Breakdown behavior of GaAs/AlGaAs HBTs

Avalanche breakdown behavior at the collector junction of the GaAs/AlGaAs HBT (heterojunction bipolar transistor) has been studied. Junction breakdown characteristics displaying hard breakdown, soft breakdown, and negative resistance breakdown behavior were observed and are interpreted by analysis of localized microplasma effects, uniform microplasma-free behavior, and associated current gain measurements. Light emission from the collector-base junction of the GaAs/AlGaAs HBT was observed and used to investigate breakdown uniformity. Using a simple punchthrough breakdown model, the theoretical breakdown curves at different collector doping concentrations and thicknesses were computed and found to be in agreement with maximum breakdown voltages measured from devices displaying the most uniform junction breakdown. The serious current gain degradation of GaAs/AlGaAs HBTs at low current densities was analyzed in connection with the measurement of a large collector-emitter breakdown voltage. The unexpected functional relationship between the collector-emitter breakdown voltage and collector-base breakdown voltage is explained by the absence of a hole-feedback effect for devices not exhibiting transistor action