Reliability of InP-based HBT's and HEMT's: experiments, failure mechanisms, and statistics

InP-based heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT) an being actively developed For integrated circuit applications requiring high-speed performance. InP HBT is also a low-power technology with a turn-on voltage lower than that of the Si bipolar transistor. The material system is also compatible for optoelectronics integration. The ultimate usefulness of this technology, however, depends on its reliability for system applications. Our extensive experimental data indicates that the reliability performance of millimeterwave InP HBT's meets stringent system requirements such as flight specifications. Another InP-based technology, high-electron mobility transistors (HEMT) have, in the past five years, moved from the research laboratories to insertion in government and commercial electronic systems. For space payload applications of these two technologies we have projected mean-time-to-failures in excess of 10/sup 10/ hours at 45/spl deg/C operating temperature with corresponding activation energies of 1.6 to 1.9 eV. The failure rates are also vanishingly small with dispersions of 0.2 to 0.5 associated with the lognormal failure distribution.<>