Fully-planar AlGaAs/GaAs HBT's achieved by selective CBE regrowth

This paper describes a novel fully planar AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) technology using selective chemical beam epitaxy (CBE). Planarization is achieved by a selective regrowth of the base and collector contact layers. This process allows the simultaneous metallization of the emitter, base and collector on top of the device. For the devices with an emitter-base junction area of 2×6 μm² and a base-collector junction area of 14×6 μm², a current gain cut off frequency of 50 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency of 30 GHz are achieved. The common emitter current gain h_FE is 25 for a collector current density J_c of 2×10⁴ A/cm²     

Demonstration of aluminum-free metamorphic InP/In0.53Ga0.47As/InP double heterojunction bipolar transistors on GaAssubstrates

We report, for the first time, the successful fabrication of aluminum-free metamorphic (MM) InP/In_0.53 Ga_0.47 As/InP double heterojunction bipolar transistors (DHBTs) on GaAs substrates with a linearly graded In_xGa_1-xP buffer grown by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy (SSMBE). Devices with 5×5 μm² emitters display a peak current gain of 40 and a common-emitter breakdown voltage (BV_CE0) higher than 9 V, a current gain cut-off frequency (f_T) of 48 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency (f_max) of 42 GHz. A minimum noise figure of 2.9 dB and associated gain of 19.5 dB were measured at a collector current level of 2.6 mA at 2 GHz. Detailed analysis suggests that the degradation of the base-emitter heterojunction interface and the increase of bulk recombination are the most probable causes for the poorer device performance of current metamorphic HBTs compared with lattice-matched HBTs     

Impact of Al composition on RF noise figure of AlGaAs/GaAsheterojunction bipolar transistors

The influence of Al content on the RF noise characteristics of Al _xGa_1-xAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT's) is presented. It is shown that the minimum noise figure (F_min) at 2 GHz is reduced by increasing the Al mole fraction (x). This observed improvement in noise figure is directly correlated to the differences in dc current gain. The lowest measured F_min(2 GHz) of HBT's with emitter dimensions 2×(3.5×30) μm², were 1.3, 1.61, and 2.1 dB for x=0.35, 0.30, and 0.25 devices, respectively at I_c=3 mA. The measured results were found to agree well with calculated values over a wide range of collector currents     

High reliability InGaP/GaAs HBT

Excellent long term reliability InGaP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT) grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) are demonstrated. There were no device failures (T=10000 h) in a sample lot of ten devices (L=6.4 μm ×20 μm) under moderate current densities and high-temperature testing (J_c=25 kA/cm ², V_ce=2.0 V, Junction Temp =264°C). The dc current gain for large area devices (L=75 μm ×75 μm) at 1 kA/cm² at a base sheet resistance of 240 ohms/sq (4×10 ¹⁹ cm^-3@700 Å) was over 100. The dc current gain before reliability testing (L=6.4 μm ×10 μm) at 0.8 kA/cm² was 62. The dc current gain (0.8 kA/cm²) decreased to 57 after 10000 h of reliability testing. The devices showed an f_T=61 GHz and f_max=103 GHz. The reliability results are the highest ever achieved for InGaP/GaAs HBT and these results indicate the great potential of InGaP/GaAs HBT for numerous low- and high-frequency microwave circuit applications. The reliability improvements are probably due to the initial low base current at low current densities which result from the low surface recombination of InGaP and the high valence band discontinuity between InGaP and GaAs     

DC and RF characteristics of doped multichannelAlAs0.56Sb0.44/In0.53Ga0.47As field effect transistors with variable gate-lengths

Depletion-mode doped-channel field effect transistors (DCFETs) using a AlAs_0.56Sb_0.44/In_0.53Ga_0.47 As heterostructure with multiple channels grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on an InP substrate are presented. Devices with gate lengths ranging from 0.2 μm to 1.0 μm have been fabricated. Three doped In_0.53Ga_0.47As channels separated by undoped AlAs_0.56Sb_0.44 layers are used for the devices. The devices exhibit unity current gain cut-off frequencies typically between 18 GHz and 73 GHz and corresponding maximum oscillation frequencies typically between 60 GHz and 160 GHz. The multiple channel approach results in wide linearity of dc and RF performance of the device     

