Studies on hot carrier-induced degradation on RF performance in InP/InGaAs double heterojunction bipolar transistors

Hot carrier stress was performed at room temperature on InP/InGaAs/InP DHBTs by reverse biasing the base-collector junction under open emitter conditions. The effects on the DC, microwave and noise characteristics were investigated. The stress-induced damages were observed in both base-emitter and base-collector junctions. The increase in the base resistance after the hot carrier stress is the main factor that determines the NF/sub min/ and R/sub n/ values. The hot carrier induced damage in the base region is further characterized by the current transient technique.