Effects of annealing on the hydrogen concentration and the performance of InGaP/InGaAsN/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors

The effects of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on InGaP/InGaAsN heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) with a carbon-doped base have been studied. The hydrogen and nitrogen concentrations in the base, as well as the direct current (DC) and radio frequency (RF) device performance, were studied as a function of the annealing temperature. A 30-sec anneal at 650°C and 700°C under N2 ambient effectively eliminates hydrogen from the base. As the annealing temperature is increased, the base sheet resistance decreases, and the corresponding maximum frequency of oscillation increases. For all annealing temperatures studied, we found degradation in the DC gain, presumably caused by the increase of nitrogen concentration in the base region.