DC and microwave noise transient behavior of InP/InGaAs double heterojunction bipolar transistor (DHBT) with polyimide passivation

DC and microwave noise transient behavior of InP/InGaAs double heterojunction bipolar transistor (DHBT) with polyimide passivation is reported in this paper for the first time. The base transient current is believed to be due to the change of surface potential near the base-emitter junction perimeter at the polyimide/emitter interface resulting from a decrease in the amount of trapped electrons in the polyimide. We also find that the surface potential on the sidewall of collector-emitter affected by the charge trapping and detrapping in polyimide may induce a parasitic polyimide field effect transistor along the surface of the base-collector junction which results in an excess collector transient current. These base and collector current transients result in associated transient of broadband shot noise. The time dependence of microwave noise figures due to the excess transients is also investigated. The better understanding of the mechanisms of the noise transient behavior of the InP HBT device is very useful to improve the device and circuit reliability.