High-performance p-n-p AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors: A theoretical analysis

Abstract

The AlGaAs/GaAs P-n-p heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) is shown by a simple analysis to exhibit millimeter wave and digital switching performance comparable to similar N-p-n structures. For example, a P-n-p HBT with a 1-µm emitter stripe and 34-µm2total area yieldsf_{\tau} = 31GHz,f_{\max} = 94GHz, and an intrinsic switching speed\tau_{s} = 8ps. A similar N-p-n structure exhibitsf_{\tau} = 56GHz,f_{\max} = 102GHz, and\tau_{s} = 8ps.