The heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) is an improvement of the bipolar junction transistor (BJT) that can handle signals of very high frequencies up to several hundred GHz. It is common in modern ultrafast circuits, mostly radio-frequency (RF) systems, as well as applications requiring a high power efficiency, such as power amplifiers in cellular phones. The idea of employing a heterojunction is as old as the conventional BJT, dating back to a patent from 1951
The principal difference between the BJT and HBT is in the use of differing semiconductor materials for the emitter and base regions, creating a heterojunction. The effect is to limit the injection of holes from the base into the emitter region, since the potential barrier in the valence band is higher than in the conduction band. Unlike BJT technology, this allows a high doping density to be used in the base, reducing the base resistance while maintaining gain. The efficiency of the device is measured by the Kroemer factor, after Herbert Kroemer who received a Nobel Prize for his work in this field in 2000 at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Materials used for the substrate include silicon, gallium arsenide, and indium phosphide, while silicon / silicon-germanium alloys, aluminium gallium arsenide / gallium arsenide, and indium phosphide / indium gallium arsenide are used for the epitaxial layers. Wide-bandgap semiconductors are especially promising, eg. gallium nitride and indium gallium nitride.
In SiGe graded heterostructure transistors, the amount of germanium in the base is graded, making the bandgap narrower at the collector than at the emitter. That tapering of the bandgap leads to a field-assisted transport in the base, which speeds transport through the base and increases frequency response.
The principal difference between the BJT and HBT is in the use of differing semiconductor materials for the emitter and base regions, creating a heterojunction. The effect is to limit the injection of holes from the base into the emitter region, since the potential barrier in the valence band is higher than in the conduction band. Unlike BJT technology, this allows a high doping density to be used in the base, reducing the base resistance while maintaining gain. The efficiency of the device is measured by the Kroemer factor, after Herbert Kroemer who received a Nobel Prize for his work in this field in 2000 at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Materials used for the substrate include silicon, gallium arsenide, and indium phosphide, while silicon / silicon-germanium alloys, aluminium gallium arsenide / gallium arsenide, and indium phosphide / indium gallium arsenide are used for the epitaxial layers. Wide-bandgap semiconductors are especially promising, eg. gallium nitride and indium gallium nitride.
In SiGe graded heterostructure transistors, the amount of germanium in the base is graded, making the bandgap narrower at the collector than at the emitter. That tapering of the bandgap leads to a field-assisted transport in the base, which speeds transport through the base and increases frequency response.
Fabrication
Due to the need to manufacture HBT devices with extremely high-doped thin base layers, molecular beam epitaxy is principally employed. In addition to base, emitter and collector layers, highly doped layers are deposited on either side of collector and emitter to facilitate an ohmic contact, which are placed on the contact layers after exposure by photolithography and etching. The contact layer underneath the collector is, named subcollector, is an active part of the transistor.
Other techniques are used depending on the material system. IBM and others use UHV CVD for SiGe; other techniques used include MOVPE for III-V systems
Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition
This process is used to manufacture compound semiconductor devices, which consist of thin films of gallium arsenide, indium phosphide and other alloys of the group III and V elements of the Periodic Table. Compound semiconductors are used in a vast array of electronic and photonic devices, such as in solid-state lasers, light-emitting diodes, space solar cells, and high-speed transistors. These are critically needed components in both optical and wireless telecommunications systems.
Due to the need to manufacture HBT devices with extremely high-doped thin base layers, molecular beam epitaxy is principally employed. In addition to base, emitter and collector layers, highly doped layers are deposited on either side of collector and emitter to facilitate an ohmic contact, which are placed on the contact layers after exposure by photolithography and etching. The contact layer underneath the collector is, named subcollector, is an active part of the transistor.
Other techniques are used depending on the material system. IBM and others use UHV CVD for SiGe; other techniques used include MOVPE for III-V systems
Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition
This process is used to manufacture compound semiconductor devices, which consist of thin films of gallium arsenide, indium phosphide and other alloys of the group III and V elements of the Periodic Table. Compound semiconductors are used in a vast array of electronic and photonic devices, such as in solid-state lasers, light-emitting diodes, space solar cells, and high-speed transistors. These are critically needed components in both optical and wireless telecommunications systems.
Compound Semiconductor devices are used for the solar panels and the RF transmitters and receivers in communications satelites (pictured is a DirecTV satelite by Hughes Electronics).
In the metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process, volatile precursors, e.g., trimethylindium, trimethylgallium and phosphine, are fed to the reactor in hydrogen carrier gas. When these molecules flow over the hot substrate, they decompose and deposit a thin film, e.g., InGaP. By depositing a compound that is lattice matched to the substrate (e.g., GaAs (001)), an epitaxial single crystal is grown. A device is produced by varying the composition and doping in the layers, while maintaining lattice matching at all times.
Heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) consisting of an n-type GaAs collector, p+ GaAs base, only 20 nm thick, and an InGaP emitter. These devices amplify RF signals by 20 times at a frequency of 1.9 GHz.
An example of a device grown by MOCVD is the heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) pictured above. This device is used extensively in digital cellular telephones and in high-speed communication networks. The critical layers in this device are only 10 to 20 nm thick. Thus, our research is at the cutting edge of Nanoscience and Technology.
During MOCVD, a series of surface reactions occur as shown in the diagram below. These include adsorption and desorption of the precursor molecules, surface diffusion, nucleation and growth, and desorption of reaction products. In our laboratory, we characterize these surface reactions, and in particular, identify the sites on the semiconductor surface that mediate them. By understanding the atomic-scale processes that govern thin film growth, we make it possible to build new and more powerful devices.
At UCLA, the surface chemistry of MOCVD is revealed with state-of-the-art instruments, including reflectance difference spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, electron diffraction, x-ray photoemission, scanning tunneling microscopy, and ab initio molecular cluster calculations. Click on Facilities to learn more about our capabilities. In addition, you can check out some of the surfaces and surface sites that we have characterized by going to the STM Gallery and Molecular Clusters links, or by viewing our Publications.
Careers
Students working in this field learn all the skills necessary for rewarding careers in the microelectronics, communications, and high-tech materials industries. Our graduates are in great demand, and have landed exciting jobs with fast growing companies. You can see where our graduates have gone by clicking on Recent Graduates
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