Title :
Determination of HBT thermal resistance using pulsed I-V measurements
Author :
McIntosh, Paul M. ; Staniforth, Michael J. ; Snowden, Christopher M.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electron. & Electr. Eng., Leeds Univ., UK
Abstract :
This paper describes the determination of HBT thermal resistance using a pulsed I-V measurement system. Two measurements are used to determine the thermal resistance (RTH), an isothermal measurement of the base-emitter voltage (VBE) and emitter current (IC) using the pulsed I-V system over a range of elevated temperatures and a non-isothermal measurement of VBE and IC over a range of collector-emitter voltages (VCE ). The results of both measurements are used to determine values of power dissipation against device temperature from which RTH can be found. The measurement of a power HBT has been carried out and the value of RTH has been found to vary from 79°C/W at low power levels to 108°C/W at high power levels. This variation is a result of the change in the thermal conductivity of GaAs and has been confirmed by comparison with a theoretical model for the variation in the thermal conductivity of GaAs
Keywords :
heterojunction bipolar transistors; microwave bipolar transistors; microwave power transistors; power bipolar transistors; thermal conductivity; thermal resistance; thermal resistance measurement; GaAs; HBT thermal resistance; base-emitter voltage; device temperature; elevated temperatures; emitter current; isothermal measurement; nonisothermal measurement; power HBT; power dissipation; pulsed I-V measurements; thermal conductivity; Current measurement; Electrical resistance measurement; Gallium arsenide; Heterojunction bipolar transistors; Isothermal processes; Power measurement; Pulse measurements; Thermal conductivity; Thermal resistance; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
High Performance Electron Devices for Microwave and Optoelectronic Applications Workshop, 1996. EDMO
Conference_Location :
Leeds
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-3130-3
DOI :
10.1109/EDMO.1996.575813
