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We present a new analytical direct parameter-extraction methodology for obtaining the small-signal equivalent circuit of HBTs. It is applied to cryogenically operated SiGe HBTs as a means to allow circuit design of SiGe HBT low-noise amplifiers for cooled radio astronomy applications. We split the transistor into an intrinsic transistor (IT) piece modeled as a H-topology, and the quasi-intrinsic transistor (QIT), obtained from the IT after that the base resistance (Rb) has been removed. The relations between Z-Y-parameters of the IT and QIT are then established, allowing us to propose a new methodology for determining Rb. The present extraction method differs from previous studies in that each of the model elements are obtained from exact equations that do not require any approximations, numerical optimization, or post-processing. The validity of this new extraction methodology is demonstrated by applying it to third-generation SiGe HBTs operating at liquid-nitrogen temperature (77 K) across the frequency range of 2-22 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a comprehensive investigation of the cryogenic performance of third-generation silicon-germanium (SiGe) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) technology. Measurements of the current-voltage (dc), small-signal ac, and broad-band noise characteristics of a 200-GHz SiGe HBT were made at 85 K, 120 K, 150 K, 200 K, and 300 K. These devices show excellent behavior down to 85 K, maintaining reasonable dc ideality, with a peak current gain of 3800, a peak cut-off frequency (fT) of 260 GHz, a peak fmax of 310 GHz, and a minimum noise figure (NFmin) of approximately 0.30 dB at a frequency of 14 GHz, in all cases representing significant improvements over their corresponding values at 300 K. These results demonstrate that aggressively scaled SiGe HBTs are inherently well suited for cryogenic electronics applications requiring extreme levels of transistor performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new empirical InGaP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) large-signal model including self-heating effects is presented. The model accounts for the inherent temperature dependence of the device characteristics due to ambient-temperature variation as well as self-heating. The model is accompanied by a simple extraction process, which requires only dc current-voltage (I-V) and multibias-point small-signal S-parameter measurements. All the current-source model parameters, including the self-heating parameters, are directly extracted from measured forward I-V data at different ambient temperatures. The distributed base-collector capacitance and base resistance are extracted from measured S-parameters using a new technique. The extraction procedure is fast, accurate, and inherently minimizes the average squared-error between measured and modeled data, thereby eliminating the need for further optimization following parameter extraction. This modeling methodology is successfully applied to predict the dc, small-signal S-parameter, and output fundamental and harmonic power characteristics of an InGaP/GaAs HBT, over a wide range of temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]