Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

Citation preview

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C000 Final Proof

page i

5.11.2007 12:02pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C000 Final Proof

page ii 5.11.2007 12:02pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C000 Final Proof

page iii

5.11.2007 12:02pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

Edited by

John D. Cressler

Boca Raton London New York

CRC Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C000 Final Proof

page iv 5.11.2007 12:02pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

The material was previously published in Silicon Heterostructure Handbook: Materials, Fabrication, Devices, Circuits and Applications of SiGe and Si Strained-Layer Epitaxy © Taylor and Francis 2005.

CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2008 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4200-6687-6 (Hardcover) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reprinted material is quoted with permission, and sources are indicated. A wide variety of references are listed. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and the publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or for the consequences of their use. Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers. For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www.copyright.com (http:// www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC) 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology / editor, John D. Cressler. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4200-6687-6 (alk. paper) 1. Bipolar transistors--Design and construction. 2. Metal oxide semiconductors, Complementary--Design and construction. I. Cressler, John D. TK7871.96.B55F33 2008 621.3815’28--dc22 Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com

2007030735

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C000 Final Proof page v 5.11.2007 12:02pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

For the tireless efforts Of the many dedicated scientists and engineers Who helped create this field and make it a success. I tip my hat, and offer sincere thanks from all of us Who have benefitted from your keen insights and imaginings. And . . . For Maria: My beautiful wife, best friend, and soul mate for these 25 years. For Matthew John, Christina Elizabeth, and Joanna Marie: God’s awesome creations, and our precious gifts. May your journey of discovery never end.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C000 Final Proof page vi

5.11.2007 12:02pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

He Whose Heart Has Been Set On The Love Of Learning And True Wisdom And Has Exercised This Part of Himself, That Man Must Without Fail Have Thoughts That Are Immortal And Divine, If He Lay Hold On Truth. Plato ¯Œ
 ı 
Ø 
Ø  łı ı   `ª ªØÆ Ł  ŒÆØ `º ŁØ Æ, ŒÆØ 
Ø `Œ Ł
 ªØÆ  , ‚Æ  Ø  ¢ æÆ æ
  ø ºº Æ Œ
Ø Œł
Ø `ŁÆ
 ŒÆØ ¨

, ¯  æØŁ
   `ºŁ
ØÆ. Pl atvna§

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C000 Final Proof

page vii

5.11.2007 12:02pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Foreword

Progress in a given field of technology is both desired and expected to follow a stable and predictable long-term trajectory. Semilog plots of technology trends spanning decades in time and orders of magnitude in value abound. Perhaps the most famous exemplar of such a technology trajectory is the trend line associated with Moore’s law, where technology density has doubled every 12 to 18 months for several decades. One must not, however, be lulled into extrapolating such predictability to other aspects of semiconductor technology, such as device performance, or even to the long-term prospects for the continuance of device density scaling itself. New physical phenomena assert themselves as one approaches the limits of a physical system, as when device layers approach atomic dimensions, and thus, no extrapolation goes on indefinitely. Technology density and performance trends, though individually constant over many years, are the result of an enormously complex interaction between a series of decisions made as to the layout of a given device, the physics behind its operation, manufacturability considerations, and its extensibility into the future. This complexity poses a fundamental challenge to the device physics and engineering community, which must delve as far forward into the future as possible to understand when physical law precludes further progress down a given technology path. The early identification of such impending technological discontinuities, thus providing time to ameliorate their consequences, is in fact vital to the health of the semiconductor industry. Recently disrupted trends in CMOS microprocessor performance, where the ‘‘value’’ of processor-operating frequency was suddenly subordinated to that of integration, demonstrate the challenges remaining in accurately assessing the behavior of future technologies. However, current challenges faced in scaling deep submicron CMOS technology are far from unique in the history of semiconductors. Bipolar junction transistor (BJT) technology, dominant in high-end computing applications during the mid-1980s, was being aggressively scaled to provide the requisite performance for future systems. By the virtue of bipolar transistors being vertical devices rather than lateral (as CMOS is), the length scale of bipolar transistors is set by the ability to control layer thicknesses rather than lateral dimensions. This allowed the definition of critical device dimensions, such as base width, to values far below the limits of optical lithography of the day. Although great strides in device performance had been made by 1985, with unity gain cutoff frequencies (fT ) in the range 20–30 GHz seemingly feasible, device scaling was approaching limits at which new physical phenomena became significant. Highly scaled silicon BJTs, having base widths below 1000 A˚, demonstrated inordinately high reverse junction leakage. This was due to the onset of band-to-band tunneling between heavily doped emitter and base regions, rendering such devices unreliable. This and other observations presaged one of the seminal technology discontinuities of the past decade, silicon–germanium (SiGe) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) technology being the direct consequence. Begun as a program to develop bipolar technology with performance capabilities well beyond those possible via the continued scaling of conventional Si BJTs, SiGe HBT technology has found a wealth of applications beyond the realm of computing. A revolution in bipolar fabrication methodology, moving vii

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

viii

66870_C000 Final Proof

page viii 5.11.2007 12:02pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Foreword

from device definition by implantation to device deposition and definition by epitaxy, accompanied by the exploitation of bandgap tailoring, took silicon-based bipolar transistor performance to levels never anticipated. It is now common to find SiGe HBTs with performance figures in excess of 300 GHz for both fT and fmax , and circuits operable at frequencies in excess of 100 GHz. A key observation is that none of this progress occurred in a vacuum, other than perhaps in the field of materials deposition. The creation of a generation of transistor technology having tenfold improved performance would of itself have produced far less ultimate value in the absence of an adequate ecosystem to enable its effective creation and utilization. This text is meant to describe the eco-system that developed around SiGe technology as context for the extraordinary achievement its commercial rollout represented. Early SiGe materials, of excellent quality in the context of fundamental physical studies, proved near useless in later device endeavors, forcing dramatic improvements in layer control and quality to then enable further development. Rapid device progress that followed drove silicon-based technology (recall that SiGe technology is still a silicon-based derivative) to unanticipated performance levels, demanding the development of new characterization and device modeling techniques. As materials work was further proven SiGe applications expanded to leverage newly available structural and chemical control. Devices employing ever more sophisticated extensions of SiGe HBT bandgap tailoring have emerged, utilizing band offsets and the tailoring thereof to create SiGe-based HEMTs, tunneling devices, mobilityenhanced CMOS, optical detectors, and more to come. Progress in these diverse areas of device design is timely, as I have already noted the now asymptotic nature of performance gains to be had from continued classical device scaling, leading to a new industry focus on innovation rather than pure scaling. Devices now emerging in SiGe are not only to be valued for their performance, but rather their variety of functionality, where, for example, optically active components open up the prospect of the seamless integration of broadband communication functionality at the chip level. Access to high-performance SiGe technology has spurred a rich diversity of exploratory and commercial circuit applications, many elaborated in this text. Communications applications have been most significantly impacted from a commercial perspective, leveraging the ability of SiGe technologies to produce extremely high-performance circuits while using back level, and thus far less costly, fabricators than alternative materials such as InP, GaAs, or in some instances advanced CMOS. These achievements did not occur without tremendous effort on the part of many workers in the field, and the chapters in this volume represent examples of such contributions. In its transition from scientific curiosity to pervasive technology, SiGe-based device work has matured greatly, and I hope you find this text illuminating as to the path that maturation followed.

Bernard S. Meyerson IBM Systems and Technology Group

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C000 Final Proof page ix 5.11.2007 12:02pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Preface

While the idea of cleverly using silicon–germanium (SiGe) and silicon (Si) strained-layer epitaxy to practice bandgap engineering of semiconductor devices in the highly manufacturable Si material system is an old one, only in the past decade has this concept become a practical reality. The final success of creating novel Si heterostructure transistors with performance far superior to their Si-only homojunction cousins, while maintaining strict compatibility with the massive economy-of-scale of conventional Si integrated circuit manufacturing, proved challenging and represents the sustained efforts of literally thousands of physicists, electrical engineers, material scientists, chemists, and technicians across the world. In the electronics domain, the fruit of that global effort is SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor (SiGe HBT) BiCMOS technology, and strained Si/SiGe CMOS technology, both of which are at present in commercial manufacturing worldwide and are rapidly finding a number of important circuit and system applications. As with any new integrated circuit technology, the industry is still actively exploring device performance and scaling limits (at present well above 300 GHz in frequency response, and rising), new circuit applications and potential new markets, as well as a host of novel device and structural innovations. This commercial success in the electronics arena is also spawning successful forays into the optoelectronics and even nanoelectronics fields. The Si heterostructure field is both exciting and dynamic in its scope. The implications of the Si heterostructure success story contained in this book are far-ranging and will be both lasting and influential in determining the future course of the electronics and optoelectronics infrastructure, fueling the miraculous communications explosion of the twenty-first century. While several excellent books on specific aspects of the Si heterostructures field currently exist (for example, on SiGe HBTs), this is the first reference book of its kind that ‘‘brings-it-all-together,’’ effectively presenting a comprehensive perspective by providing very broad topical coverage ranging from materials, to fabrication, to devices (HBT, FET, optoelectronic, and nanostructure), to CAD, to circuits, to applications. Each chapter is written by a leading international expert, ensuring adequate depth of coverage, upto-date research results, and a comprehensive list of seminal references. A novel aspect of this book is that it also contains ‘‘snap-shot’’ views of the industrial ‘‘state-of-the-art,’’ for both devices and circuits, and is designed to provide the reader with a useful basis of comparison for the current status and future course of the global Si heterostructure industry. This book is intended for a number of different audiences and venues. It should prove to be a useful resource as: 1. A hands-on reference for practicing engineers and scientists working on various aspects of Si heterostructure integrated circuit technology (both HBT, FET, and optoelectronic), including materials, fabrication, device physics, transistor optimization, measurement, compact modeling and device simulation, circuit design, and applications 2. A hands-on research resource for graduate students in electrical and computer engineering, physics, or materials science who require information on cutting-edge integrated circuit technologies ix

