Present status and future directions of SiGe HBT technology

Abstract

The implementation of challenging novel materials and process techniques has led to remarkable device improvements in state-of-the-art high-performance SiGe HBTs, rivaling their III-V compound semiconductor counterparts. Vertical scaling, lateral scaling, and device structure innovations required to improve SiGe HBTs performance have benefited from advanced materials and process techniques developed for next generation CMOS technology. In this work, we present a review of recent process and materials development enabling operational speeds of SiGe HBTs approaching 400 GHz. In addition, we present device simulation results that show the extendibility of SiGe HBT technology performance towards half-terahertz and beyond with further scaling and device structure improvements. © World Scientific Publishing Company.