Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition of AlGaAs and InGaP heterojunction bipolar transistors

Heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT) are now beginning to be widely incorporated as power amplifiers, laser drivers, multiplexers, clock data recovery circuits, as well as transimpedance and broadband amplifiers in high performance millimeter wave circuits (MMICs). The increasing acceptance of this device is principally due to advancements in metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), device processing, and circuit design technologies. Many of the DC electrical characteristics of large area devices can be directly correlated to the DC performance of small area RF devices. A precise understanding of the growth parameters and their relationship to device characteristics is critical for ensuring the high degree of reproducibility required for low cost high-yield volume manufacturing. Significant improvements in the understanding of the MOCVD growth process have been realized through the implementation of statistical process control on the key HBT device parameters. This tool has been successfully used to maintain the high quality of the device characteristics in high-volume production of 4" GaAs-based HBTs. There is a growing demand to migrate towards 6" diameter wafer size due to the potential cost reductions and increased volume production that can be realized. Preliminary results, indicating good heterostructure layer characteristics, demonstrate the feasibility of 6" InGaP-based HBT devices. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.