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C000 Final Proof

page x

5.11.2007 12:02pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

x

Preface

3. A textbook for use in graduate-level instruction in this field 4. A reference for technical managers and even technical support/technical sales personnel in the semiconductor industry It is assumed that the reader has some modest background in semiconductor physics and semiconductor devices (at the advanced undergraduate level), but each chapter is self-contained in its treatment. In this age of extreme activity, in which we are all seriously pressed for time and overworked, my success in getting such a large collection of rather famous people to commit their precious time to my vision for this project was immensely satisfying. I am happy to say that my authors made the process quite painless, and I am extremely grateful for their help. The list of contributors to this book actually reads like a global ‘‘who’s who’’ of the silicon heterostructure field, and is impressive by any standard. I would like to formally thank each of my colleagues for their hard work and dedication to executing my vision of producing a lasting Si heterostructure ‘‘bible.’’ In order of appearance, the ‘‘gurus’’ of our field include: David L. Harame, IBM Microelectronics, USA Jin Cai, IBM, Thomas J. Watson Research Center, USA Tak H. Ning, IBM, Thomas J. Watson Research Center, USA Joachim N. Burghartz, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands Alvin J. Joseph, IBM Microelectronics, USA James S. Dunn, IBM Microelectronics, USA Paul H.G. Kempf, Jazz Semiconductor, USA Katsuyoshi Washio, Hitachi Ltd., Japan Thomas F. Meister, Infineon Technologies AG, Germany H. Scha¨fer, Infineon Technologies AG, Germany W. Perndl, Infineon Technologies AG, Germany J. Bo¨ck, Infineon Technologies AG, Germany Dieter Knoll, IHP, Germany Alain Chantre, ST Microelectronics, France M. Laurens, ST Microelectronics, France B. Szelag, ST Microelectronics, France H. Baudry, ST Microelectronics, France P. Chevalier, ST Microelectronics, France J. Mourier, ST Microelectronics, France G. Troillard, ST Microelectronics, France B. Martinet, ST Microelectronics, France M. Marty, ST Microelectronics, France A. Monroy, ST Microelectronics, France Badih El-Kareh, Texas Instruments, USA Scott Balster, Texas Instruments, USA P. Steinmann, Texas Instruments, USA Hiroshi Yasuda, Texas Instruments, USA Roy Colclaser, Philips Semiconductors, USA Peter Deixler, Philips Semiconductors, USA Michael Schro¨ter, University of California at San Diego, USA Ramana M. Malladi, IBM Microelectronics, USA I would also like to thank my graduate students and post-docs, past and present, for their dedication and tireless work in this fascinating field. I rest on their shoulders. They include: David Richey, Alvin Joseph, Bill Ansley, Juan Rolda´n, Stacey Salmon, Lakshmi Vempati, Jeff Babcock, Suraj Mathew, Kartik Jayanaraynan, Greg Bradford, Usha Gogineni, Gaurab Banerjee, Shiming Zhang, Krish Shivaram, Dave Sheridan, Gang Zhang, Ying Li, Zhenrong Jin, Qingqing Liang, Ram Krithivasan, Yun Luo,

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

Preface

66870_C000 Final Proof page xi 5.11.2007 12:02pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

xi

Tianbing Chen, Enhai Zhao, Yuan Lu, Chendong Zhu, Jon Comeau, Jarle Johansen, Joel Andrews, Lance Kuo, Xiangtao Li, Bhaskar Banerjee, Curtis Grens, Akil Sutton, Adnan Ahmed, Becca Haugerud, Mustayeen Nayeem, Mustansir Pratapgarhwala, Guofu Niu, Emery Chen, Jongsoo Lee, and Gnana Prakash. Finally, I am grateful to Tai Soda at Taylor & Francis for talking me into this project, and supporting me along the way. I would also like to thank the production team at Taylor & Francis for their able assistance (and patience!), especially Jessica Vakili. The many nuances of the Si heterostructure field make for some fascinating subject matter, but this is no mere academic pursuit. In the grand scheme of things, the Si heterostructure industry is already reshaping the global communications infrastructure, which is in turn dramatically reshaping the way life on planet Earth will transpire in the twenty-first century and beyond. The world would do well to pay attention. It has been immensely satisfying to see both the dream of Si/SiGe bandgap engineering, and this book, come to fruition. I hope our efforts please you. Enjoy!

John D. Cressler Editor

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C000 Final Proof

page xii 5.11.2007 12:02pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C000 Final Proof

page xiii 5.11.2007 12:02pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Editor

John D. Cressler received a B.S. in physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in applied physics from Columbia University, New York, in 1987 and 1990. From 1984 to 1992 he was on the research staff at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, working on high-speed Si and SiGe bipolar devices and technology. In 1992 he left IBM Research to join the faculty at Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, where he served until 2002. When he left Auburn University, he was Philpott–Westpoint Stevens Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the Alabama Microelectronics Science and Technology Center. In 2002, Dr. Cressler joined the faculty at Georgia Tech, where he is currently Ken Byers Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research interests include SiGe devices and technology; Si-based RF/microwave/millimeter-wave mixed-signal devices and circuits; radiation effects; device-circuit interactions; noise and linearity; reliability physics; extreme environment electronics, 2-D/3-D device-level simulation; and compact circuit modeling. He has published more than 350 technical papers related to his research, and is author of the books Silicon-Germanium Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors, Artech House, 2003 (with Guofu Niu), and Reinventing Teenagers: The Gentle Art of Instilling Character in Our Young People, Xlibris, 2004 (a slightly different genre!). Dr. Cressler was Associate Editor of the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits (1998–2001), Guest Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science (2003–2006), and Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices (2005–present). He served on the technical program committees of the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (1992–1998, 1999–2001), the IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting (1995–1999, 2005–present), the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (1996–1997), and the IEEE Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects Conference (1999–2000, 2002– 2007). He currently serves on the executive steering committee for the IEEE Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, as international program advisor for the IEEE European Workshop on Low-Temperature Electronics, on the technical program committee for the IEEE International SiGe Technology and Device Meeting, and as subcommittee chair of the 2004 Electrochemical Society Symposium of SiGe: Materials, Processing, and Devices. He was the Technical Program Chair of the 1998 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, the Conference Co-Chair of the 2004 IEEE Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, and the Technical Program Chair of the 2007 IEEE Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects Conference. Dr. Cressler was appointed an IEEE Electron Device Society Distinguished Lecturer in 1994, an IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Distinguished Lecturer in 2006, and was awarded the 1994 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award for his SiGe research program. He received the 1996 C. Holmes xiii

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

xiv

66870_C000 Final Proof page xiv 5.11.2007 12:02pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Editor

MacDonald National Outstanding Teacher Award by Eta Kappa Nu, the 1996 Auburn University Alumni Engineering Council Research Award, the 1998 Auburn University Birdsong Merit Teaching Award, the 1999 Auburn University Alumni Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award, an IEEE Third Millennium Medal in 2000, and the 2007 Georgia Tech Outstanding Faculty Leadership in the Development of Graduate Students Award. He is an IEEE Fellow. On a more personal note, John’s hobbies include hiking, gardening, bonsai, all things Italian, collecting (and drinking!) fine wines, cooking, history, and carving walking sticks, not necessarily in that order. He considers teaching to be his vocation. John has been married to Maria, his best friend and soul-mate, for 25 years, and is the proud father of three budding scholars: Matt, Christina, and Jo-Jo. Dr. Cressler can be reached at School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 777 Atlantic Drive, N.W., Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0250 U.S.A. or [email protected] http://users.ece.gatech.edu/cressler/

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C000 Final Proof

page xv 5.11.2007 12:02pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Contents

1 The Big Picture ............................................................................................................................ 1-1 John D. Cressler 2 A Brief History of the Field ........................................................................................................ 2-1 John D. Cressler 3 Overview: Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology ...................................................... 3-1 John D. Cressler 4 Device Structures and BiCMOS Integration ............................................................................. 4-1 David L. Harame 5 SiGe HBTs on CMOS-Compatible SOI ...................................................................................... 5-1 Jin Cai and Tak H. Ning 6 Passive Components .................................................................................................................... 6-1 Joachim N. Burghartz 7 Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: IBM....................................................................... 7-1 Alvin J. Joseph and James S. Dunn 8 Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Jazz........................................................................ 8-1 Paul H.G. Kempf 9 Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Hitachi.................................................................. 9-1 Katsuyoshi Washio 10 Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Infineon .............................................................. 10-1 Thomas F. Meister, H. Scha¨fer, W. Perndl, and J. Bo¨ck 11 Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: IHP ..................................................................... 11-1 Dieter Knoll 12 Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: ST........................................................................ 12-1 Alain Chantre, M. Laurens, B. Szelag, H. Baudry, P. Chevalier, J. Mourier, G. Troillard, B. Martinet, M. Marty, and A. Monroy 13 Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Texas Instruments ............................................. 13-1 Badih El-Kareh, Scott Balster, P. Steinmann, and Hiroshi Yasuda 14 Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Philips................................................................. 14-1 Roy Colclaser and Peter Deixler A.1 Properties of Silicon and Germanium ................................................................................... A.1-1 John D. Cressler

xv

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

xvi

66870_C000 Final Proof

page xvi

5.11.2007 12:02pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Contents

A.2

The Generalized Moll–Ross Relations .................................................................................... A.2-1 John D. Cressler A.3 Integral Charge-Control Relations ......................................................................................... A.3-1 Michael Schro¨ter A.4 Sample SiGe HBT Compact Model Parameters..................................................................... A.4-1 Ramana M. Malladi Index ....................................................................................................................................................... I-1

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C001 Final Proof

page 1

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

1 The Big Picture 1.1 1.2

John D. Cressler Georgia Institute of Technology

1.1

1.3 1.4 1.5

The Communications Revolution...................................... Bandgap Engineering in the Silicon Material System ................................................................... Terminology and Definitions ............................................. The Application Space ........................................................ Performance Limits and Future Directions ......................

