An analytic theory of the Auger transistor: a hot electron bipolar transistor

The operation of an Auger transistor is investigated, using a coupled analysis based on thermionic-emission and drift-diffusion theory. Characteristics for steady-state and small-signal operation are derived for single electron-hole pair generation by each injected hot electron. The effect of parasitics is included in this simple theory in order to project, for some of the plausible material systems, the figures of merit for high-frequency applications. The analysis suggests that Auger transistors employing very-small-bandgap semiconductors in the heavily doped base and operating at low temperatures exhibit good performance as devices are scaled in size and operating voltage.<
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