On the Potential of SiGe HBTs for Extreme Environment Electronics

3-D simulation study of single event effects of SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor in extreme environment

“…It can be used from very low to high temperature owing to the bandgap engineering in silicon. Consequently, SiGe HBTs have a possibility to replace bulk-Si components in deep space exploration, which can remove the huge warm box so as to reduce launch costs and extend the function of remote control of satellite [4,5]. Moreover, SiGe HBTs have been demonstrated outstanding hardness to both total ionizing dose (TID) radiation and displacement damage due to their device structure features [6][7][8].…”

Optimization of SiGe bandgap-based circuits for up to 300°C operation

“…The resulting SiGe BiCMOS technologies have allowed designers to match the superior device performance of SiGe HBTs with welldeveloped Si-based digital CMOS to create low-cost mixed-signal and RF solutions. In addition to these benefits, SiGe is a prime candidate for operation in extreme environments including: cryogenic temperatures, extreme high temperatures, wide temperature ranges, and under radiation exposure [18,19]. As would be expected, the performance of SiGe HBTs improves with decreasing temperature, and a large body of work has explored these capabilities [20].…”

Advanced Avionics and Processor Systems for a Flexible Space Exploration Architecture

“…Core to the SiGe effort is the use of low-cost, commercial SiGe Technology, which contains SiGe Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors (HBTs) and Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) devices. [8][9][10][11][12] Unlike other commercial off-theshelf (COTS) integrated circuit technologies, SiGe offers unparalleled cryogenic temperature performance, built-in radiation tolerance, wide temperature range capability, and optimal mixed-signal circuit design flexibility at the monolithic level. Other benefits include the ability to fabricate power efficient, multiple breakdown voltage, highspeed SiGe HBTs on the same piece of silicon wafer as high density Si CMOS circuits and passive components.…”