1-1 1-3 1-4 1-5 1-9

The Communications Revolution

We are at a unique juncture in the history of humankind, a juncture that amazingly we engineers and scientists have dreamed up and essentially created on our own. This pivotal event can be aptly termed the ‘‘Communications Revolution,’’ and the twenty-first century, our century, will be the era of human history in which this revolution plays itself out. This communications revolution can be functionally defined and characterized by the pervasive acquisition, manipulation, storage, transformation, and transmission of ‘‘information’’ on a global scale. This information, or more generally, knowledge, in its infinitely varied forms and levels of complexity, is gathered from our analog sensory world, transformed in very clever ways into logical ‘‘1’’s and ‘‘0’’s for ease of manipulation, storage, and transmission, and subsequently regenerated into analog sensory output for our use and appreciation. In 2005, this planetary communication of information is occurring at a truly mind-numbing rate, estimates of which are on the order of 80 Tera-bits/sec (1012) of data transfer across the globe in 2005 solely in wired and wireless voice and data transmission, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and growing exponentially. The world is quite literally abuzz with information flow—communication.* It is for the birth of the Communications Revolution that we humans likely will be remembered for 1000 years hence. Given that this revolution is happening during the working careers of most of us, I find it a wonderful time to be alive, a fact of which I remind my students often. Here is my point. No matter how one slices it, at the most fundamental level, it is semiconductor devices that are powering this communications revolution. Skeptical? Imagine for a moment that one could flip a switch and instantly remove all of the integrated circuits (ICs) from planet Earth. A moment’s reflection will convince you that there is not a single field of human endeavor that would not come to a grinding halt, be it commerce, or agriculture, or education, or medicine, or entertainment. Life as we in the first world know it in 2005 would simply cease to exist. And yet, remarkably, the same result would not have been true 50 years ago; even 20 years ago. Given the fact that we humans have been on planet Earth in our present form for at least 1 million years, and within communities

* I have often joked with my students that it would be truly entertaining if the human retina was sensitive to longer wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, such that we could ‘‘see’’ all the wireless communications signals constantly bathing the planet (say, in greens and blues!). It might change our feelings regarding our ubiquitous cell phones!

1-1

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

1-2

66870_C001 Final Proof

page 2

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

having entrenched cultural traditions for at least 15,000 years, this is truly a remarkable fact of history. A unique juncture indeed. Okay, hold on tight. It is an easy case to make that the semiconductor silicon (Si) has single-handedly enabled this communications revolution.* I have previously extolled at length the remarkable virtues of this rather unglamorous looking silver-grey element [1], and I will not repeat that discussion here, but suffice it to say that Si represents an extremely unique material system that has, almost on its own, enabled the conception and evolving execution of this communications revolution. The most compelling attribute, by far, of Si lies in the economy-of-scale it facilitates, culminating in the modern IC fabrication facility, effectively enabling the production of gazillions of low-cost, very highly integrated, remarkably powerful ICs, each containing millions of transistors; ICs that can then be affordably placed into widgets of remarkably varied form and function.y So what does this have to do with the book you hold in your hands? To feed the emerging infrastructure required to support this communications revolution, IC designers must work tirelessly to support increasingly higher data rates, at increasingly higher carrier frequencies, all in the design space of decreasing form factor, exponentially increasing functionality, and at ever-decreasing cost. And by the way, the world is going portable and wireless, using the same old wimpy batteries. Clearly, satisfying the near-insatiable appetite of the requisite communications infrastructure is no small task. Think of it as job security! For long-term success, this quest for more powerful ICs must be conducted within the confines of conventional Si IC fabrication, so that the massive economy-of-scale of the global Si IC industry can be brought to bear. Therein lies the fundamental motivation for the field of Si heterostructures, and thus this book. Can one use clever nanoscale engineering techniques to custom-tailor the energy bandgap of fairly conventional Si-based transistors to: (a) improve their performance dramatically and thereby ease the circuit and system design constraints facing IC designers, while (b) performing this feat without throwing away all the compelling economy-of-scale virtues of Si manufacturing? The answer to this important question is a resounding ‘‘YES!’’ That said, getting there took time, vision, as well as dedication and hard work of literally thousands of scientists and engineers across the globe. In the electronics domain, the fruit of that global effort is silicon–germanium heterojunction bipolar transistor (SiGe HBT) bipolar complementary metal oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS) technology, and is in commercial manufacturing worldwide and is rapidly finding a number of important circuit and system applications. In 2004, the SiGe ICs, by themselves, are expected to generate US$1 billion in revenue globally, with perhaps US$30 billion in downstream products. This US$1 billion figure is projected to rise to US$2.09 billion by 2006 [2], representing a growth rate of roughly 42% per year, a remarkable figure by any economic standard. The biggest single market driver remains the cellular industry, but applications in optical networking, hard disk drives for storage, and automotive collisionavoidance radar systems are expected to represent future high growth areas for SiGe. And yet, in the beginning of 1987, only 18 years ago, there was no such thing as a SiGe HBT. It had not been demonstrated as a viable concept. An amazing fact. In parallel with the highly successful development of SiGe HBT technology, a wide class of ‘‘transport enhanced’’ field effect transistor topologies (e.g., strained Si CMOS) have been developed as a means to boost the performance of the CMOS side of Si IC coin, and such technologies have also recently begun *The lone exception to this bold claim lies in the generation and detection of coherent light, which requires direct bandgap III–V semiconductor devices (e.g., GaAs of InP), and without which long-haul fiber communications systems would not be viable, at least for the moment. y Consider: it has been estimated that in 2005 there are roughly 20,000,000,000,000,000,000 (2
1019) transistors on planet Earth. While this sounds like a large number, let us compare it to some other large numbers: (1) the universe is roughly 4.2
1017sec old (13.7 billion years), (2) there are about 1
1021 stars in the universe, and (3) the universe is about 4
1023 miles across (15 billion light-years)! Given the fact that all 2
1020 of these transistors have been produced since December 23, 1947 (following the invention of the point-contact transistor by Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley), this is a truly remarkable feat of human ingenuity.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C001 Final Proof

page 3

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

The Big Picture

1-3

to enter the marketplace as enhancements to conventional core CMOS technologies. The commercial success enjoyed in the electronics arena has very naturally also spawned successful forays into the optoelectronics and even nanoelectronics fields, with potential for a host of important downstream applications. The Si heterostructure field is both exciting and dynamic in its scope. The implications of the Si heterostructure success story contained in this book are far-ranging and will be both lasting and influential in determining the future course of the electronics and optoelectronics infrastructure, fueling the miraculous communications explosion of our twenty-first century. The many nuances of the Si heterostructure field make for some fascinating subject matter, but this is no mere academic pursuit. As I have argued, in the grand scheme of things, the Si heterostructure industry is already reshaping the global communications infrastructure, which is in turn dramatically reshaping the way life of planet Earth will transpire in the twenty-first century and beyond. The world would do well to pay close attention.

1.2

Bandgap Engineering in the Silicon Material System

As wonderful as Si is from a fabrication viewpoint, from a device or circuit designer’s perspective, it is hardly the ideal semiconductor. The carrier mobility for both electrons and holes in Si is comparatively small compared to their III–V cousins, and the maximum velocity that these carriers can attain under high electric fields is limited to about 1
107 cm/sec under normal conditions, relatively ‘‘slow.’’ Since the speed of a transistor ultimately depends on how fast the carriers can be transported through the device under sustainable operating voltages, Si can thus be regarded as a somewhat ‘‘meager’’ semiconductor. In addition, because Si is an indirect gap semiconductor, light emission is fairly inefficient, making active optical devices such as diode lasers impractical (at least for the present). Many of the III–V compound semiconductors (e.g., GaAs or InP), on the other hand, enjoy far higher mobilities and saturation velocities, and because of their direct gap nature, generally make efficient optical generation and detection devices. In addition, III–V devices, by virtue of the way they are grown, can be compositionally altered for a specific need or application (e.g., to tune the light output of a diode laser to a specific wavelength). This atomic-level custom tailoring of a semiconductor is called bandgap engineering, and yields a large performance advantage for III–V technologies over Si [3]. Unfortunately, these benefits commonly associated with III–V semiconductors pale in comparison to the practical deficiencies associated with making highly integrated, low-cost ICs from these materials. There is no robust thermally grown oxide for GaAs or InP, for instance, and wafers are smaller with much higher defect densities, are more prone to breakage, and are poorer heat conductors (the list could go on). These deficiencies translate into generally lower levels of integration, more difficult fabrication, lower yield, and ultimately higher cost. In truth, of course, III–V materials such as GaAs and InP fill important niche markets today (e.g., GaAs metal semiconductor field effect transistor (MESFETs) and HBTs for cell phone power amplifiers, AlGaAs- or InP-based lasers, efficient long wavelength photodetectors, etc.), and will for the foreseeable future, but III–V semiconductor technologies will never become mainstream in the infrastructure of the communications revolution if Si-based technologies can do the job. While Si ICs are well suited to high-transistor-count, high-volume microprocessors and memory applications, RF, microwave, and even millimeter-wave (mm-wave) electronic circuit applications, which by definition operate at significantly higher frequencies, generally place much more restrictive performance demands on the transistor building blocks. In this regime, the poorer intrinsic speed of Si devices becomes problematic. That is, even if Si ICs are cheap, they must deliver the required device and circuit performance to produce a competitive system at a given frequency. If not, the higher-priced but faster III–V technologies will dominate (as they indeed have until very recently in the RF and microwave markets). The fundamental question then becomes simple and eminently practical: is it possible to improve the performance of Si transistors enough to be competitive with III–V devices for high-performance applications, while preserving the enormous yield, cost, and manufacturing advantages associated with conventional Si fabrication? The answer is clearly ‘‘yes,’’ and this book addresses the many nuances

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

1-4

66870_C001 Final Proof

page 4

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

associated with using SiGe and Si-strained layer epitaxy to practice bandgap engineering in the Si material system, a process culminating in, among other things, the SiGe HBT and strained Si CMOS, as well as a variety of other interesting electronic and optoelectronic devices built from these materials. This totality can be termed the ‘‘Si heterostructures’’ field.

