Title :
SiGe profile design tradeoffs for RF circuit applications
Author :
Guofu Niu ; Shiming Zhang ; Cressler, J.D. ; Joseph, A.J. ; Fairbanks, J.S. ; Larson, L.E. ; Webster, C.S. ; Ansley, W.E. ; Harame, D.L.
Author_Institution :
Alabama Microelectron. Sci. & Technol. Center, Auburn Univ., AL, USA
Abstract :
We present the first experimental results for new SiGe profile designs which were developed explicitly for improving minimum noise figure (NF/sub min/) without sacrificing gain, linearity, frequency response, or the stability of the SiGe strained layer. A measured NF/sub min/ of 0.2 dB at 2.0 GHz with an associated gain (G/sub assoc/) of 13 dB at noise matching, and a linearity efficiency (OIP3/P/sub DC/) of 10 were obtained for the best low-noise profile, all of which represent substantial improvements in RF performance over the Si BJT and control SiGe HBT design point, and were accomplished without sacrificing SiGe film stability. The fundamental SiGe profile design tradeoffs associated with emerging SiGe RF circuit applications are discussed.
Keywords :
CVD coatings; Ge-Si alloys; S-parameters; doping profiles; frequency response; heterojunction bipolar transistors; microwave bipolar transistors; semiconductor device noise; semiconductor materials; 0.2 dB; 0.5 mum; 13 dB; 2 to 40 GHz; HBT; RF circuit applications; RF performance; S-parameters; SiGe; SiGe film stability; SiGe profile design tradeoffs; SiGe strained layer stability; UHV/CVD growth; Y-parameters; collector current; frequency response; gain; linearity efficiency; low-noise profile; minimum noise figure; noise matching; Circuit stability; Frequency response; Gain measurement; Germanium silicon alloys; Linearity; Noise figure; Noise measurement; Performance gain; Radio frequency; Silicon germanium;
Conference_Titel :
Electron Devices Meeting, 1999. IEDM '99. Technical Digest. International
Conference_Location :
Washington, DC, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-5410-9
DOI :
10.1109/IEDM.1999.824219
