Title :
Low-frequency noise properties of SiGe HBT´s and application to ultra-low phase-noise oscillators
Author :
Van Haaren, Bart ; Regis, Myrianne ; Llopis, Olivier ; Escotte, Laurent ; Gruhle, Andreas ; Mähner, Claus ; Plana, Robert ; Graffeuil, Jacques
Author_Institution :
Lab. d´´Autom. et d´´Anal. des Syst., CNRS, Toulouse, France
fDate :
5/1/1998 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
This paper presents an extensive electrical characterization of Si/SiGe/Si heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT´s) grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). These devices are designed for microwave and millimeter-wave applications since they present a maximum oscillation frequency in the 40-GHz range. The processing technology, featuring a high-quality oxide passivation, results in ideal Gummel plots and an input noise corner frequency of 250 Hz at lowest. A dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO) at 4.7 GHz has, therefore, been realized. The measured phase-noise level of this oscillator is below -135 dBc/Hz at 10-kHz offset frequency, which is at least 10 dB better than the best FET or HBT state-of-the-art DRO´s
Keywords :
Ge-Si alloys; dielectric resonator oscillators; heterojunction bipolar transistors; microwave bipolar transistors; microwave oscillators; molecular beam epitaxial growth; phase noise; semiconductor device noise; semiconductor materials; 4.7 GHz; Gummel plot; Si-SiGe-Si; Si/SiGe/Si heterojunction bipolar transistor; SiGe HBT; dielectric resonator oscillator; electrical characteristics; input noise corner frequency; low-frequency noise; maximum oscillation frequency; microwave oscillator; molecular beam epitaxy; oxide passivation; processing technology; ultra-low phase-noise oscillator; Frequency; Germanium silicon alloys; Heterojunction bipolar transistors; Low-frequency noise; Microwave devices; Millimeter wave measurements; Millimeter wave technology; Millimeter wave transistors; Molecular beam epitaxial growth; Silicon germanium;
Journal_Title :
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
