NPN-Transistor having Non-uniformly doped

Base P-region (graded base )

Base Region

2
 The doping gradation
gives rise to an electric
field E(x) which arises to
counter the diffusion of
holes. E(x) aids the flow
of electrons in the x
direction

dp p D p 1 dp p
In thermal equilibrium J p = qp p p E qD p = 0, E( x) =
dx p p p dx

D p kT
= = VT , p=
p NA
p q

VT dN A VT
E( x) = =
N A dx L
3
Carrier transport is by drift and diffusion in
Graded base transistor
Velocity of carriers is three to four times higher
compared to transistors with uniformly doped
base region
Transit time of carriers , t =
W
velocity
Cut off frequency, t =
1 velocity
=
t W
Smaller base width is required for higher cutoff
frequency
4
Base spreading resistance rbb ' ( rb in figure below )
depends upon base region doping concentration NA and
base width W

5
Need for modifications in BJT

For high speed, WB should be reduced .

This increases rbb affecting the
maximum operation frequency, fm , at
which power gain is unity . fm is given
by
fT
fm =
8 C jc rbb'

6
 Conflicting Requirements for fT and fm

Cutoff frequency fT can be increased by

reducing base width W. This increases and rbb '
lowers fm

To improve fm , should
rbb ' be reduced

7
r bb is the base spreading resistance and is proportional
to the sheet resistance which varies inversely as total
integrated doping concentration (= NAW) in the base
region.
NA should be increased when WB is reduced so that rbb
does not increase . It leads to
(1) increase in CTE , (2) reduction in and (3) fall in DnB
These conflicting requirements are met using an emitter
region of wider band gap material. This BJT is the
Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (HBT)

8
Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (HBT)

First HBT in the history of BJT

n-AlGaAs / p-GaAs / n+GaAs HBT

AlGaAs B
E
n
GaAs p

GaAs n
n+ collector

C
9
For PNP transistor we have seen
2
I c D pb pnbWE D pb ( nib / N Db ) WE
=
= =
IB Dne n peW 2 / N )W
Dne ( nie Ae
D pb N AeWE 2
nib
=
Dne N DbW 2
nie

Similarly for NPN transistor , we have

Ic 2
Dnb N DeWE nib
=
=
IB D pe N AbW n2
ie

10
 2
=
DnB NDTE niB
;
NDTE = ND (x) dx
2 Emitter
DpE NATB niE
EgB kT
NATB = NA (x) dx
DnB NDTE e Base
= EgE kT
DpE NATB e

DnB NDTE Eg kT
= e
DpE NATB
Eg= (EgE EgB )
11
 Eg kT
=
Typically , Eg 0.3eV
= , e 1.63 x 105

NDTE 1 DnB
=
When, = and 2.5
NATB 200 DpE

1
=
2.5 x x 1.63 x 10 5
2038
200

12
n-AlGaAs / p-GaAs / n+GaAs HBT
E

0.2m GaAs n+ > 1018/cm3

EmitterA
B 0.3m ND =5x1017/cm3
lGaAs
0.15m GaAs base P=1018/cm3
0.5m GaAs collector n=1018/cm3
N+GaAs substrate

C
13
AlGaAs /GaAs /GaAs HBTs fabricated at BELL Labs
showed the following:

very low values of =30

Higher values of were observed in Devices with larger
areas.
The increased from 30 t0 about 1800 when the surface of
the base region was passivated by chemical treatment to
saturate the dangling bonds with sulfur . But the values
were unstable .
Several approaches have been used to stabilize the . The
most successful one has been chemical treatment with
(NH4)2Sx and protect with PECVD silicon nitride
14
 Silicon Germanium HBT (SiGe HBT)
WB

n p n- n+
Si SiGe Si Si

Band gap of Si1-xGex depends upon x.

Strained layer Si1-xGex without dislocations

can be realized with thin layers of base

15
 Strained Layer Epitaxy
for Lattice mismatched
materials

Possible means of growing lattice

mismatched materials.
16
Solid Line : Calculated thickness
above which it becomes
energetically favorable to form
misfit dislocations in strained
layer GeSi grown on Si
Points: experimental data for low
temperature MBE growth.
Dashed Line : Trend calculated
for simple model of kinetically
limited defect formation

17
Calculations showing the diagrammatic effect of strain upon
semiconductor band gaps

Unstrained Gex Si1-x

Strained Gex Si1-x
on Unstrained
Gex/2 Si1-x/2
Strained Gex Si1-x
on Unstrained Si
Strained Si on
Unstrained Gex Si1-x

18
Benefits of SiGe HBT over Si BJT

Collector Currents IC is larger for a

given VBE
qDnB niB2
VBE VT
C = e
WB
N A ( x ) dx
0
2 E gB kT
niB e
19
Benefits of SiGe HBT over Si BJT
(Contd.)

IC increase improves
IC increase decreases the
emitter charging time. This
improves the switching speed.

20
Effect of grading the band gap in
the Base Region

n p n

0 x WB

Eg(0) Eg(x) Eg(WB)

Eg(x) = Eg(0) - Eg(x)

21
 Electric Field due to bandgap gradation is
1 dE g
given by . For a linear gradation
q dx

dE g E g ( 0 ) E g (W B ) E g
=
=

dx WB WB
For E=g 0.15 eV and WB = 0.1 m
Electric Field = 0.15/10-5 = 15 KV / cm

Cut off frequencies up to 200GHz have been achieved

22
 Summary
BJTs are still popular for achieving better driving
capability particularly when the load is capacitive.
Ebers Moll model enables us to estimate the currents
for all modes of BJT operation.
Base region can be reduced and doping concentration
in the base can be increased with HBTs.
Base region with graded doping and graded band gap
lead to higher cut of frequencies due to reduction in
transit time as a result of the built in electric field

23