High-speed InP/InGaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors

Very-high-performance common-emitter InP/InGaAs single heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) grown by metalorganic molecular beam epitaxy (MOMBE) are reported. They exhibit a maximum oscillation frequency (f_T) of 180 GHz at a current density of 1×10⁵ A/cm². this corresponds to an (R_BC_BC)_eff=f _T/(8πf²_max) delay time of 0.12 ps, which is the smallest value every reported for common-emitter InP/InGaAs HBTs. The devices have 11 μm² total emitter area and exhibit current gain values up to 100 at zero base-collector bias voltage. The breakdown voltage of these devices is high with measured BV_CEO and BV_CEO of 8 and 17 V, respectively     

Submicron-square emitter AlGaAs/GaAs HBTs with AlGaAshetero-guardring

Successful operation of submicron-square emitter AlGaAs/GaAs HBTs is demonstrated for the first time by using a fully mesa-structure-type emitter-base junction-area definition method with an AlGaAs hetero-guardring. The hetero-guardring reduces surface recombination current at the emitter-mesa edge to 1.4 μA/μm. This is 1/10 of that for devices without the guardring. Here, dc gains of 20, 26, and 40 are achieved for 0.5 μm×0.5 μm, 0.7 μm×0.7 μm, and 0.9 μm×0.9 μm emitter HBTs, respectively. An f_T of 40 GHz, and an f_max of 30 GHz are obtained for 0.9 μm×0.9 μm at a J_C of 1.0×10⁵ A/cm²     

High-performance, 0.1 μm InAlAs/InGaAs high electron mobilitytransistors on GaAs

This letter describes the material characterization and device test of InAlAs/InGaAs high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) grown on GaAs substrates with indium compositions and performance comparable to InP-based devices. This technology demonstrates the potential for lowered production cost of very high performance devices. The transistors were fabricated from material with room temperature channel electron mobilities and carrier concentrations of μ=10000 cm² /Vs, n=3.2×10¹² cm^-2 (In=53%) and μ=11800 cm²/Vs, n=2.8×10¹² cm^-2 (In=60%). A series of In=53%, 0.1×100 μm² and 0.1×50 μm² devices demonstrated extrinsic transconductance values greater than 1 S/mm with the best device reaching 1.074 S/mm. High-frequency testing of 0.1×50 μm² discrete HEMT's up to 40 GHz and fitting of a small signal equivalent circuit yielded an intrinsic transconductance (g_m,i) of 1.67 S/mm, with unity current gain frequency (f_T) of 150 GHz and a maximum frequency of oscillation (f_max) of 330 GHz. Transistors with In=60% exhibited an extrinsic g_m of 1.7 S/mm, which is the highest reported value for a GaAs based device     

High-speed, low-noise InGaP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors

We have demonstrated self-aligned InGaP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT's) with excellent dc, microwave, and noise performance. A 3×10 μm² emitter finger device achieved a cutoff frequency of f_T=66 GHz and a maximum frequency of oscillation of f_max=109 GHz. A minimum noise figure of 1.12 dB and an associated gain of 11 dB were measured at 4 GHz. These results are the highest combined f_T+f_max and the lowest noise figure reported for an InGaP/GaAs HBT and are attributed to material quality and the use of self-aligned base contacts. These data clearly demonstrate the viability of InGaP/GaAs HBT's for high-speed, low-noise circuit applications     

Performance enhancement of GaInP/GaAs heterojunction bipolarphototransistors using dc base bias

