Evaluation of the permeable base transistor for application in silicon integrated logic circuits

The gallium arsenide permeable base transistor (PBT) has generated much interest recently as a device for use in discrete and integrated microwave circuits. In this work, the potential of the PBT as a microwave device in silicon is assessed. A two-dimensional device simulation capable of calculating transient responses has been used to analyze a number of silicon PBT structures. Equivalent circuit models, generated from the steady-state results of the device simulations, have been used to study device performance as a function of doping density and electrode grid structure. Maximum unity-current-gain frequencies as high as 80 GHz are projected, as well as operating frequencies of up to 30 GHz for a silicon logic inverter circuit.