Title :
Long-term base current instability: a major concern for AlGaAs/GaAs HBT reliability
Author_Institution :
Electr. & Comput. Eng. Dept., Central Florida Univ., Orlando, FL, USA
Abstract :
This paper provides an overview of the long-term base current instability in the AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT), which is a main mechanism governing the HBT long-term current gain drift and thus a major concern for the HBT reliability. Topics covered include: (1) types of base current instability and their underlying physical mechanisms; (2) leakage currents in the HBT and their relevance to the reliability; (3) electro-thermal interaction and their impact on the HBT reliability; and (4) analytic model for predicting the HBT mean time to failure (MTTF). Measurements and device simulation results are also included in support of the modeling and analysis
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; aluminium compounds; failure analysis; gallium arsenide; heterojunction bipolar transistors; leakage currents; semiconductor device models; semiconductor device reliability; AlGaAs-GaAs; AlGaAs/GaAs HBT reliability; analytic model; base current instability; current gain drift; electro-thermal interaction; heterojunction bipolar transistor; leakage current; mean time to failure; Circuit testing; Failure analysis; Gallium arsenide; Heterojunction bipolar transistors; Leakage current; Phased arrays; Predictive models; Reliability engineering; Stress; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
Semiconductor Conference, 1998. CAS '98 Proceedings. 1998 International
Conference_Location :
Sinaia
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-4432-4
DOI :
10.1109/SMICND.1998.732266
