Title :
Reliability characteristics of mesa-etched isolated emitter structure AlGaAs/GaAs HBTs with Be-doped base
Author :
Nozu, T. ; Tsuda, K. ; Asaka, M. ; Obara, M.
Author_Institution :
Toshiba Corp., Kawasaki, Japan
Abstract :
High-temperature bias stress tests were carried out on AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) with a 5*10/sup 19/ cm/sup -3/ Be-doped base. It was shown that HBTs with a mesa-etched isolated emitter structure were more durable than ion-implanted isolated emitter structure HBTs in terms of switch-on voltage stability. This result implies that the base/emitter junction edge, which makes contact with the ion-implanted defect-rich region, plays an important role in reliability characteristics. The lifetime of mesa-etched isolated emitter structure HBTs was also considered. It was found that the lifetime was determined by a reduction in hfe. The mean time to failure was estimated at 9.6*10/sup 5/ hours at 25 degrees C.<>
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; aluminium compounds; circuit reliability; etching; gallium arsenide; heterojunction bipolar transistors; ion implantation; life testing; semiconductor device testing; stress effects; 25 C; 9.6*10/sup 5/ hours; AlGaAs-GaAs; Be doped base; HBT; base/emitter junction edge; heterojunction bipolar transistors; high temperature bias stress tests; ion-implanted isolated emitter structure; lifetime; mean time to failure; mesa-etched isolated emitter structure; reliability characteristics; semiconductor; switch-on voltage stability; Degradation; Electron devices; Gallium arsenide; Heterojunction bipolar transistors; Laboratories; Stability; Stress; Temperature distribution; Testing; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
Gallium Arsenide Integrated Circuit (GaAs IC) Symposium, 1992. Technical Digest 1992., 14th Annual IEEE
Conference_Location :
Miami Beach, FL, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-0773-9
DOI :
10.1109/GAAS.1992.247201
