GaInP/GaAs collector-up tunneling-collector heterojunction bipolar transistors (C-up TC-HBTs): optimization of fabrication process and epitaxial layer structure for high-efficiency high-power amplifiers

This paper describes a novel heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) structure, the collector-up tunneling-collector HBT (C-up TC-HBT), that minimizes the offset voltage V_CE,sat and the knee voltage V_k. In this device, a thin GaInP layer is used as a tunnel barrier at the base-collector (BC) junction to suppress hole injection into the collector, which results in small V_CE,sat. Collector-up configuration is used because of the observed asymmetry of the band discontinuity between GaInP and GaAs depending on growth direction. To minimize V_k, we optimized the epitaxial layer structure as well as the conditions of ion implantation into the extrinsic emitter and post-implantation annealing. The best results were obtained when a 5-nm-thick 5×10¹⁷-cm^-3-doped GaInP tunnel barrier with a 20-nm-thick undoped GaAs spacer was used at the BC junction, and when 2×10¹²-cm^-2 50-keV B implantation was employed followed by 10-min annealing at 390°C. Fabricated 40×40-μm² C-up TC-HBTs showed almost zero V_CE,sat (<10 mV) and a very small V_k of 0.29 V at a collector current density of 4 kA/cm₂, which are much lower than those of a typical GaInP/GaAs HBT. The results indicate that the C-up TC-HBT´s are attractive candidates for high-efficiency high power amplifiers.