Dieter Knoll

High-Performance BiCMOS Technologies without Epitaxially-Buried Subcollectors and Deep Trenches

This paper describes the architecture of the BiCMOS processes highlighting the modular scheme for the integration of the bipolar modules into a common CMOS platform. HBT design issues associated with the implanted collector wells and the key set of electrical HBT parameters are presented as well

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A 0.13 µm SiGe BiCMOS technology for millimeter wave applications is presented. This technology features high-speed HBTs (f<inf>T</inf>=240 GHz, f<inf>max</inf>=330 GHz, BV<inf>CEO</inf>=1.7 V) along with high-voltage HBTs (f<inf>T</inf>=50 GHz, f<inf>max</inf>=130 GHz, BV<inf>CEO</inf>=3.7 V) integrated in a dual-gate, triple-well RF-CMOS process. Ring oscillator gate delays of 2.9 ps, low-noise amplifiers for 122 GHz, and LC oscillators for frequencies above 200 GHz are demonstrated.

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A novel waveguide-coupled germanium p-i-n photodiode is demonstrated which combines high responsivity with very high -3 dB bandwidth at a medium dark current. Bandwidth values are 40 GHz at zero bias and more than 70 GHz at -1 V. Responsivity at 1.55 µm wavelength ranges from 0.84 A/W at zero bias to 1 A/W at -1 V. Room temperature dark current density at -1 V is about 1 A/cm2. The high responsivity mainly results from the use of a new, low-loss contact scheme, which moreover also reduces the negative effect of photo carrier diffusion on bandwidth.

SiGe BiCMOS Technology Featuring f

Proton irradiation results are shown here for three different SiGe:C HBT technologies from IHP Microelectronics. High damages are observed although the transistors remain usable for their application on the Super-LHC. Considerations on the ionization and displacement effects additivity are also presented in order to validate parameterized experiments. This study shows a reasonable agreement between proton irradiations and previous gamma and neutron irradiations.

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This letter presents the first 40 Gb/s monolithically integrated silicon photonics linear receiver (Rx) comprising a germanium photodiode (Ge-PD) and a linear transimpedance amplifier (TIA). Measured optical-electrical (O/E) 3 dB bandwidth (BW) of the Rx is 31 GHz. At 40 Gb/s, the Rx achieves a sensitivity of -3 dBm average optical input power with BER of 2.5×10-11. It operates at λ = 1.55 μm wavelength, uses 3.3 and 3.7 V power supplies, dissipates 275 mW of power, provides maximum differential output amplitude of 500 mVpp, and occupies an area of 3.2 mm2. The presented receiver achieves the highest bit rate among the published work in monolithically integrated silicon photonics receivers.

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Robustness and reliability of an embedded RF-MEMS switch are analyzed. Changes of key switch parameters, such as COFF, CON, and pull-in voltage, with the ambient temperature are investigated in the range of −30°C to 150°C. The biggest temperature effect, a decrease by a factor of 2 between −30°C and 150°C, is observed for COFF, while CON weakly increases by only about 6% in this temperature range. For the pull-in voltage, practically no T-effect is observed. The power handling performance is also analyzed. A DC self-actuation voltage of 20V was estimated. To hold the membrane in down position, an 1.2V DC voltage drop or 15dBm RF power was found to be necessary. Finally, a new reliability test was applied, using Laser-Doppler (LD) Vibrometry technique to analyze the change in the switch dynamic behavior after billion times of operation. The measurement results show that this behavior hardly changes for up to 50 billion times operation.

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This paper presents packaged BiCMOS embedded RF-MEMS switches with integrated inductive loads for frequency tuning at mm-wave frequencies. The developed technique provides easy optimization to maximize the RF performance at the desired frequency without having an effect on the switch mechanics. Insertion loss less than 0.25 dB and isolation better than 20 dB are achieved from 30 to 100 GHz. A glass cap with a silicon frame is used to package the switch. Single-pole-double-throw (SPDT) switches and a 24 – 77 GHz reconfigurable LNA is also demonstrated as a first time implementation of single chip BiCMOS reconfigurable circuit at such high frequencies.

of 240/330 GHz and Gate Delays Below 3 ps

We have studied the ionization damage produced by gamma irradiation on transistors from three different varieties of SiGe:C HBT technologies from Innovation for High Performance Microelectronics (IHP), Germany. The results show strong gain degradations at the highest doses, with an indication of damage saturation. We did not observe strong differences in radiation tolerance among the three different technologies. These studies are in the framework of the radiation assurance tests of SiGe BiCMOS technologies for their possible application in the front-end readout electronics of the detector modules of the future ATLAS upgrade for the Super-LHC, but space-oriented applications are also considered. A comparison is presented with previous gamma irradiations of different SiGe technologies in the literature.

High bandwidth, high responsivity waveguide-coupled germanium p-i-n photodiode

We investigate a novel implementation of junction isolation to harden a 200 GHz SiGe:C HBT technology without deep trench isolation against single event effects. The inclusion of isolation is shown to have no effect on the dc or ac performance of the nominal device, and likewise does not reduce the HBTs inherent tolerance to TID radiation exposure on the order of a Mrad. A 69% reduction in total integrated charge collection across a slice through the center of the device was achieved. In addition, a 26% reduction in collected charge is reported for strikes to the center of the emitter. 3-D NanoTCAD simulations are performed on RHBD and control device models yielding a good match to measured results for strikes from the emitter center to 8 ¿m away. This result represents one of the most effective transistor layout-level RHBD approaches demonstrated to date in SiGe.

Proton Radiation Damage on SiGe:C HBTs and Additivity of Ionization and Displacement Effects

In this study we present the results of radiation hardness studies performed on three different SiGe:C BiCMOS technologies from Innovation for High Performance Microelectronics (IHP) for their application in the Super-Large Hadron Collider (S-LHC). We performed gamma, neutron and proton irradiations on the bipolar section of these technologies, in order to consider ionization and atomic displacement damage on electronic devices. Results show that transistors from the IHP BiCMOS technologies remain functional after the radiation levels expected in the inner detector (ID) of the ATLAS Upgrade experiment. These technologies are one of the candidates to constitute the analog part of the Front-End chip in the ATLAS-upgrade experiment, in the S-LHC.