Academic literature on the topic 'Bipolar transistors Junction transistors Silicon compounds'

Thesis (M.S.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2008.<br>Thesis research directed by: Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.

The superior characteristics of silicon carbide, compared with silicon, have suggested considering this material for the next generation of power semiconductor devices. Among the different power switches, the bipolar junction transistor (BJT) can provide a very low forward voltage drop, a high current capability and a fast switching speed. However, in order to compete on the market, it is crucial to a have high current gain and a breakdown voltage close to ideal. Moreover, the absence of conductivity modulation and long-term stability has to be solved. In this thesis, these topics are investigated comparing simulations and measurements. Initially, an efficient etched JTE has been simulated and fabricated. In agreement with the simulations, the fabricated diodes exhibit the highest BV of around 4.3 kV when a two-zone JTE is implemented. Furthermore, the simulations and measurements demonstrate a good agreement between the electric field distribution inside the device and the optical luminescence measured at breakdown. Additionally, an accurate model to simulate the forward characteristics of 4H-SiC BJTs is presented. In order to validate the model, the simulated current gains are compared with measurements at different temperatures and different base-emitter geometries. Moreover, the simulations and measurements of the on-resistance are compared at different base currents and different temperatures. This comparison, coupled with a detailed analysis of the carrier concentration inside the BJT, indicates that internal forward biasing of the base-collector junction limits the BJT to operate at high current density and low forward voltage drop simultaneously. In agreement with the measurements, a design with a highly-doped extrinsic base is proposed to alleviate this problem. In addition to the static characteristics, the comparison of measured and simulated switching waveforms demonstrates that the SiC BJT can provide fast switching speed when it acts as a unipolar device. This is crucial to have low power losses during transient. Finally, the long-term stability is investigated. It is observed that the electrical stress of the base-emitter diode produces current gain degradation; however, the degradation mechanisms are still unclear. In fact, the analysis of the measured Gummel plot suggests that the reduction of the carrier lifetime in the base-emitter region might be only one of the causes of this degradation. In addition, the current gain degradation due to ionizing radiation is investigated comparing the simulations and measurements. The simulations suggest that the creation of positive charge in the passivation layer can increase the base current; this increase is also observed in the electrical measurements.<br>QC 20120522

The superior characteristics of Silicon Carbide as a wide band gap semiconductor have motivated many industrial and non-industrial research groups to consider SiC for the next generations of high power semiconductor devices. The SiC Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) is one candidate for high power applications due to its low on-state power loss and fast switching capability. However, to compete with other switching devices such as Field Effect Transistors (FETs) or IGBTs, it is necessary for a power SiC BJT to provide a high current gain to reduce the power required from the drive circuit. In this thesis implantation free 4H-SiC BJTs with linearly graded base layer have been demonstrated with common-emitter current gain of 50 and open-base breakdown voltage of 2700 V. Also an efficient junction termination extension (JTE) with 80% of theoretical parallel-plane breakdown voltage was analyzed by fabrication of high voltage PiN diodes to achieve an optimum dose of remaining JTE charge. Surface passivation of 4H-SiC BJT is an essential factor for efficient power BJTs. Therefore different passivation techniques were compared and showed that around 60% higher maximum current gain can be achieved by a newsurface passivation layer with low interface trap density that consists of PECVD oxide followed by post-deposition oxide anneal in N2O ambient. This surface passivation along with doublezone JTE were used for fabrication of high power BJTs that result in successful demonstration of 2800 V breakdown voltage for small area (0.3 × 0.3 mm) and large area (1.8 × 1.8 mm) BJTs with a maximum dc current gain of 55 and 52, respectively. The small area BJT showed RON = 4mΩcm2, while for the large are BJT RON = 6.8 mΩcm2. Finally, a Darlington transistor with a maximum current gain of 2900 at room temperature and 640 at 200 °C is reported. The high current gain of the Darlington transistor is achieved by optimum design for the ratio of the active area of the driver BJT to the output BJT.<br>QC 20110216

Thesis (M. S.)--Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009.<br>Committee Chair: Cressler, John D.; Committee Member: Papapolymerou, John; Committee Member: Ralph, Stephen; Committee Member: Shen, Shyh-Chiang; Committee Member: Zhou, Hao Min.

This thesis explores the critical advantages of using silicon-germanium (SiGe) HBTs for RF front-end design. The first chapter looks at the SiGe BiCMOS technology platform and its important performance metrics. The second chapter discusses ultra-wide tuneability and the critical role that this functionality can have on real world applications. The third chapter presents simulated and measured results of two wideband ring oscillators (8-18 GHz) designed and fabricated in the Jazz 120 BiCMOS platform. A 7-22 GHz wideband VGA in the 8HP platform is also presented further exemplifying the wideband capabilities of SiGe HBTs.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is an attractive material for high-voltage and high-temperature electronic applications owing to the wide bandgap, high critical electric field, and high thermal conductivity. High- and ultra-high-voltage silicon carbide bipolar devices, such as bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) and PiN diodes, have the advantage of a low ON-resistance due to conductivity modulation compared to unipolar devices. However, in order to be fully competitive with unipolar devices, it is important to further improve the off-state and on-state characteristics, such as breakdown voltage, leakage current, common-emitter current gain, switching, current density, and ON-resistance. In order to achieve a high breakdown voltage with a low leakage current, an efficient and easy to fabricate junction edge protection or termination is needed. Among different proposed junction edge protections, a mesa design integrated with junction termination extensions (JTEs) is a powerful approach. In this work, implantation-free 4H-SiC BJTs in two classes of voltage, i.e., 6 kV-class and 15 kV-class with an efficient and optimized implantation-free junction termination (O-JTE) and multiple-shallow-trench junction termination extension (ST-JTE) are designed, fabricated and characterized. These terminations result in high termination efficiency of 92% and 93%, respectively. The 6 kV-class BJTs shows a maximum current gain of β = 44. A comprehensive study on the geometrical design is done in order to improve the on-state performances. For the first time, new cell geometries (square and hexagon) are presented for the SiC BJTs. The results show a significant improvement of the on-state characteristics because of a better utilization of the base area. At a given current gain, new cell geometries show a 42% higher current density and 21% lower ON-resistance. The results of this study, including an optimized fabrication process, are utilized in the 15 kV-class BJTs where a record high current gain of β = 139 is achieved. Ultra-high-voltage PiN diodes in two classes of voltage, i.e., 10+ kV using on-axis 4H-SiC and 15 kV-class off-axis 4H-SiC, are presented. O-JTE is utilized for 15 kV-class PiN diodes, while three steps ion-implantation are used to form the JTE in 10+ kV PiN diodes. Carbon implantation followed by high-temperature annealing is also performed for the 10+ kV PiN diodes in order to enhance the lifetime. Both type diodes depict conductivity modulation in the drift layer. No bipolar degradation is observed in 10+ kV PiN diodes.<br><p>QC 20161209</p>