Horizontal current bipolar transistor (HCBT) - a low-cost, high-performance flexible BiCMOS technology for RF communication applications

Abstract

In an overview of Horizontal Current Bipolar Transistor (HCBT) technology, the state-of-the-art integrated silicon bipolar transistors are described which exhibit f T and f max of 51 GHz and 61 GHz and f T BV CEO product of 173 GHzV that are among the highest-performance implanted-base, silicon bipolar transistors. HBCT is integrated with CMOS in a considerably lower-cost fabrication sequence as compared to standard vertical-current bipolar transistors with only 2 or 3 additional masks and fewer process steps. Due to its specific structure, the charge sharing effect can be employed to increase BV CEO without sacrificing f T and f max. Moreover, the electric field can be engineered just by manipulating the lithography masks achieving the high-voltage HCBTs with breakdowns up to 36 V integrated in the same process flow with high-speed devices, i.e. at zero additional costs. Double-balanced active mixer circuit is designed and fabricated in HCBT technology. The maximum IIP3 of 17.7 dBm at mixer current of 9.2 mA and conversion gain of-5 dB are achieved.