Dependence of low frequency noise in SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors on the dimensional and structural features of extrinsic regions

In this paper, the effects of different transistor design aspects on the noise behavior of SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors have been investigated. Selectively implanted collector, although retards the base push-out, does not deteriorate the noise characteristics. Moreover, a higher dopant implant in the extrinsic base region intended for a smaller base resistance does not deteriorate the noise characteristics. While the interface between the SiGe epitaxial and polycrystalline layers does not have any detrimental impact, the emitter-poly overlap significantly influences both the DC and the noise characteristics. Smaller emitter-poly overlap results in an increased non-ideal base current at lower bias voltages and produces appreciable generation-recombination noise. For all the transistors, except for the ones with smaller emitter-poly overlap, the base current noise power spectral density shows a near quadratic dependence on the base current, where the noise is believed to originate mostly from the superposition of the generation-recombination noise in the intrinsic emitter-base junction. The base current noise power spectral density for the transistors with a smaller emitter-poly overlap shows a near linear dependence on the base current, which results from an increased contribution from the trap-assisted tunneling fluctuations of the minority carriers at the surface of the emitter base junction. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.