Power performance of InP-based single and double heterojunction bipolar 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