1.3

Terminology and Definitions

A few notes on modern usage and pronunciation in this field are in order (really!). It is technically correct to refer to silicon–germanium alloys according to their chemical composition, Si1xGex , where x is the Ge mole fraction. Following standard usage, such alloys are generally referred to as ‘‘SiGe’’ alloys. Note, however, that it is common in the material science community to also refer to such materials as ‘‘Ge:Si’’ alloys. A SiGe film that is carbon doped (e.g., less than 0.20% C) in an attempt to suppress subsequent boron out-diffusion (e.g., in HBTs) is properly referred to as a SiGe:C alloy, or simply SiGeC (pronounced ‘‘silicon germanium carbon,’’ not ‘‘silicon germanium carbide’’). This class of SiGe alloys should be viewed as optimized SiGe alloys, and are distinct from SiGe films with a much higher C content (e.g., 2% to 3% C) that might be used, for instance, to lattice-match SiGeC alloys to Si. Believe it or not, this field also has its own set of slang pronunciations. The colloquial usage of the pronunciation \’sig-ee\ to refer to ‘‘silicon–germanium’’ (begun at IBM in the late 1990s) has come into vogue (heck, it may make it to the dictionary soon!), and has even entered the mainstream IC engineers’s slang; pervasively.* In the electronics domain, it is important to be able to distinguish between the various SiGe technologies as they evolve, both for CMOS (strained Si) and bipolar (SiGe HBT). Relevant questions in this context include: Is company X’s SiGe technology more advanced than company Y’s SiGe technology? For physical as well as historical reasons, one almost universally defines CMOS technology (Si, strained Si, or SiGe), a lateral transport device, by the drawn lithographic gate length (the CMOS technology ‘‘node’’), regardless of the resultant intrinsic device performance. Thus, a ‘‘90-nm’’ CMOS node has a drawn gate length of roughly 90 nm. For bipolar devices (i.e., the SiGe HBT), however, this is not so straightforward, since it is a vertical transport device whose speed is not nearly as closely linked to lithographic dimensions. In the case of the SiGe HBT it is useful to distinguish between different technology generations according to their resultant ac performance (e.g., peak common-emitter, unity gain cutoff frequency (fT), which is (a) easily measured and unambiguously compared technology to technology, and yet is (b) a very strong function of the transistor vertical doping and Ge profile and hence nicely reflects the degree of sophistication in device structural design, overall thermal cycle, epi growth, etc.) [1]. The peak fT generally nicely reflects the ‘‘aggressiveness,’’ if you will, of the transistor scaling which has been applied to a given SiGe technology. A higher level of comparative sophistication can be attained by also invoking the maximum oscillation frequency ( fmax), a parameter which is well correlated to both intrinsic profile and device parasitics, and hence a bit higher on the ladder of device performance metrics, and thus more representative of actual large-scale circuit performance. The difficulty in this case is that fmax is far more ambiguous than fT , in the sense that it can be inferred from various gain definitions (e.g., U vs. MAG), and in practice power gain data are often far less ideal in its behavior over frequency, more sensitive to accurate deembedding, and ripe with extraction ‘‘issues.’’ We thus term a SiGe technology having a SiGe HBT with a peak fT in the range of 50 GHz as ‘‘first generation;’’ that with a peak fT in the range of 100 GHz as ‘‘second generation;’’ that with a peak fT in the range of 200 GHz as ‘‘third generation;’’ and that with a peak fT in the range of 300 GHz as ‘‘fourth generation.’’ These are loose definitions to be sure, but nonetheless useful for comparison purposes.

*I remain a stalwart holdout against this snowballing trend and stubbornly cling to the longer but far more satisfying ‘‘silicon–germanium.’’

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C001 Final Proof

page 5

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

1-5

The Big Picture

SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology evolution by generation

CMOS gate length

90 nm

3rd

0.12 µm

0.18 µm

0.25 µm

4th

2nd

1st 50 GHz

100 GHz

200 GHz

300 GHz

SiGe HBT peak cutoff frequency FIGURE 1.1 Evolution of SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology generations, as measured by the peak cutoff frequency of the SiGe HBT, and the CMOS gate length.

A complicating factor in SiGe technology terminology results from the fact that most, if not all, commercial SiGe HBT technologies today also contain standard Si CMOS devices (i.e., SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology) to realize high levels of integration and functionality on a single die (e.g., singlechip radios complete with RF front-end, data converters, and DSP). One can then speak of a given generation of SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology as the most appropriate intersection of both the SiGe HBT peak fT and the CMOS technology node (Figure 1.1). For example, for several commercially important SiGe HBT technologies available via foundry services, we have: . . . . . .

IBM SiGe 5HP—50 GHz peak fT SiGe HBT þ 0.35 mm Si CMOS (first generation) IBM SiGe 7HP—120 GHz peak fT SiGe HBT þ 0.18 mm Si CMOS (second generation) IBM SiGe 8HP—200 GHz peak fT SiGe HBT þ 0.13 mm Si CMOS (third generation) Jazz SiGe 60—60 GHz peak fT SiGe HBT þ 0.35 mm Si CMOS (first generation) Jazz SiGe 120—150 GHz peak fT SiGe HBT þ 0.18 mm Si CMOS (second generation) IHP SiGe SGC25B—120 GHz peak fT SiGe HBT þ 0.25 mm Si CMOS (second generation)

All SiGe HBT BiCMOS technologies can thus be roughly classified in this manner. It should also be understood that multiple transistor design points typically exist in such BiCMOS technologies (multiple breakdown voltages for the SiGe HBT and multiple threshold or breakdown voltages for the CMOS), and hence the reference to a given technology generation implicitly refers to the most aggressively scaled device within that specific technology platform.

1.4

The Application Space

It goes without saying in our field of semiconductor IC technology that no matter how clever or cool a new idea appears at first glance, its long-term impact will ultimately be judged by its marketplace ‘‘legs’’ (sad, but true). That is, was the idea good for a few journal papers and an award or two, or did someone actually build something and sell some useful derivative products from it? The sad reality is that the semiconductor field (and we are by no means exceptional) is rife with examples of cool new devices that

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C001 Final Proof

1-6

page 6

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

never made it past the pages of the IEDM digest! The ultimate test, then, is one of stamina. And sweat. Did the idea make it out of the research laboratory and into the hands of the manufacturing lines? Did it pass the qualification-checkered flag, have design kits built around it, and get delivered to real circuit designers who built ICs, fabricated them, and tested them? Ultimately, were the derivative ICs inserted into real systems—widgets—to garner leverage in this or that system metric, and hence make the products more appealing in the marketplace? Given the extremely wide scope of the semiconductor infrastructure fueling the communications revolution, and the sheer volume of widget possibilities, electronic to photonic to optoelectronic, it is useful here to briefly explore the intended application space of Si heterostructure technologies as we peer out into the future. Clearly I possess no crystal ball, but nevertheless some interesting and likely lasting themes are beginning to emerge from the fog. SiGe HBT BiCMOS is the obvious ground-breaker of the Si heterostructures application space in terms of moving the ideas of our field into viable products for the marketplace. The field is young, but the signs are very encouraging. As can be seen in Figure 1.2, there are at present count 25 þ SiGe HBT industrial fabrication facilities on line in 2005 around the world, and growing steadily. This trend points to an obvious recognition that SiGe technology will play an important role in the emerging electronics infrastructure of the twenty-first century. Indeed, as I often point out, the fact that virtually every major player in the communications electronics field either: (a) has SiGe up and running in-house, or (b) is using someone else’s SiGe fab as foundry for their designers, is a remarkable fact, and very encouraging in the grand scheme of things. As indicated above, projections put SiGe ICs at a US$2.0 billion level by 2006, small by percentage perhaps compared to the near trillion dollar global electronics market, but growing rapidly. The intended application target? That obviously depends on the company, but the simple answer is, gulp, a little bit of everything! As depicted in Figure 1.3 and Figure 1.4, the global communications landscape is exceptionally diverse, ranging from low-frequency wireless (2.4 GHz cellular) to the fastest high-speed wireline systems (10 and 40 Gbit/sec synchronous optical network (SONET)). Core CMOS technologies are increasingly being pushed into the lower frequency wireless space, but the compelling drive to higher carrier frequencies over time will increasingly favor SiGe technologies. At present, SiGe ICs are making inroads into: the cellular industry for handsets [global system for mobile communications—GSM, code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), etc.], even for power amplifiers; various wireless local area networks (WLAN) building blocks, from components to fully integrated systems ranging from 2.4 to 60 GHz and up; ultrawide band (UWB) components; global positioning systems (GPS); wireless base stations; a variety of wireline networking products, from 2.5 to 40 Gbit/sec (and higher); data converters (D/A and A/D); highspeed memories; a variety of instrumentation electronics; read-channel memory storage products; core analog functions (op amps, etc.); high-speed digital circuits of various flavors; radiation detector

Industrial fabrication facilities

25 20 15 10 5 0 1993

FIGURE 1.2

SiGe HBT BiCMOS Strained–Si CMOS

1995

1997

1999 Year

2001

2003

Number of industrial SiGe and strained Si fabrication facilities.

