Title :
Modeling and characterization of SiGe HBT low-frequency noise figures-of-merit for RFIC applications
Author :
Tang, Jin ; Niu, Guofu ; Jin, Zhenrong ; Cressler, John D. ; Zhang, Shiming ; Joseph, Alvin J. ; Harame, David L.
Author_Institution :
Electr. & Comput. Eng. Dept., Auburn Univ., AL, USA
fDate :
11/1/2002 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
We present the first systematic experimental and modeling results of noise corner frequency (fC) and noise corner frequency to cutoff frequency ratio (fC/fT) for SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) in a commercial SiGe RF technology. The fC and fC/fT ratio are investigated as a function of operating collector current density, SiGe profile, breakdown voltage, and transistor geometry. We demonstrate that both the fC and fC/fT ratio can be significantly reduced by careful SiGe profile optimization. A comparison of the fC and fC/fT ratio for high breakdown and standard breakdown voltage devices is made. Geometrical scaling data show that the SiGe HBT with AE=0.5×2.5 μm2 has the lowest fC and fC/fT ratio compared to other device geometries. An fC reduction of nearly 50% can be achieved by choosing this device as the unit cell in RF integrated-circuit design.
Keywords :
Ge-Si alloys; S-parameters; UHF bipolar transistors; bipolar analogue integrated circuits; current density; doping profiles; flicker noise; heterojunction bipolar transistors; microwave bipolar transistors; phase noise; radiofrequency integrated circuits; semiconductor device breakdown; semiconductor device measurement; semiconductor device models; semiconductor device noise; semiconductor materials; LF noise; RF integrated circuit design; RFIC design; SiGe; SiGe HBTs; SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors; SiGe profile optimization; breakdown voltage; commercial SiGe RF technology; cut-off frequency; device modeling; flicker noise; geometrical scaling data; low-frequency noise; noise corner frequency; operating collector current density; transistor geometry; Cutoff frequency; Geometry; Germanium silicon alloys; Heterojunction bipolar transistors; Low-frequency noise; Noise measurement; Radio frequency; Radiofrequency integrated circuits; Signal to noise ratio; Silicon germanium;
Journal_Title :
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TMTT.2002.804519