International Journal of Electrical and

Electronics Engineering Research (IJEEER)

ISSN(P): 2250-155X; ISSN(E): 2278-943X
Vol. 6, Issue 5, Oct 2016, 1-6
TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

COMPARATIVE STUDY ON FREQUENCY RESPONSE OF

HETEROJUNCTION BIPOLAR TRANSISTOR
ARNIMA DAS & MAITREYI RAY KANJILAL
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Narula Institute of Technology, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
ABSTRACT
The performance of RF devices are assessed through Figure of Merit which provide certain quantitative idea
about the RF device. Hetero-junction transistors are being used over a high radio frequency range up to several hundred
GHz. The performance of these transistors can also be assessed using some key factors like Stability and Power gain.
In the present paper Si/SiGe and AlGaAs/GaAs HBTs are simulated over a significant portion of High radio frequency
range up to 1 THz suitable for application in wireless and satellite communication. The analysis has been made on both
HBTs looking at future prospective.
KEYWORDS: Hetero-Junction Bipolar Transistor, Figure of Merit, Rolletts Stability Factor, Maximum Available
Gain, Maxi-Mum Stable Gain, Critical Frequency

INTRODUCTION
Radio Frequency (RF) electronics with RF transistors have been a major field of study and invention, but
it went unnoticed till 1980 as most of the work in this field was related to military projects or other exotic science

Original Article

Received: Jul 24, 2016; Accepted: Aug 22, 2016; Published: Aug 24, 2016; Paper Id.: IJEEEROCT20161

projects. The introduction of mobile communication and satellite communication for the civil purpose has
garnered increased attention towards the development of RF electronics. The new communication systems of the
21st century transmit, process and receive a great amount of data in the GHz frequency range and the RF
transistors are the backbone of this high frequency communication system. This system encompasses RF
frequency ranges from Ultra High Frequency (UHF up to 3 GHz) to Tremendously High Frequency
(THF up to 3 THz).
The increasing frequency range of RF communication system has brought a massive growth in the study
of high frequency transistors which are mostly hetero-junction transistors, such as the Hetero-junction Bipolar
Transistor (HBT) and the High Electron Mobility transistor (HEMT). Although Field effect transistors have shown
much broader range of capabilities, while the junction transistors are valued for their smaller footprint per unit
current gain. Also Bipolar Transistor shows higher transconductance and sub-micron base width can be realized,
which is independent of photolithography.
The Hetero-junction Bipolar Transistor is a type of Junction transistor, which uses different
semiconductor materials for the emitter and base regions. Thus, creating an emitter-base hetero-junction and in
some cases also a base-collector hetero-junction. Since, in a hetero-junction the potential barrier in valence band is
higher than that of conduction band, so, this limits the injection of holes or electrons from base to emitter.
This allows high doping density to be used in the base region, which reduces the base resistance, maintaining

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Arnima Das & Maitreyi Ray Kanjilal

higher gain.

FIGURES OF MERIT OF RF TRANSISTOR

Figure of Merits (FOM) are quantitative analysis of electronic devices that allows engineers to assess the device
performance and compare various devices for all practical applications. There are several FOMs for the assessment of RF
transistors. Here, emphasis has been given on some of them,
Stability
The stability factor of a transistor (two port device) is described by J M Rollett [I] as follows

K=

2Re(y11 )Re(y 22 ) Re(y12 y 21 )

y12 y 21

(1)

Where K is known as Rolletts stability factor or simply stability factor. Re represents the real part of the
admittance (Y). y11, y12, y21 and y22 are the frequency dependent Y parameters of the transistor in concern. When the
stability factor K> 1 then the device becomes unconditionally stable while for K< 1 a conditional stability can be achieved
where unintended oscillations may occur.
Power Gain
All Power gain of an electrical network or device is the ratio of the output power delivered to the load to the input
power received from source signal. This is a key feature of any transistor and occurs in terms of voltage or current gain.
Although practically only a transistor that is stable and not oscillating by itself can act as an amplifier. There are several
power gain definitions that are used to characterize any RF transistor.
When the impedances at load and input terminals are matched with each other, then the maximum power gain to
load can be expressed as

GA =

Pload , max

(2)