GaInP-GaAs heterojunction bipolar phototransistors grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) and operated with frontside optical injection through the emitter are reported with high optical gain (<88) and record high frequency performance (28 GHz). Heteropassivation of the extrinsic base surface is employed using a depleted GaInP emitter layer between the nonself-aligned base contact and the emitter mesa. The phototransistor's performance is shown to improve with increasing dc base bias in agreement with predictions of a recently reported Gummel-Poon model. Experimental results are reported for devices with optical active areas of 10×10 μm², 20×20 μm², and 30×30 μm², with peak measured cutoff frequencies of 28.5, 23.1, and 18.5 GHz, respectively, obtained at collector current densities between 2×10 ³ and 6×10³ A/cm²     

Submicrometer self-aligned AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolartransistor process suitable for digital applications

A self-aligned process is developed to obtain submicrometer high-performance AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) which can maintain a high current gain for emitter sizes on the order of 1 μm². The major features of the process are incorporation of an AlGaAs surface passivation structure around the entire emitter-base junction periphery to reduce surface recombination and reliable removal of base metal (Ti/W) deposits from the sidewall by electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma deposition of oxide and ECR plasma etching by NF₃. A DC current gain of more than 30 can be obtained for HBTs with an emitter-base junction area of 0.5×2 μm² at submilliampere collector currents. The maximum f_T and f_max obtained from a 0.5×2 μm² emitter HBT are 46 and 42 GHz, respectively at I_C=1.5 and more than 20 GHz even at I_C=0.1 mA     

High-performance InP/In0.53Ga0.47As/InPdouble HBTs on GaAs substrates

InP/In_0.53Ga_0.47As/InP double heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) were grown on GaAs substrates. A 140 GHz power-gain cutoff frequency f_max and a 207 GHz current-gain cutoff frequency f_τ were obtained, presently the highest reported values for metamorphic HBTs. The breakdown voltage BV_CEO was 5.5 V, while the dc current gain β was 76. High-thermal-conductivity InP metamorphic buffer layers were employed in order to minimize the device-thermal resistance     

Ga2O3(Gd2O3)/InGaAsenhancement-mode n-channel MOSFETs

We have demonstrated the first Ga₂O₃(Gd₂O₃) insulated gate n-channel enhancement-mode In_0.53Ga_0.47As MOSFET's on InP semi-insulating substrate. Ga₂O₃(Gd₂ O₃) was electron beam deposited from a high purity single crystal Ga₅Gd₃O₁₂ source. The source and drain regions of the device were selectively implanted with Si to produce low resistance ohmic contacts. A 0.75-μm gate length device exhibits an extrinsic transconductance of 190 mS/mm, which is an order of magnitude improvement over previously reported enhancement-mode InGaAs MISFETs. The current gain cutoff frequency, f_t, and the maximum frequency of oscillation, f_max, of 7 and 10 GHz were obtained, respectively, for a 0.75×100 μm² gate dimension device at a gate voltage of 3 V and drain voltage of 2 V     

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     

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     

Power performance of InP-based single and double heterojunctionbipolar transistors

The microwave and power performance of fabricated InP-based single and double heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) is presented. The single heterojunction bipolar transistors (SHBTs), which had a 5000 Å InGaAs collector, had BV_CEO of 7.2 V and J_Cmax of 2×10⁵ A/cm². The resulting HBTs with 2×10 μm² emitters produced up to 1.1 mW/μm2 at 8 GHz with efficiencies over 30%. Double heterojunction bipolar transistors (DHBTs) with a 3000-Å InP collector had a BV_CEO of 9 V and J_{c max} of 1.1×10⁵ A/cm², resulting in power densities up to 1.9 mW/μm² at 8 GHz and a peak efficiency of 46%. Similar DHBTs with a 6000 Å InP collector had a higher BV_CEO of 18 V, but the J _{c max} decreased to 0.4×10⁵ A/cm² due to current blocking at the base-collector junction. Although the 6000 Å InP collector provided higher f_max and gain than the 3000 Å collector, the lower J_{c max} reduced its maximum power density below that of the SHBT wafer. The impact on power performance of various device characteristics, such as knee voltage, breakdown voltage, and maximum current density, are analyzed and discussed     

