Title :
High-performance GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor logarithmic IF amplifier
Author :
Oki, A.K. ; Kim, M.E. ; Gorman, G.M. ; Camou, J.B.
Author_Institution :
TRW Inc., Redondo Beach, CA, USA
Abstract :
A GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) was used to synthesize a high-performance true logarithmic intermediate-frequency (IF) amplifier based on a silicon bipolar transistor dual-gain log-stage design. The HBT log IF amplifier monolithically integrates four log stages to achieve a piecewise-linear approximated log function for compression of wide-dynamic-range signals. A fabrication process based on metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) epitaxy and a 3- mu m emitter self-aligned base ohmic transistor was used. The true log IF amplifier´s performance includes a DC-3-GHz IF/video bandwidth, 400-ps rise time, and les than +or-1-dB log error over about a 40-dB dynamic range at 3 GHz.<>
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; aluminium compounds; bipolar integrated circuits; gallium arsenide; intermediate-frequency amplifiers; microwave amplifiers; microwave integrated circuits; military equipment; 3 GHz; 3 micron; 400 ps; GaAs-AlGaAs; MOCVD epitaxy; bipolar transistor dual-gain log-stage design; dynamic range; heterojunction bipolar transistor; log error; logarithmic IF amplifier; military equipment; piecewise-linear approximated log function; rise time; self-aligned base ohmic transistor; wide dynamic range signal compression; Bipolar transistors; Chemical vapor deposition; Epitaxial growth; Fabrication; Gallium arsenide; Heterojunction bipolar transistors; MOCVD; Piecewise linear techniques; Signal synthesis; Silicon;
Conference_Titel :
Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Monolithic Circuits Symposium, 1988. Digest of Papers., IEEE 1988
Conference_Location :
New York, NY, USA
DOI :
10.1109/MCS.1988.197285