2005

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C001 Final Proof

page 7

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

1-7

The Big Picture

FIGURE 1.3 The global communications landscape, broken down by the various communications standards, and spanning the range of: wireless to wireline; fixed to mobile; copper to fiber; low data rate to broadband; and local area to wide area networks. WAN is wide area network, MAN is metropolitan area network, the so-called ‘‘last mile’’ access network, LAN is local area network, and PAN is personal area network, the emerging in-home network. (Used with the permission of Kyutae Lim.) Some application bands for SiGe ICs Defense Radar

Radar Navigation

GPS

Radar Automotive Collision avoidance

Polling

Cellular / PCS / Satellite / UWB

Communications WLAN

Bands: L 1

2

S

C

3

5

ISM W

Ka

X

Ku

10

20 30

50

100

Frequency (GHz)

FIGURE 1.4

Some application frequency bands for SiGe integrated circuits.

electronics; radar systems (from 3 to 77 GHz and up); a variety space-based electronics components; and various niche extreme environment components (e.g., cryogenic (77 K) hybrid superconductor–semiconductor systems). The list is long and exceptionally varied—this is encouraging. Clearly, however, some of these components of ‘‘everything’’ are more important than others, and this will take time to shake out. The strength of the BiCMOS twist to SiGe ICs cannot be overemphasized. Having both the high-speed SiGe HBT together on-chip with aggressively scaled CMOS allows one great flexibility in system design, the depths of which is just beginning to be plumbed. While debates still rage with respect to the most cost-effective partitioning at the chip and package level (system-on-a-chip versus system-in-a-package,

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C001 Final Proof

1-8

page 8

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

etc.), clearly increased integration is viewed as a good thing in most camps (it is just a question of how much), and SiGe HBT BiCMOS is well positioned to address such needs across a broad market sector. The envisioned high-growth areas for SiGe ICs over the new few years include: the cellular industry, optical networking, disk drives, and radar systems. In addition, potential high-payoff market areas span the emerging mm-wave space (e.g., the 60 GHz ISM band WLAN) for short range, but very high data rate (Gbit/sec) wireless systems. A SiGe 60 GHz single-chip/package transceiver (see Figure 1.5 for IBM’s vision of such a beast) could prove to be the ‘‘killer app’’ for the emerging broadband multimedia market. Laughable? No. The building blocks for such systems have already been demonstrated using third-generation SiGe technology [4], and fully integrated transceivers are under development. The rest of the potential market opportunities within the Si heterostructures field can be leveraged by successes in the SiGe IC field, both directly and indirectly. On the strained Si CMOS front, there are existent proofs now that strained Si is likely to become a mainstream component of conventional CMOS scaling at the 90-nm node and beyond (witness the early success of Intel’s 90-nm logic technology built around uniaxially strained Si CMOS; other companies are close behind). Strained Si would seem to represent yet another clever technology twist that CMOS device technologists are pulling from their bag of tricks to keep the industry on a Moore’s law growth path. This was not an obvious development (to me anyway) even a couple of years back. A wide variety of ‘‘transport enhanced’’ Si-heterostructure-based FETs have been demonstrated (SiGe-channel FETs, Si-based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), as well as both uniaxially and biaxially strained FETs, etc). Most of these devices, however, require complex substrate engineering that would have seemed to preclude giga-scale integration level needs for microprocessor-level integration. Apparently not so. The notion of using Si heterostructures (either

Radiation

Vision of a 60 GHz SiGe wireless transceiver Package mold

Wirebond pad

Wirebond C4-Balls

Tx/Rx flip-Antenna

Mix

Filter structure

Q-signal

90 VCO I-signal

Underfill

Su

bs

tra

te

Mix Mix Q-signal LNA

I/Q

90 VCO I-signal

PLL

Mix

I/Q

QFN-package Package pin

FIGURE 1.5 Pfeiffer.)

Vision for a single-chip SiGe mm-wave transceiver system. (Used with the permission of Ullrich

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C001 Final Proof

page 9

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

1-9

The Big Picture

uniaxial or biaxial strain or both) to boost conventional CMOS performance appears to be an appealing path for the future, a natural merging point I suspect for SiGe strained layers found in SiGe HBT BiCMOS (which to date contains only conventional Si CMOS) and strained Si CMOS. From the optoelectronics camp, things are clearly far less evolved, but no less interesting. A number of functional optoelectronic devices have been demonstrated in research laboratories. Near-term successes in the short wavelength detector arena and light emitting diodes (LEDs) are beginning to be realized. The achievement of successful coherent light emission in the Si heterostructure system (e.g., via quantum cascade techniques perhaps) would appear to be the ‘‘killer app’’ in this arena, and research in this area is in progress. More work is needed.

1.5

Performance Limits and Future Directions

We begin with device performance limits. Just how fast will SiGe HBTs be 5 years from now? Transistorlevel performance in SiGe HBTs continues to rise at a truly dizzying pace, and each major conference seems to bear witness to a new performance record (Figure 1.6). Both first- and second-generation SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology is widely available in 2005 (who would have thought even 3 years ago that fully integrated 100þ GHz Si-based devices would be ‘‘routine’’ on 200 mm wafers?), and even at the 200 GHz (third-generation) performance level, six companies (at last count) have achieved initial technology demonstrations, including IBM (Chapter 7), Jazz (Chapter 8), IHP (Chapter 11), ST Microelectronics (Chapter 12), Hitachi (Chapter 9), and Infineon (Chapter 10). Several are now either available in manufacturing, or are very close (e.g., [5]). At press time, the most impressive new stake-inthe-ground is the report (June 2004) of the newly optimized ‘‘SiGe 9T’’ technology, which simultaneously achieves 302 GHz peak fT and 306 GHz peak fmax, a clear record for any Si-based transistor, from IBM (Figure 1.7) [6]. This level of ac performance was achieved at a BVCEO of 1.6 V, a BVCBO of 5.5 V, and a current gain of 660. Noise measurements on these devices yielded NFmin/Gassoc of 0.45 dB/14 dB and 1.4 dB/8 dB at 10 and 25 GHz, respectively. Measurements of earlier (unoptimized) fourth-generation IBM SiGe HBTs have yielded record values of 375 GHz peak fT [7] at 300 K and above 500 GHz peak fT at 85 K. Simulations suggest that THz-level (1000 GHz) intrinsic transistor performance is not a laughable proposition in SiGe HBTs (Chapter 16, see Silicon Heterostructure Devices). This fact still amazes even me, the eternal optimist of SiGe performance! I, for one, firmly believe that we will see SiGe

400 4th

Cutoff frequency (GHz)

350 300 250 3rd 200 150

2nd

100 50 0 0.1

1st

1.0 10 Collector current density (mA/mm2)

100

FIGURE 1.6 Measured cutoff frequency as a function of bias current density for four different SiGe HBT technology generations.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C001 Final Proof page 10 16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

1-10

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

400 f T + f max = 400 GHz

Peak f max (GHz)

350

600 GHz f T = f max

300 250 200 GHz

200 150 100

SiGe+SiGe: C HBT 300 K

50 0

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Peak f T (GHz)

FIGURE 1.7 Measured maximum oscillation frequency versus cutoff frequency for a variety of generations of SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology shown in Figure 1.1.

