Using SiGe HBT technology for extreme environment electronics

"Extreme environment" electronics represents an important emerging niche market, and entails the operation of electronic components in surroundings outside the domain of conventional commercial, or even military, specifications. Such extreme environments include operation to very low temperatures (e.g., to 77.3 K or even 4.2 K), operation to very high temperatures (e.g., to 200 or even 300°C), and operation in a radiation-intense setting (e.g., space). We argue that the unique bandgap-engineered features of SiGe HBTs offer great potential to simultaneously satisfy all three extreme environment applications, with little or no process modification, ultimately providing compelling cost advantages at both the IC and system levels.