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Innovative SiGe HBT Topologies with Improved Electrothermal Behavior
Date Issued
01-07-2016
Author(s)
D'Esposito, Rosario
Frégonèse, Sébastien
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
Chevalier, Pascal
Céli, Didier
Zimmer, Thomas
Abstract
This paper investigates alternative topologies of silicon germanium heterojunction bipolar transistors designed and fabricated in the state-of-the-art BiCMOS process from STMicroelectronics for improved safe-operating characteristics. Electrical and thermal behaviors of various structures are analyzed and compared, along with a detailed discussion on drawbacks and advantages. The test structures under study are different in terms of emitter-finger layouts as well as the metal stacks in the back-end-of-line. It is observed that the multifinger transistor structures having nonuniform finger lengths with wider area enclosed by the deep trench and higher metallization stacks yield an improved thermal behavior. Therefore, the safe-operating area of multifinger transistors can be extended without degrading the RF performances.
Volume
63