HBTs above-500 GHz peak fT and fmax fully integrated with nanometer-scale (90 nm and below) Si CMOS (possibly strained Si CMOS) within the next 3 to 5 years. One might logically ask, particularly within the confines of the above discussion on ultimate market relevance, why one would even attempt to build 500 GHz SiGe HBTs, other than to win a best-paper award, or to trumpet that ‘‘because-it’s-there’’ Mount Everest mentality we engineers and scientists love so dearly. This said, if the future ‘‘killer app’’ turns out to be single-chip mm-wave transceiver systems with on-board DSP for broadband multimedia, radar, etc., then the ability of highly scaled, highly integrated, very high performance SiGe HBTs to dramatically enlarge the circuit/ system design space of the requisite mm-wave building blocks may well prove to be a fruitful (and marketable) path. Other interesting themes are emerging in the SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology space. One is the very recent emergence of complementary SiGe (C-SiGe) HBT processes (npn þ pnp SiGe HBTs). While very early pnp SiGe HBT prototypes were demonstrated in the early 1990s, only in the last 2 years or so have fully complementary SiGe processes been developed, the most mature of which to date is the IHP SGC25C process, which has 200 GHz npn SiGe HBTs and 80 GHz pnp SiGe HBTs (Chapter 11). Having very high-speed pnp SiGe HBTs on-board presents a fascinating array of design opportunities aimed particularly at the analog/mixed-signal circuit space. In fact, an additional emerging trend in the SiGe field, particularly for companies with historical pure analog circuit roots, is to target lower peak fT, but higher breakdown voltages, while simultaneously optimizing the device for core analog applications (e.g., op amps, line drivers, data converters, etc.), designs which might, for instance, target better noise performance, and higher current gain-Early voltage product than mainstream SiGe technologies. One might even choose to park that SiGe HBT platform on top of thick film SOI for better isolation properties (Chapter 13). Another interesting option is the migration of high-speed vertical SiGe HBTs with very thin film CMOS-compatible SOI (Chapter 5). This technology path would clearly favor the eventual integration of SiGe HBTs with strained Si CMOS, all on SOI, a seemingly natural migratory path. If one accepts the tenet that integration is a good thing from a system-level perspective, the Holy Grail in the Si heterostructure field would, in the end, appear to be the integration of SiGe HBTs for RF through mm-wave circuitry (e.g., single-chip mm-wave transceivers complete with on-chip antennae), strained Si CMOS for all DSP and memory functionality, both perhaps on SOI, Si-based light emitters, SiGe HBT modulator electronics, and detectors for such light sources, together with on-chip waveguides to steer the light, realized all on one Si wafer to produce a ‘‘Si-based optoelectronic superchip’’ [8], that could do-it-all. These diverse blocks would be optional plug-in modules around a core SiGe

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

The Big Picture

66870_C001 Final Proof page 11 16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

1-11

HBT þ strained Si CMOS IC technology platform, perhaps with flip-chip (or other) packaging techniques to join different sub-die to the main superchip (e.g., for a Si-based detector or laser). I know, I know. It is not obvious that even if each of these blocks could be realized, that it would make economic sense to do so for real systems. I have no quarrel with that. I think such a Si-based superchip is a useful paradigm, however, to bind together all of the clever objects we wish to ultimately build with Si heterostructures, from electronic to photonic, and maintain the vision of the one overarching constraint that guides us as we look forward—keep whatever you do compatible with high-volume manufacturing in Si fabrication facilities if you want to shape the path of the ensuing communications revolution. This Si-based superchip clearly remains a dream at present. A realizable dream? And if realizable, commercially viable? Who knows? Only time will tell. But it is fun to think about. As you peruse this book you hold in your hands, which spans the whole Si heterostructure research and development space, from materials, to devices, to circuit and system applications, I think you will be amazed at both the vision, cleverness, and smashing successes of the many scientists and engineers who make up our field. Do not count us out! We are the new architects of an oh-so-very-interesting future.

References 1. JD Cressler and G Niu. Silicon–Germanium Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors. Boston, MA: Artech House, 2003. 2. ‘‘SiGe devices market to hit $2 billion in 2006,’’ article featured on CompoundSemicoductor.net, http://compoundsemiconductor.net/articles/news/8/3/22/1. 3. F Capasso. Band-gap engineering: from physics and materials to new semiconductor devices. Science, 235:172–176, 1987. 4. S Reynolds, B Floyd, U Pfeiffer, and T Zwick. 60 GHz transciever circuits in SiGe bipolar technology. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, San Francisco, 2004, pp 442–443. 5. AJ Joseph, D Coolbaugh, D Harame, G Freeman, S Subbanna, M Doherty, J Dunn, C Dickey, D Greenberg, R Groves, M Meghelli, A Rylyakov, M Sorna, O Schreiber, D Herman, and T Tanji. 0.13 mm 210 GHz fT SiGe HBTs—expanding the horizons of SiGe BiCMOS. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, San Francisco, 2002, pp 180–182. 6. J-S Rieh, D Greenberg, M Khater, KT Schonenberg, J-J Jeng, F Pagette, T Adam, A Chinthakindi, J Florkey, B Jagannathan, J Johnson, R Krishnasamy, D Sanderson, C Schnabel, P Smith, A Stricker, S Sweeney, K Vaed, T Yanagisawa, D Ahlgren, K Stein, and G Freeman. SiGe HBTs for millimeter-wave applications with simultaneously optimized fT and fmax. Proceedings of the IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) Symposium, Fort Worth, 2004, pp 395–398. 7. JS Rieh, B Jagannathan, H Chen, KT Schonenberg, D Angell, A Chinthakindi, J Florkey, F Golan, D Greenberg, S-J Jeng, M Khater, F Pagette, C Schnabel, P Smith, A Stricker, K Vaed, R Volant, D Ahlgren, G Freeman, K Stein, and S Subbanna. SiGe HBTs with cutoff frequency of 350 GHz. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, San Francisco, 2002, pp 771–774. 8. R Soref. Silicon-based photonic devices. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, 1995, pp 66–67.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C001 Final Proof page 12 16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C002 Final Proof

page 1

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

2 A Brief History of the Field John D. Cressler Georgia Institute of Technology

2.1 2.2 2.3

Si–SiGe Strained Layer Epitaxy.......................................... 2-1 SiGe HBTs ............................................................................ 2-3 SiGe–Strained Si FETs and Other SiGe Devices ............... 2-6

In the historical record of any field of human endeavor, being ‘‘first’’ is everything. It is often said that ‘‘hindsight is 20–20,’’ and it is tempting in many cases to ascribe this or that pivotal event as ‘‘obvious’’ or ‘‘easy’’ once the answer is known. Anyone intimately involved in a creative enterprise knows, however, that it is never easy being first, and often requires more than a little luck and maneuvering. Thus the triumphs of human creativity, the ‘‘firsts,’’ should be appropriately celebrated. Still, later chroniclers often gloss over, and then eventually ignore, important (and sometimes very interesting) twists and turns, starts and stops, of the winners as well as the second and third place finishers, who in the end may in fact have influenced the paths of the winners, sometimes dramatically. The history of our field, for instance, is replete with interesting competitive battles, unusual personalities and egos, no small amount of luck, and various other fascinating historical nuances. There is no concise history of our field available, and while the present chapter is not intended to be either exhaustive or definitive, it represents my firm conviction that the history of any field is both instructive and important for those who follow in the footsteps of the pioneers. Hopefully this brief history does not contain too many oversights or errors, and is offered as a step in the right direction for a history of pivotal events that helped shape the Si heterostructures field.

2.1

Si–SiGe Strained Layer Epitaxy

The field of Si-based heterostructures solidly rests on the shoulders of materials scientists and crystal growers, those purveyors of the semiconductor ‘‘black arts’’ associated with the deposition of pristine films of nanoscale dimensionality onto enormous Si wafers with near infinite precision. What may seem routine today was not always so. The Si heterostructure story necessarily begins with materials, and circuit designers would do well to remember that much of what they take for granted in transistor performance owes a great debt to the smelters of the crystalline world. Table 2.1 summarizes the key steps in the development of SiGe–Si strained layer epitaxy. Given that Ge was the earliest and predominant semiconductor pursued by the Bell Laboratories transistor team, with a focus on the more difficult to purify Si to come slightly later, it is perhaps not surprising that the first study of SiGe alloys, albeit unstrained bulk alloys, occurred as early as 1958 [1]. It was recognized around 1960 [2] that semiconductor epitaxy* would enable more robust and controllable transistor fabrication. Once the move to Si-based processing occurred, the field of Si epitaxy was

*The word ‘‘epitaxy’’ (or just ‘‘epi’’) is derived from the Greek word epi, meaning ‘‘upon’’ or ‘‘over.’’

2-1

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

2-2

66870_C002 Final Proof

page 2

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology TABLE 2.1

Milestones in the Development of SiGe–Si Strained Layer Epitaxy

Historical Event

Year

Ref.

First investigation of the bandgap of unstrained SiGe alloys First epitaxially grown layer to be used in a transistor First investigation of high-temperature Si epitaxy Concept of critical thickness for epitaxial strained layers Energy minimization approach for critical thickness Force-balance approach for critical thickness First growth of SiGe strained layers First growth of SiGe epitaxy by MBE First stability calculations of SiGe strained layers First measurements of energy bandgap in SiGe strained layers First growth of Si epitaxy by LRP-CVD First 2D electron gas in the SiGe system First growth of Si epitaxy by UHV/CVD First measurements of band alignments in SiGe–Si First growth of SiGe epitaxy by UHV/CVD First step-graded relaxed SiGe substrate First growth of SiGe epitaxy by LRP-CVD First growth of Si epitaxy by AP-CVD First 2D hole gas in the SiGe system First growth of SiGe epitaxy by AP-CVD First majority hole mobility measurements in SiGe First minority electron mobility measurements in SiGe First growth of lattice-matched SiGeC alloys First growth of SiGe layers with carbon doping First stability calculations to include a Si cap layer

1958 1960 1963 1963 1963 1974 1975 1984 1985 1985 1985 1985 1986 1986 1988 1988 1989 1989 1989 1991 1991 1992 1992 1994 2000

