Demonstration of Low-Knee Voltage High-Breakdown GaInP Double HBTs Using Novel Compound Collector Design

We have demonstrated a heterojunction bipolar transistor using a novel compound collector (CCHBT) design that allows a low-knee voltage and high-breakdown voltage to be obtained simultaneously. The novel aspect of this design is to use a short wide band-gap collector only over a narrow portion of the collector, where the field is highest. This allows support of high fields while maintaining a low overall collector resistance due to the higher mobility of the narrow band-gap material. We demonstrate an offset voltage reduction of about 35% and a knee-voltage reduction of 30%, while increasing both BVCEO and BVCBO by 20 and 27%, respectively, compared to a single heterojunction device of the same collector length.