ECL-CMOS LSIs

Very small, high-performance, silicon bipolar transistors (SPOTEC) are developed for use in ECL-CMOS LSIs. The transistors are fabricated with a sidewall polycide base; chemical vapor deposition is used to selectively deposit tungsten on the sidewall surface of the polysilicon base. The tungsten is then silicided. This self-aligned polycide technology makes a narrow (0.4-μm wide), low-resistance (7 Ω/□) base electrode possible. Narrow U-groove isolation and narrow collector metallization techniques are used to reduce the transistor area to 10 μm². A shallow E-B junction and base layer have now been formed by using rapid-vapor-phase doping. The resulting transistors have good I-V characteristics without leakage current or high current gain. They have a high cut-off frequency of 37 GHz (53 GHz with pedestal collector ion implantation and thin epitaxial layer) and small junction capacitances. These transistors facilitate the development of very-high-speed, high-density ULSIs