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10,11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]

launched, the first serious investigation of which was reported in 1963 [3]. Early Si epitaxy was exclusively conducted under high-temperature processing conditions, in the range of 11008C, a temperature required to obtain a chemically pure and pristine growth interface on the Si host substrate for the soon-to-be-grown crystalline Si epi. High-temperature Si epi has been routinely used in basically this same form for over 40 years now, and represents a mature fabrication technique that is still widely practiced for many types of Si devices (e.g., high-speed bipolar transistors and various power devices). Device engineers have long recognized the benefits of marrying the many virtues of Si as a host material for manufacturing electronic devices, with the bandgap engineering principles routinely practiced in the III–V system. Ultimately this requires a means by which one can perform epitaxial deposition of thin Si layers on large Si substrates, for both p- and n-type doping of arbitrary abruptness, with very high precision, across large wafers, and doping control at high dynamic range. Only a moment’s reflection is required to appreciate that this means the deposition of the Si epi must occur at very low growth temperatures, say 5008C to 6008C (not ‘‘low’’ per se, but low compared to the requisite temperatures needed for solid-state diffusion of dopants in Si). Such a low-temperature Si epi would then facilitate the effective marriage of Si and Ge, two chemically compatible elements with differing bandgaps, and enable the doping of such layers with high precision, just what is needed for device realizations. Clearly the key to Si-based bandgap engineering, Si-heterostructures, our field, is the realization of device quality, low-temperature Si epi (and hence SiGe epi), grown pseudomorphically* on large Si host substrates. Conquering this task proved to be remarkably elusive and time consuming. In the III–V semiconductor world, where very low processing temperatures are much easier to attain, and hence more common than for Si, the deposition of multiple semiconductors on top of one another proved quite feasible (e.g., GaAs on InP), as needed to practice bandgap engineering, for instance, *The word ‘‘pseudo’’ is derived from the Greek word pseude¯s, meaning ‘‘false,’’ and the word ‘‘morphic’’ is derived from the Greek word morphe¯, meaning ‘‘form.’’ Hence, pseudomorphic literally means false-form.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

A Brief History of the Field

66870_C002 Final Proof

page 3

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

2-3

resulting in complex material composites having differing lattice constants in intimate physical contact. To accommodate the differing lattice constants while maintaining the crystallinity of the underlying films, strain is necessarily induced in the composite film, and the notion of a film ‘‘critical thickness,’’ beyond which strain relaxation occurs via fundamental thermodynamic driving forces, was defined as early as 1963 [4], as were the energy minimization techniques needed for calculating such critical thicknesses [5]. Alternative ‘‘force-balance’’ techniques for addressing the so-called stability issues in strained layer epitaxy came from the III–V world in 1974, and were applied to SiGe strained layer epitaxy in 1985 [9]. Interestingly, however, research continues today on stability in complicated (e.g., compositionally graded) SiGe films, and only very recently have reasonably complete theories been offered which seem to match well with experiment [25]. The first reported growth of SiGe strained layers was in 1975 in Germany [7], but the field did not begin to seriously heat up until the early 1980s, when several teams pioneered the application of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) to facilitate materials studies of device-quality strained SiGe on Si in 1984 [8]. Optical studies on these films resulted in encouraging findings concerning the beneficial effects of strain on the band-edge properties of SiGe [10,11], paving the way for serious contemplation of devices built from such materials. Parallel paths toward other low-temperature Si epi growth techniques centered on the ubiquitous chemical vapor deposition (CVD) approach were simultaneously pursued, culminating in the so-called limited-reaction-processing CVD (LRP-CVD) technique (Si epi in 1985 [12], and SiGe epi in 1989 [17]), the ultrahigh-vacuum CVD (UHV/CVD) technique (Si epi in 1986 [14] and SiGe epi in 1988 [16]), and various atmospheric pressure CVD (AP-CVD) techniques (e.g., Si epi in 1989 [18], and SiGe epi in 1991 [20]). These latter two techniques, in particular, survive to this day, and are widely used in the SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) industry. Device-quality SiGe–Si films enabled a host of important discoveries to occur, which have important bearing on device derivatives, including the demonstration of both two-dimensional electron and hole gases [13,19], and the fortuitous observation that step-graded SiGe buffer layers could be used to produce device-quality strained Si on SiGe, with its consequent conduction band offsets [16]. This latter discovery proved important in the development of SiGe–Si heterostructure-based FETs. Both majority and minority carrier mobility measurements occurred in the early 1990s [21,22], although reliable data, particularly involving minority carriers, remain sparse in the literature. Also in the early 1990s, experiments using high C content as a means to relieve strain in SiGe and potentially broaden the bandgap engineering space by lattice-matching SiGe:C materials to Si substrates (a path that has to date not borne much fruit, unfortunately), while others began studying efficacy of C-doping of SiGe, a result that ultimately culminated in the wide use today of C-doping for dopant diffusion suppression in SiGe:C HBTs [23,24]. The Si–SiGe materials field continues to evolve. Commercial single wafer (AP-CVD) and batch wafer (UHV/CVD) Si–SiGe epi growth tools compatible with 200 mm (and soon 300 mm) Si wafers exist in literally dozens of industrial fabrication facilities around the world, and SiGe growth can almost be considered routine today in the ease in which it can be integrated into CMOS-compatible fabrication processes. It was clearly of paramount importance in the ultimate success of our field that some of the ‘‘black magic’’ associated with robust SiGe film growth be removed, and this, thankfully, is the case in 2005.

2.2

SiGe HBTs

Transistor action was first demonstrated by Bardeen and Brattain in late December of 1947 using a point contact device [26]. Given all that has transpired since, culminating in the Communications Revolution, which defines our modern world (refer to the discussion in Chapter 1), this pivotal event surely ranks as one of the most significant in the course of human history—bold words, but nevertheless true. This demonstration of a solid-state device exhibiting the key property of amplification (power gain) is also unique in the historical record for the precision with which we can locate it in time—December 23,

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

2-4

66870_C002 Final Proof

page 4

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

1947, at about 5 p.m. Not to be outdone, Shockley rapidly developed a theoretical basis for explaining how this clever object worked, and went on to demonstrate the first true bipolar junction transistor (BJT) in 1951 [27]. The first BJT was made, ironically in the present context, from Ge. The first silicon BJT was made by Teal in 1954 using grown junction techniques. The first diffused silicon BJT was demonstrated in 1956 [28], and the first epitaxially grown silicon BJT was reported in 1960, see Ref. [2]. The concept of the HBT is surprisingly an old one, dating in fact to the fundamental BJT patents filed by Shockley in 1948 [29]. Given that the first bipolar transistor was built from Ge, and III–V semiconductors were not yet on the scene, it seems clear that Shockley envisioned the combination of Si (wide bandgap emitter) and Ge (narrow bandgap base) to form a SiGe HBT. The basic formulation and operational theory of the HBT, for both the traditional wide bandgap emitter plus narrow bandgap base approach found in most III–V HBTs, as well as the drift-base (graded) approach used in SiGe HBTs today, was pioneered by Kroemer, and was largely in place by 1957 [30–32]. It is ironic that Kroemer in fact worked hard early on to realize a SiGe HBT, without success, ultimately pushing him toward the III–V material systems for his heterostructure studies, a path that proved in the end to be quite fruitful for him, since he shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 2000 for his work in (III–V) bandgap engineering for electronic and photonic applications [33]. While III–V HBT (e.g., AlGaAs–GaAs) demonstrations began appearing in the 1970s, driven largely by the needs for active microwave components in the defense industry, reducing the SiGe HBT to practical reality took 30 years after the basic theory was in place due to material growth limitations. As pointed out [34] the semiconductor device field is quite unique in the scope of human history because ‘‘science’’ (theoretical understanding) preceded the ‘‘art’’ (engineering and subsequent technological advancement). Once device-quality SiGe films were finally achieved in the mid-1980s, however, progress was quite rapid. Table 2.2 summarizes the key steps in the evolution of SiGe HBTs. The first functional SiGe HBT was demonstrated by an IBM team in December 1987 at the IEDM [35]. The pioneering result showed a SiGe HBT with functional, albeit leaky, dc characteristics; but it was a SiGe HBT, it worked (barely), and it was the first.* It is an often overlooked historical point, however, that at least four independent groups were simultaneously racing to demonstrate the first functional SiGe HBT, all using the MBE growth technique: the IBM team [35], a Japanese team [62], a Bell Laboratories team [63], and a Linko¨ping University team [64]. The IBM team is fairly credited with the victory, since it presented (and published) its results in early December of 1987 at the IEDM (it would have been submitted to the conference for review in the summer 1987) [35]. Even for the published journal articles, the IBM team was the first to submit its paper for review (on November 17, 1987) [65]. All four papers appeared in print in the spring of 1988. Other groups soon followed with more SiGe HBT demonstrations. The first SiGe HBT demonstrated using (the ultimately more manufacturable) CVD growth technique followed shortly thereafter, in 1989, first using LRP-CVD [17], and then with UHV/CVD [36]. Worldwide attention became squarely focused on SiGe technology, however, in June 1990 at the IEEE VLSI Technology Symposium with the demonstration of a non-self-aligned UHV/CVD SiGe HBT with a peak cutoff frequency of 75 GHz [37,38]. At that time, this SiGe HBT result was roughly twice the performance of state-of-the-art Si BJTs, and clearly demonstrated the future performance potential of the technology (doubling of transistor performance is a rare enough event that it does not escape significant attention!). Eyebrows were raised, and work to develop SiGe HBTs for practical circuit applications began in earnest in a large number of industrial and university laboratories around the world.y The feasibility of implementing pnp SiGe HBTs was also demonstrated in June 1990 [40]. In December 1990, the simplest digital circuit, an emitter-coupled-logic (ECL) ring oscillator, using *An interesting historical perspective of early SiGe HBT development at IBM is contained in Ref. [61]. y A variety of zero-Dt, mesa-isolated, III–V-like high-speed SiGe HBTs were reported in the early 1990s (e.g., Ref. [66]), but we focus here on fully integrated, CMOS-compatible SiGe HBT technologies, because they are inherently more manufacturable, and hence they are the only ones left standing today, for obvious reasons.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C002 Final Proof

page 5

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

2-5

A Brief History of the Field TABLE 2.2

Milestones in the Development of SiGe HBTs

Historical Event

Year

Ref.

