Impact of Al composition on RF noise figure of AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors

The influence of Al content on the RF noise characteristics of Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT's) is presented. It is shown that the minimum noise figure (F/sub min/) at 2 GHz is reduced by increasing the Al mole fraction (x). This observed improvement in noise figure is directly correlated to the differences in dc current gain. The lowest measured F/sub min/(2 GHz) of HBT's with emitter dimensions 2/spl times/(3.5/spl times/30) /spl mu/m/sup 2/, were 1.3, 1.61, and 2.1 dB for x=0.35, 0.30, and 0.25 devices, respectively at I/sub c/=3 mA. The measured results were found to agree well with calculated values over a wide range of collector currents.