High-gain Al0.48In0.52As/Ga0.53As vertical n-p-n heterojunction bipolar transistors grown by molecular-beam epitaxy

We report the first vertical n-p-n heterojunction bipolar transistors formed in the (Al,In)As/(Ga,In)As alloy system. The structures grown by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) use a wide band-gap (Eg = 1.44 eV) Al0.48In0.52As emitter on a lower band gap (Eg = 0.73 eV) Ga0.47In0.53As base 2500 Å in width. Transistors with both abrupt and graded heterojunction emitters were demonstrated with dc current gains of 140 and 280, respectively, at a collector current of 15 mA. The (Al,In)As/(Ga,In)As heterojunction transistors offer the attractive possibility of optical integration with long wavelength lasers and photodetectors.