Psource , max

Where, Pload,max is the maximum available average power at the load and Psource,max is the maximum power
available from the source. Pload,max can only be obtained when the load impedance is the complex conjugate of the source
impedance in the network.
The power gain can also be interpreted as Maximum Available Gain (MAG) [II, III] this can be calculated using Y
parameters and stability factor as follows

MAG =

y 21
K K 2 1
y12

(3)

Again as stated above if the load impedance is the complex conjugate of the source impedance then Maximum
Stable Gain (MSG) can be calculated by Y parameters as [II]

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Comparative Study on Frequency Response of Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor

MSG =

y 21
y12

(4)

Maximum Stable Gain is the maximum gain obtainable from an RF transistor when it is combined with external
matching impedance network at source and load under the condition K = 1 at any operating frequency. From the equation
(3) it can be established that MAG is always lower then MSG, except for unity stability [II].
Masons invariant is also another important measure of quality for transistors. This is represented as U and also
known as Unilateral Power Gain. This is defined as the gain of a two-port network having no output to input feedback, but
has a load impedance which is the complex conjugate of the source impedance network. Since all RF transistor has a
non-zero feedback from output to in-put, a lossless network is added to cancel any feedback. Since the resulting network
will not oscillate unintentionally so unilateral power gain is calculated over the whole frequency range irrespective of the
stability factor. This is expressed by [IV]

U=

y 21 y12

4[Re( y11 ) Re( y 22 ) Re( y12 ) Re( y 21 )]

(5)

It should be noted that all these figure of merits are calculated using small signal parameters and are therefore
applicable to small signal model only. Although the same figure of merits such as MAG, MSG and U are used to measure
quality of a transistor in large signal operations as well.
It is customary to represent all gains in decibels (dB) as

Gain(dB) = 20log10 (Gain)

(6)

But in Electronics it is usually mentioned in Decibel-milli-watts (dBm) which is the logarithmic measure of power
compared to 1mW.

Gain(dB) = 10 log10 Gain

(7)

0.001

This is extensively used in the Radio, microwave and fiber-optic networks and devices as a convenient
measurement unit as it can express both very large and very small values in a short form.

SIGE AND ALGAAS AS MATERIAL

The advantage of using SiGe and AlGaAs over each other have been a subject of debate for a few decades in the
semiconductor industry. In terms of HBT they both have their advantages and disadvantages while maintaining common
overlapping features as well. Below is a basic comparison of the two materials at 300K in table 1 [V, VI, VII].
Table 1: Comparison of SiGe and ALGAAS
Property
Crystal Structure
Energy Gaps (eV)
Mobility electrons n (cm2 V-1 s-1)
Mobility holes p (cm2 V-1 s-1)
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Si1-Xgex
Diamond
1.12-0.41x + 0.008x2, x<0.85
1.86 - 1.2x, x> 0.85
(1396-4315x), 0<x<0.3
(450-865x), 0<x<0.3

Alxga1-Xas
Zinc Blende
1.424+1.247x, x<0.45
1.9+0.125x+0.143x2, x>0.45
8103-2.2104x+104x2, 0<x<0.45
-255+1160x-720x2, 0.45<x<1
370-970x+740x2
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Arnima Das & Maitreyi Ray Kanjilal

Table 1: Contd.,
Diffusion coefficient electrons
(cm2/s)
Diffusion coefficient holes (cm2/s)
Thermal Conductivity (W cm-1 K-1)

(36-112x), 0<x<0.3
(12-22x), 0<x<0.3
(0.046 + 0.084x), 0.2 < x <0.85

200-550x+250x2, 0<x<0.45
-6.4+29x-18x2, 0.45<x<1
9.2-24x+18.5x2
0.55-2.12x+2.48x2

RESULTS
A high-frequency/high-speed device simulation tool named Agilent Advanced Design System which facilitates
simulation with inbuilt and custom editable integrated circuits (IC), packages, modules and boards has been used for the
comparative study. The small signal Mextram model of transistor available in Agilent ADS 2009 software along with
default parameters as per software has been used for Si/SiGe HBT. For AlGaAs/GaAs HBT the Agilent HBT UCSD model
(AlGaAs/GaAs) for small signal had been used. Both have been designed with an impedance matching network design.
The Y parameters thus obtained from the simulation have been recorded for range of frequency 100 MHz to 1 THz.
The stability factor for Si/SiGe and AlGaAs/GaAs show a steep rise in the beginning till about 40 GHz (Figure 1),
then the stability of AlGaAs/GaAs HBT takes a dip but becomes stable after 160 GHz. The Si/SiGe HBT however shows a
slow and continuous rise in the stability factor. Both the HBTs are unconditionally stable for the entire frequency range.
The steep rise portion of the plot has been elaborated in figure 2 to determine critical frequency.

