Ka-band InP high electron mobility transistor monolithic microwave integrated circuit reliability

The reliability of AlInAs/GaInAs high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) monolithic microwave integrated circuits on InP substrates from HRL Labs has been studied with elevated-temperature lifetests on Ka-band LNAs, as well as ramped-voltage tests on individual capacitors. In the lifetests the LNAs were put under normal DC bias, and aging was accelerated by heating to channel temperatures of 190°C and 210°C. Room-temperature characterizations involved DC tests of HEMT parameters as well as 30 GHz measurements of gain, noise figure and phase. Aging caused the noise figure to drop by a few tenths of a dB, and the phase changed by ±10°. The gain dropped gradually by several dB. Taking 1 dB drop in gain as the failure criterion, we find an activation energy of 1.1 eV, and a mean time to failure (MTTF) at an operating channel temperature of 70°C of 7×10⁶ h. In the ramped-voltage tests, 10×10 μm² capacitors were taken to breakdown at two different temperatures, and several ramp rates. This yielded a voltage acceleration factor of γ=36–39 nm/V, and thermal activation energy of 0.11–0.13 eV. Next, ramped voltage tests were conducted on 200×200 μm² capacitors, typical of those in circuits. These were done at 25°C and 3.0 V/s only, and at least 1000 specimens were tested per wafer. The known acceleration factors were used to find the MTTFs at 70°C, with operating biases of 5 or 10 V. For the majority of the population the MTTFs are about 10⁹ h, while only 0.07% of the population has MTTF less than 1×10⁶ h. The combination of results from elevated-temperature lifetests and ramped-voltage capacitor tests indicates excellent reliability for this MMIC technology in terms of known “wearout” failure mechanisms.     

Macromodeling of integrated circuit operational amplifiers

A macromodel has been developed for integrated circuit (IC) op amps which provides an excellent pin-for-pin representation. The model elements are those which are common to most circuit simulators. The macromodel is a factor of more than six times less complex than the original circuit, and provides simulated circuit responses that have run times which are an order of magnitude faster and less costly in comparison to modeling the op amp at the electronic device level. Expressions for the values of the elements of the macromodel are developed starting from values of typical response characteristics of the op amp. Examples are given for three representative op amps. In addition, the performance of the macromodel in linear and nonlinear systems is presented. For comparison, the simulated circuit performance when modeling at the device level is also demonstrated.     

Power consumption modelling of integrated circuit micropoweroperational amplifiers

A modification to macromodels for integrated circuit micropower operational amplifiers is presented which involves the addition of an identical power section to each amplifier. The resulting macromodels account for influences of the input signal and load resistance on currents taken from the supply sources. The modelling accuracy of the integrated circuit power consumption is sufficient for typical macromodel applications     

Stability analysis of monolithic integrated circuit of microwave signal converter to the influence of special factors

The research results of the resistance of signal converters with the operating frequency of 57–64 GHz, manufactured at the Institute of Ultrahigh Frequency Semiconductor Electronics on AlGaN/GaN/Al₂O₃ heterostructures to the action of special factors such as neutron and gamma radiation are presented. The results of evaluation of the long-term stability of the signal converters at high temperature are also discussed. The possible physical mechanisms of the changing characteristics are considered.     

基于单片机的烘炉温度自动检测系统的研究与实现

文章研制的烘炉温度自动温度检测系统,可用来连续测量炉内各点的温度变化,以及被加工的零件产品本身的温度状态变化.能够掌握不同温度下的固化时间、最大温差、变化斜率和参考曲线等技术指标.以此来优化生产过程,提高烘炉热加工的产品质量和生产效率,降低能耗,同时该装置也为快速查找烘炉故障提供了便利的条件.     

Optimization of diode structures for monolithic integrated microwave circuits

Device requirements of a medium power Ku-band reflective phase shifter are reviewed indicating a requirement for a diode with a 4-Terrahertz cut-off frequency. Various structures are examined to test their suitability for integration and feasibility for meeting specifications. A "pocket version" of a surface oriented device design is chosen and described. It is shown to meet or exceed all electrical requirements while providing for compatibility with final integration into the circuit.     

Design, fabrication, and characterization of monolithic microwave GaAs power FET amplifiers

The design, fabrication, and characterization of three- and four-stage monolithic GaAs power FET amplifiers are described. Each of the amplifier chips measures 1 mm × 4 mm. Procedures for characterizing these monolithic amplifiers are outlined. Output powers of up to 1 W with 27-dB gain were achieved with a four-stage design near 9 GHz. The circuit topologies used were flexible enough to allow external bondwires to be used as shunt inductors for amplifier operation at C- or S-bands. An output power of 2 W with 28-dB gain and 36.6-percent power-added efficiency was achieved at 3.5 GHz, using a modified four-stage amplifier.     

Applications of integrated circuit technology to microwave frequencies

Integration techniques suitable for microwave circuits have been developed. Various aspects of the technology of integration of microwave circuits are reviewed and the reasons for choosing the hybrid approach instead of the monolithic approach and thin-film metallization instead of thick-film are discussed. Design data relating circuit performance to substrate roughness and thickness of thin-film metal adhesion layers are presented. Propagation and radiation characteristics of microstrip lines are discussed. Design equations for thin-film lumped-element passive components are given. Exampies of various microwave integrated circuits are shown.     

