Michael D. Lammert

Commercial heterojunction bipolar transistor production by molecular beam epitaxy

We have developed the first commercial heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) production line based on GaAs–AlGaAs–InGaAs HBT material grown by molecular beam epitaxy. We have demonstrated sustained high‐yield production of HBT integrated circuits for commercial applications using molecular beam epitaxy growth and processing techniques originally developed for high‐reliability applications. TRW HBT parts such as cellular power amplifiers, digital radio chip sets, Darlington gain blocks, and analog‐to‐digital convertors are now inserted in high volume commercial products such as cellular phones, local area networks, and digital oscilloscopes. HBT monolithic microwave integrated circuits allow these products to achieve functions and performance never before available for consumer applications.