A high-power and high-gain X-band Si/SiGe/Si heterojunction bipolar transistor

A double mesa-type Si/SiGe/Si (n-p-n) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) with record output power and power gain at X-band (8.4 GHz) is demonstrated. The device exhibits collector breakdown voltage BV _CBO of more than 24 V and a maximum oscillation frequency f _max of 37 GHz. Under continuous-wave operation and class-AB biasing conditions, 24.2-dBm (263-mW) RF output power with concurrent gain of 6.9 dB is measured at the peak power-added efficiency (28.1%) from a single ten-emitter fingers (780-μm² emitter area) common-base HBT. The maximum RF output power achieved is as high as 26.3 dBm (430 mW in saturation) and the maximum collector efficiency is 36.9%. The low collector doping concentration together with the device layout result in negligible thermal effects across the transistor and greatly simplifies the large-signal modeling. The conventional Gummel-Poon model yields good agreement between the modeled and the measured de characteristics and small-signal S-parameters. The accuracy of the model is further validated with the measured power performance of the SiGe power HBT at X-band. These results set a benchmark for power performance for SiGe-based HBTs and indicate promise for their implementation in efficient X-band power-amplifier circuits