Title :
Direct measurement of the maximum operating region in GaAs HBTs for RF power amplifiers
Author :
Inoue, A. ; Nakatsuka, S. ; Suzuki, S. ; Yamamoto, K. ; Shimura, T. ; Hattori, R. ; Mitsui, Y.
Author_Institution :
High Frequency & Opt. Semicond. Div., Mitsubishi Electr. Corp., Itami City, Japan
Abstract :
Current and voltage waveforms of GaAs HBTs at 1 GHz have been directly measured using a microwave waveform measurement system. The maximum operating region has been experimentally investigated by sweeping load lines. The limits of a small input power are found to come from the thermal runaway and avalanche breakdown of the device. With large input power, the HBT is found to operate beyond the DC limit of thermal runaway.
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; UHF bipolar transistors; UHF power amplifiers; avalanche breakdown; gallium arsenide; heterojunction bipolar transistors; microwave measurement; semiconductor device breakdown; semiconductor device measurement; 1 GHz; GaAs; GaAs HBT; RF power amplifier; avalanche breakdown; current waveform; maximum operating region; microwave measurement; swept load line; thermal runaway; voltage waveform; Current measurement; Gallium arsenide; Heterojunction bipolar transistors; Microwave measurements; Power amplifiers; Power measurement; Radio frequency; Radiofrequency amplifiers; Virtual colonoscopy; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
Microwave Symposium Digest, 2001 IEEE MTT-S International
Conference_Location :
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-6538-0
DOI :
10.1109/MWSYM.2001.967230
