A comparison of the effects of gamma irradiation on SiGe HBT and GaAs HBT technologies

A comparison of the effects of gamma irradiation on silicon-germanium (SiGe) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) and gallium-arsenide (GaAs) HBT technologies is reported, DC and radiofrequency (RF) performance as well as the low frequency noise are investigated for gamma doses up to 1 Mrad(Si). The results indicate that both SiGe and GaAs HBT technologies are tolerant to gamma irradiation.