A theory of high-frequency distortion in bipolar transistors

Author

Vaidyanathan, Mani ; Iwamoto, Masaya ; Larson, Lawrence E. ; Gudem, Prasad S. ; Asbeck, Peter M.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Univ. of California, La Jolla, CA, USA

Volume

51

Issue

2

fYear

2003

Firstpage

448

Lastpage

461

Abstract

High-frequency distortion in bipolar transistors is examined by using the charge-control approach of Poon and Narayanan (H.C. Poon, IEEE Trans. Electron Dev., vol. ED-19, pp. 719-731, 1972; S. Narayanan and H.C. Poon, IEEE Trans. Circuit Theory, vol. CT-20, pp. 341-351, 1973; H.C. Poon, IEEE Trans. Electron Dev., vol. ED-21, pp. 110-112, 1974) to connect the device\´s distortion behavior to its "loaded" unity-current-gain frequency (ωˆ_T). The resulting expressions for the distortion reveal considerable information on its frequency and bias dependence. Points on the ωˆ_T versus collector current curve yielding optimum distortion performance are identified and interpreted in terms of current cancellation. Both second- and third-order distortion are considered, and the results are validated by both simulation and experiment.

Keywords

Volterra series; harmonic distortion; heterojunction bipolar transistors; intermodulation distortion; microwave bipolar transistors; semiconductor device measurement; semiconductor device models; Volterra series; bias dependence; bipolar transistors; charge-control approach; collector current curve; current cancellation; distortion behavior; frequency dependence; harmonic distortion; heterojunction bipolar transistors; high-frequency distortion; homojunction bipolar transistors; intermodulation distortion; loaded unity-current-gain frequency; nonlinear distortion; optimum distortion performance; second-order distortion; third-order distortion; unity-current-gain frequency; Bipolar transistors; Circuits; Frequency; Harmonic distortion; Heterojunctions; Intermodulation distortion; Linearity; Nonlinear distortion; Voltage; Wireless communication;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9480

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TMTT.2002.807821

Filename

1179411