Low Power High-Speed Circuits with
InAs-based HBT Technology
C. Monier, A. Cavus, R.S.
Sandhu, A. Oshiro,
D. Li, E.
Kaneshiro, D. Matheson, B. Chan, and A. Gutierrez-Aitken
Northrop Grumman Space Technology,
e-mail:
cedric.monier@ngc.com, Tel:
Keywords: HBT, metamorphic, InP, high indium composition, low power
circuits, thermal resistance
High
indium content In0.86Al0.14AS/In0.86Ga0.14As
double heterojunction bipolar transistors (DHBTs) were grown on InP substrates
using thin 6.0 Å metamorphic compositionally graded buffer layers. Good DC and
RF characteristics have been demonstrated,
with high gain (~30), breakdown voltage
greater than 2.5 V, turn-on voltage reduction by a factor of two compared to
existing InP bipolar technology, peak frequencies fT and fMAX
exceeding 150 GHz (measured at low current without applying any voltage at the
base- collector junction). Fully
functional circuits with complexity ranging from 20 to 1100 transistors have
been successfully demonstrated on thin 6.0 Å metamorphic buffers, with power
dissipation reduced by a factor of 2 compared to equivalent circuits designed
with InP.