SiGe pMODFETs on silicon-on-sapphire substrates with 116 GHzfmax

The dc and microwave results of Si_0.2Ge_0.8/Si_0.7Ge_0.3 pMODFETs grown on silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) substrates by ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition are reported. Devices with L_g=0.1 μm displayed high transconductance (377 mS/mm), low output conductance (25 mS/mm), and high gate-to-drain breakdown voltage (4 V). The dc current-voltage (I-V) characteristics were also nearly identical to those of control devices grown on bulk Si substrates. Microwave characterization of 0.1×50 μm² devices yielded unity current gain (f_T) and unilateral power gain (f _max) cutoff frequencies as high as 50 GHz and 116 GHz, respectively. Noise parameter characterization of 0.1×90 μm² devices revealed minimum noise figure (F_min) of 0.6 dB at 3 GHz and 2.5 dB at 20 GHz     

Submicron self-aligned HBT's by selective emitter regrowth

Fabrication of fully self-aligned heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) by selective emitter regrowth is described. Scaled devices with emitter dimensions as small as 0.4×7 μm² demonstrate current gain up to 29, with successful suppression of surface recombination effects. The RF characteristics of a 1.4×11 μm² device exhibited f_T and f _MAX of 75 and 46 GHz, respectively, and is limited by the refractory base metallization. This technology is promising for scaled HBT applications where high-speed and low-power dissipation are critical     

Low-bias-current direct modulation up to 33 GHz inInGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs pseudomorphic MQW ridge-waveguide lasers

Modulation bandwidths of 24 GHz (I_bias=25 mA) and 33 GHz (I_bias=65 mA) are demonstrated for 3×100 μm² In_0.35Ga_0.65As/GaAs multiple quantum well ridge-waveguide lasers with undoped and p-doped active regions, respectively. These performance enhancements have been achieved both by lowering the growth temperature of the high-Al-mole-fraction cladding layers and by utilizing short-cavity devices, fabricated with dry-etched facets using chemically-assisted ion-beam etching. Both the undoped and p-doped lasers also demonstrate modulation current efficiency factors exceeding 5 GHz/mA^1/2, the best reported results for any semiconductor laser     

Role of neutral base recombination in high gain AlGaAs/GaAs HBT's

Neutral base recombination is a limiting factor controlling the maximum gain of AlGaAs/GaAs HBT's with base sheet resistances between 100 and 350 Ω/□. In this work, we investigate five series of AlGaAs/GaAs HBT growths in which the base thickness was varied between 500 and 1600 Å and the base doping level between 2.9× and 4.7×10¹⁹ cm^-3. The dc current gain of large area devices (L=75 μm×75 μm) varies by as much as a factor of two at high injection levels for a fixed base sheet resistance, depending on the growth optimization. One of these series (Series TA) has the highest current gains ever reported in this base sheet resistance range, with dc current gains over 225 (@ 200 A/cm² ) at a base sheet resistance of 330 Ω/□. A high dc current gain of 220 (@ 10 kA/cm²) was also confirmed in small area devices (L=8 μm×8 μm). High-frequency tests on a separate set of wafers grown under the same conditions indicate these high current gains can be achieved without compromising the RF characteristics: Both high and normal gain devices exhibit an f_t ~68 GHz and f_max~100 GHz. By fitting the base current as a sum of two components, one due to recombination in the neutral base and the other in the space charge region, we conclude that an improvement in the minority carrier lifetime is responsible for the observed increase in dc current gain. Moreover, we observe a thickness-dependent variation in the effective minority carrier lifetime as the gains increase, along with a nonlinear dependence of current gain on base doping. Both phenomena are discussed in terms of an increase in Auger and radiative recombination relative to Hall-Shockley-Read recombination in optimized samples