Figure 1: Rolletts Stability Factor (K) Vs Frequency (GHZ)

Figure 2: Determination of the Critical Frequency

From the Curtailed Plot of Figure 1
It is evident from figure 2 that the transistor is unconditionally stable above frequency range of 7.5 GHz for
Si/SiGe HBT [VIII] and above frequency range of 10.2 GHz for AlGaAs/GaAs HBT. Therefore, one can determine the
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Comparative Study on Frequency Response of Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor

critical frequency (fk) of the transistor from the simulated results. The critical frequency is an important parameter that
determines the frequency range of operation of an RF device.
Figures 3, 4 and 5 show the various power gains as a function of frequency. The Power Gain has been plotted in
dBm. It is also observed that the value of MAG is always lower than that of MSG which is found to be in concurrent to the
theory presented in section 2. Also the power gains for the given frequency range are in agreement with the reported values
of Power level [IX] for appropriate communication range.

Figure 3: Maximum Available Gain (Dbm) Vs Frequency (Ghz)

Figure 4: Maximum Stable Gain (Dbm) Vs Frequency (Ghz)

Figure 3: Unilateral Power Gain (Dbm) Vs Frequency (Ghz)

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Also the comparative study clearly shows that the Si/SiGe HBT having a lower power gain to that of
AlGaAs/GaAs HBT. Although it is clearly demarcated in MAG and U, but Stable gain are almost similar. This proves the
construction and design of the two HBTs are similar to provide similar power gains with stability factor K = 1.

CONCLUSIONS
Four different figures of merit are studied in this paper. A basic AlGaAs/GaAs Agilent HBT UCSD model and
basic Si/SiGe small signal Mextram model of transistor have been used for the simulation which is also done using
Agilents Advanced Design System environment. The study of the FOM is essential in understanding the future course of
research in the said RF device. While Stability is a major factor for determining the suitability of a device at higher
operating frequencies, Power Gain also plays a very important role in determining the effectiveness of the device.
Especially in case of transistor Power Gain is considered to be one of the key judgment criteria. As evident from the study
both the HBT have shown power gains that are comparative to the frequency ranges of communication in RF systems for
which it is intended.
Although Si/SiGe is more stable than its AlGaAs/GaAs counterpart, yet AlGaAs/GaAs HBT shows higher
possible maximum gain. Also Si/SiGe HBT displays more dip in performance when Masons invariant is compared. So, in
the application of HBT, when higher gain is required AlGaAs will be the suitable material combination, but when the
stability of the device becomes the crucial factor then Si/SiGe combination will get the preference.
REFERENCES
1.

Rollett, J.M. (1962). Stability and Power-Gain Invariants of Linear Two ports. Circuit Theory, IRE Transactions, Vol. 9, Issue.
1, p. 29-32

2.

Schwierz, F. & Liou, J. J. (2001). Semiconductor devices for RF applications: evolution and current status. Microelectronics
Reliability 41, p. 145-168

3.

Stability factor and available gain of amplifiers, Jun. 2014. Retrieved fromhttp://www.microwaves101.com

4.

Mason, S. J. (1954). Power gain in feedback amplifier. Circuit Theory, IRE Transactions, Vol. CT-1, Issue. 2, p. 20-25

5.

NSM

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Silicon

Germanium

properties,

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from

http://www.ioffe.ru/SVA/NSM/Semicond/SiGe/index.html
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fromhttp://www.ioffe.ru/SVA/NSM/Semicond/AlGaAs/index.html
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Levinstein, M. et al. (1999). Handbook Series on Semiconductor Parameters. vol. 1, 2, World Scientific, London

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Das, A. et al. (2014) Frequency Response of Si/SiGe Hetero-junction Bipolar Transistor. Computational Advancement in
Communication Circuits and Systems, Springer, Chapter 37

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Decibel-milliwatts, Jun. 2014. Retrieved fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DBm

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