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Resolving Degradation Mechanism in Carbon and Beryllium Doped HBT’s Using Pulsed Mode Current Stress

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2011

Y. C. Chou
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA. 92717
G.P. Li
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA. 92717
C.S. Wu
Affiliation:
Microelectronics Division, Hughes Aircraft Company, Torrance, CA 90505
Peter Chu
Affiliation:
Microelectronics Division, Hughes Aircraft Company, Torrance, CA 90505
C.K. Pao
Affiliation:
Microelectronics Division, Hughes Aircraft Company, Torrance, CA 90505
T.C. Cisco
Affiliation:
Radar System Group, El Segundo, CA 90245
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Abstract

The reliability of high performance carbon and beryllium-doped heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT’s) is investigated using a pulsed mode current stress. After the current stress, the collector current reduction (measured at a fixed Vbe) and the inverted collector current ratio change (measured at two different reverse Vbe biases) are used as measures of HBT degradation due to dopant acceptors migration. For carbon and beryllium doped HBT’s, degradation was found to be only significant beyond a threshold current density (Jth), showing that the carbon doped devices have a higher Jth than that of the Be-doped HBT's. Beyond the Jth, the device degradation is insensitive to the stress current density but depends on the total stress charge. As a result, the device degradation mechanisms of electric field assisted dopant and carrier recombination enhanced dopant migration can be distinguished under pulsed mode current stress.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1995

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