A novel InGaP/Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As/GaAs CEHBT

A new and interesting InGaP/Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As/GaAs composite-emitter heterojunction bipolar transistor (CEHBT) is fabricated and studied. Based on the insertion of a compositionally linear graded Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As layer, a near-continuous conduction band structure between the InGaP emitter and the GaAs base is developed. Simulation results reveal that a potential spike at the emitter/base heterointerface is completely eliminated. Experimental results show that the CEHBT exhibits good dc performances with dc current gain of 280 and greater than unity at collector current densities of J/sub C/=21kA/cm² and 2.70×10/sup -5/ A/cm², respectively. A small collector/emitter offset voltage /spl Delta/V/sub CE/ of 80 meV is also obtained. The studied CEHBT exhibits transistor action under an extremely low collector current density (2.7×10/sup -5/ A/cm²) and useful current gains over nine decades of magnitude of collector current density. In microwave characteristics, the unity current gain cutoff frequency f_T=43.2GHz and the maximum oscillation frequency f_max=35.1GHz are achieved for a 3×20 μm² device. Consequently, the studied device shows promise for low supply voltage and low-power circuit applications.