Low temperature oxidation of silicon

Oxidation of silicon in dry oxygen ambient at temperatures between 25°C to 500°C, with a point-to-plane corona discharge is studied. The oxidation rate for this case is a strong function of temperature and is found to increase significantly in comparison to the conventional thermal oxidation rate. For the thicker films, refractive index of the grown oxide layer approaches the value obtained for high-temperature thermally grown oxide     

集成数字温度监测电路

设计了一种集成数字温度监测电路,解决传统温度传感器的非线性问题,实现了温度自动检测和数字显示.     

METHOD OF PARAMETER STATISTICAL ANALYSIS FOR BIPOLAR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DESIGN

The method and procedure of realizing parameter statistical correlation analysis ofbipolar analog IC's are given,and the statistical model of parameter are constructed with doubleparameters(B_F,R_S).Based on the comparison and analysis of the circuit characteristics,it isshown that the method can be used for analysis and design of bipolar IC's.     

Effects of offsets on bipolar integrated circuit mixer even-orderdistortion terms

Second-order intermodulation products in bipolar double-balanced mixers can be generated due to device mismatches. These spurs are analyzed theoretically and in simulation. Guidelines are presented that show the maximum acceptable mismatch to meet a given second-order intercept-point specification     

Orbital performance of communication satellite microwave power amplifiers (MPAs)

This paper presents background data on the performance of microwave power amplifiers (MPAs) used as transmitters in currently operating commercial communication satellites. Specifically, aspects of two competing MPA types are discussed. These are the well known TWTA (travelling wave tube amplifier) and the SSPA (solid state power amplifier). Extensive in-orbit data has been collected from over 2000 MPAs in 1991 and 1993. The study in 1991 involved 75 S/C (spacecraft) covering 463 S/C years. The 1993 ‘second look’ study encompassed a slightly different population of 72 S/C with 497 S/C years of operation. A surprising result of both studies was that SSPAs, although quite reliable, did not achieve the reliability of TWTAs. TWTAs were one-third more reliable in the 1993 study. This was at C-band with comparable power amplifiers, e.g. 6-16W of RF output power and similar gains. Data at K_u-band is for TWTAs only since there are no SSPAs in the current S/C inventory. The other complementary result was that the projected failure rates used as S/C payload design guidelines were, on average, somewhat higher for TWTAs than the actual failure rates uncovered by this study. SSPA rates were as projected.     

High-power, spectrally coherent array of monolithic flaredamplifier-master oscillator power amplifiers (MFA-MOPAs)

A monolithically integrated array of InGaAs/AlGaAs flared amplifiers driven by a single DBR laser through a power splitter network is described. This architecture is capable of providing single-mode, diffraction-limited performance from each emitter and is scalable to unprecedented power levels. Over 20 W of pulsed, spectrally coherent emission is generated at 955 nm from a 4-element array, and 39 W is obtained from an 8-element array     

Transferred electron (Gunn) amplifiers and oscillators for microwave applications

Transferred electron amplifiers and oscillators are now well established as important members of the family of active microwave solid-state devices. The combination of power output, gain-bandwidth product, and noise figure that has been achieved with stable linear transferred electron amplifiers cannot be matched by any other type of microwave solid-state amplifier. Transferred electron oscillators have produced the highest power output obtained so far from a single solid-state device at microwave frequencies, they can be electronically and mechanically tuned over larger frequency ranges than other types of solid-state oscillators, and well designed transferred electron oscillators have exceptionally low AM and FM noise. An introductory survey of the history and the current status of the theory, technology, and application of transferred electron devices is presented. The future outlook for these devices appears bright.     

Triple implant (In,Ga)As/InP n-p-n heterojunction bipolar transistors for integrated circuit applications

For the first time (In,Ga)As/InP n-p-n heterojunction bipolar transistors (HJBT's) applicable to integrated circuits have been fabricated by triple ion implantation. The base has been formed by beryllium ion implantation and the collector by silicon ion implantation. The implants were made into an LPE-grown n-n (In,Ga)As/InP heterostructure on an n+-InP substrate. This inverted mode emitter-down heterojunction transistor structure demonstrates to a maximum current gain of 7 with no hysteresis in the characteristics. The ideality factors of the IBversus VBE, and ICversus VBEcharacterisitics with VCB= 0, are 1.25 and 1.08, respectively, indicating that the defect level in the herterojunction is low and that minority-carrier injection and diffusion is the dominant current flow mechanism.     

Computer aided design of wide-band integrated microwave transistor amplifiers on high dielectric substrates

The problem of wide bandwidth and flat in-band gain response for microwave transistor amplifiers has been reduced to the optimization of a number of important variables from computer prepared design charts. Through the general flexibility of the computer-generated data, a large variety of amplifier responses are possible - using distributed circuit matching networks. As experimental verification of the overall design procedure, single-stage and two-stage octave wide transistor amplifiers were fabricated on 1 inch by 1 inch and 1 inch by ½ inch 20 mil thick alumina, respectively. The experimental data gained from these units showed excellent correlation with the computer predicted response.     

Operational silicon bipolar inversion-channel field-effect transistor (BICFET)

A new transistor structure, the bipolar inversion-channel field-effect transistor (BICFET), has been recently proposed. Potential advantages include a very high frequency response and ability to be scaled to small dimensions. The first operational devices of this type are described and are shown to possess characteristics of the general form predicted.     

Low temperature characterization of silicon CMOS devices

A brief review of the main physical results concerning the low temperature characterization of Si CMOS devices is presented. More specifically, the carrier mobility law, saturation velocity, short channel effects, impact ionization phenomenon, hot carrier effects and parasitic leakage current are discussed.