Enhanced RF power gain by eliminating the emitter bondwire inductance in emitter plug grounded mounted bipolar transistors

For the first time, we show an enhanced RF power gain by eliminating the emitter bondwire inductance in emitter plug grounded mounted bipolar transistors. By grounding the emitter with a substrate contact to a low-ohmic substrate, the emitter bondwire is effectively short-circuited. At maximum output power, 0.5 W with a power added efficiency >60%, an increase in power gain of 2 dB, up to 14.5 dB, is observed. For 0.2 W output power, an increase of 5 dB, up to 19 dB, is observed.