First demonstration of transistor action Basic HBT concept First demonstration of a bipolar junction transistor First demonstration of a silicon bipolar transistor Drift-base HBT concept Fundamental HBT theory First epitaxial silicon transistors First SiGe HBT First ideal SiGe HBT grown by CVD First SiGe HBT grown by UHV/CVD First high-performance SiGe HBT First self-aligned SiGe HBT First SiGe HBT ECL ring oscillator First pnp SiGe HBT First operation of SiGe HBTs at cryogenic temperatures First SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology First LSI SiGe HBT integrated circuit First SiGe HBT with peak fT above 100 GHz First SiGe HBT technology in 200-mm manufacturing First SiGe HBT technology optimized for 77 K First radiation tolerance investigation of SiGe HBTs First report of low-frequency noise in SiGe HBTs First SiGe:C HBT First high-power SiGe HBTs First sub-10 psec SiGe HBT ECL circuits First high-performance SiGe:C HBT technology First SiGe HBT with peak fT above 200 GHz First SiGe HBT with peak fT above 300 GHz First complementary (npn þ pnp) SiGe HBT technology First C-SiGe technology with npn and pnp fT above 100 GHz First vertical SiGe HBT on thin film (CMOS compatible) SOI First SiGe HBT with both fT and fmax above 300 GHz

1947 1948 1951 1956 1954 1957 1960 1987 1989 1989 1990 1990 1990 1990 1990 1992 1993 1993 1994 1994 1995 1995 1996 1996 1997 1999 2001 2002 2003 2003 2003 2004

[26] [29] [27] [28] [30] [31,32] [2] [35] [17] [36] [37,38] [39] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44,45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51,52] [53] [54] [55] [56] [57] [58] [59] [60]

self-aligned, fully integrated SiGe HBTs was produced [39]. The first SiGe BiCMOS technology (SiGe HBT þ Si CMOS) was reported in December 1992 [42]. Theoretical predictions of the inherent ability of SiGe HBTs to operate successfully at cryogenic temperatures (in contrast to Si BJTs) were first confirmed in 1990 [41], and SiGe HBT profiles optimized for the liquid nitrogen temperature environment (77 K) were reported in 1994 [48]. The first LSI SiGe HBT circuit (a 1.2 Gsample/sec 12-bit digital-to-analog converter—DAC) was demonstrated in December 1993 [43]. The first SiGe HBTs with frequency response greater than 100 GHz were described in December 1993 by two independent teams [44,45], and the first SiGe HBT technology entered commercial production on 200-mm wafers in December 1994 [46]. The first report of the effects of ionizing radiation on advanced SiGe HBTs was made in 1995 [48]. Due to the natural tolerance of epitaxial-base bipolar structures to conventional radiation-induced damage mechanisms without any additional radiation-hardening process changes, SiGe HBTs are potentially very important for space-based and planetary communication systems applications, spawning an important new sub-discipline for SiGe technology. The first demonstration that epitaxial SiGe strained layers do not degrade the superior low-frequency noise performance of bipolar transistors occurred in 1995, opening the way for very low-phase noise frequency sources [49]. Carbon-doping of epitaxial SiGe layers as a means to effectively suppress boron out-diffusion during fabrication has rapidly become the preferred approach for commercial SiGe technologies, particularly those above first-generation performance levels. Carbon-doping of SiGe HBTs has its own interesting

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

2-6

66870_C002 Final Proof

page 6

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

history, dating back to the serendipitous discovery [50] in 1996 that incorporating small amounts of C into a SiGe epi layer strongly retards (by an order of magnitude) the diffusion of the boron (B) base layer during subsequent thermal cycles. Given that maintaining a thin base profile during fabrication is perhaps the most challenging aspect of building a manufacturable SiGe technology, it is somewhat surprising that it took so long for the general adoption of C-doping as a key technology element. I think it is fair to say that most SiGe practitioners at that time viewed C-doping with more than a small amount of skepticism, given that C can act as a deep trap in Si, and C contamination is generally avoided at all costs in Si epi processes, particularly for minority carrier devices such as the HBT. At the time of the discovery of C-doping of SiGe in 1996, most companies were focused on simply bringing up a SiGe process and qualifying it, relegating the potential use of C to the back burner. In fairness, most felt that C-doping was not necessary to achieve first-generation SiGe HBT performance levels. The lone visionary group to solidly embrace C-doping of SiGe HBTs at the onset was the IHP team in Germany, whose pioneering work eventually paid off and began to convince the skeptics of the merits of C-doping. The minimum required C concentration for effective out-diffusion suppression of B was empirically established to be in the vicinity of 0.1% to 0.2% C (i.e., around 1
1020 cm3). Early on, much debate ensued on the physical mechanism of how C impedes the B diffusion process, but general agreement for the most part now exists and is discussed in Chapter 11 (see SiGe and Si Strained-Layer Epitaxy for Silicon Heterostructure Devices). The first high-performance, fully integrated SiGe:C HBT technology was reported in 1999 [54]. The first ‘‘high-power’’ SiGe HBTs (S band, with multiwatt output power) were reported in 1996 using thick collector doping profiles [51,52]. The 10-psec ECL circuit performance barrier was broken in 1997 [53]. The 200-GHz peak fT performance barrier was broken in November 2001 for a nonself-aligned device [55], and for a self-aligned device in February 2002 [67]. By 2004, a total of six industrial laboratories had achieved 200 GHz performance levels. A SiGe HBT technology with a peak fT of 350 GHz (375 GHz values were reported in the IEDM presentation) was presented in December 2002 [56], and this 375 GHz fT value remains a record for room temperature operation (it is above 500 GHz at cryogenic temperatures), and an optimized version with both fT and fmax above 300 GHz was achieved in June 2004 [60]. This combined level of 300þ GHz for both fT and fmax remains a solid record for any Si-based semiconductor device. Other recent and interesting developments in the SiGe HBT field include the first report of a complementary (npn þ pnp) SiGe HBT (C-SiGe) technology in 2003 [57], rapidly followed by a C–SiGe technology with fT for both the npn and pnp SiGe HBTs above 100 GHz [58]. In addition, a novel vertical npn SiGe HBT has been implemented in thin-film (120 nm) CMOS-compatible SOI [59]. Besides further transistor performance enhancements, other logical developments to anticipate in this field include the integration of SiGe HBTs with strained-Si CMOS for a true all-Si-heterostructure technology. Not surprisingly, research and development activity involving SiGe HBTs, circuits built from these devices, and various SiGe HBT technologies, in both industry and at universities worldwide, has grown very rapidly since the first demonstration of a functional SiGe HBT in 1987, only 18 years in the past.

2.3

SiGe–Strained Si FETs and Other SiGe Devices

The basic idea of using an electric field to modify the surface properties of materials, and hence construct a ‘‘field-effect’’ device, is remarkably old (1926 and 1935), predating even the quest for a solid-state amplifier [68]. Given the sweeping dominance of CMOS technology in the grand scheme of the electronics industry today, it is ironic that the practical demonstration of the BJT preceded that of the MOSFET by 9 years. This time lag from idea to realization was largely a matter of dealing with the many perils associated with obtaining decent dielectric materials in the Si system—doubly ironic given that Si has such a huge natural advantage over all other semiconductors in this regard. Bread-and-butter notions of ionic contamination, de-ionized water, fixed oxide charge, surface state passivation, and cleanroom techniques in semiconductor fabrication had to be learned the hard way. Once device-quality SiO2

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C002 Final Proof

page 7

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

2-7

A Brief History of the Field

was obtained in the late 1950s, and a robust gate dielectric could thus be fabricated, it was not long until the first functional MOSFET was demonstrated in 1960 [69]. The seemingly trivial (remember, however, that hindsight is 20–20!) connection of n-channel and p-channel MOSFETs to form low-power CMOS in 1963 [70] paved the way (eventually) to the high-volume, low-cost, highly integrated microprocessor, and the enormous variety of computational engines that exist today as a result. Like their cousin, the SiGe HBT, SiGe–strained Si FETs did not get off the ground until the means for accomplishing the low-temperature growth of Si epitaxy could be realized. Once that occurred in the mid-1980s the field literally exploded. Table 2.3 summarizes the milestones in the evolution of SiGe– strained Si FETs, as well as a veritable menagerie of other electronic and optoelectronic components built from SiGe–strained Si epitaxy. It was discovered as early as 1971 that direct oxidation of SiGe was a bad idea for building gate dielectrics [71]. Given that gate oxide quality, low-temperature deposited oxides, did not exist in the mid-1980s, the earliest FET demonstrations were modulation-doped, Schottky-gated, FETs, and both n-channel and p-channel SiGe MODFETs were pioneered as early as 1986 using MBE-grown material [72,73]. Before the SiGe MOSFET field got into high gear in the 1990s, a variety of other novel device demonstrations occurred, including: the first SiGe superlattice photodetector [74], the first SiGe Schottky barrier diodes (SBD) in 1988 [75], the first SiGe hole-transport resonant tunneling diode (RTD) in 1988 [76], and the first SiGe bipolar inversion channel FET (BiCFET) in 1989, a now-extinct dinosaur [77]. Meanwhile, early studies using SiGe in conventional CMOS gate stacks to minimize dopant depletion effects and tailor work functions, a fairly common practice in CMOS today, occurred in 1990 [78], and the first SiGe waveguides on Si substrates were produced in 1990 [79]. The first functional SiGe channel pMOSFET was published in 1991, and shortly thereafter, a wide variety of other approaches aimed at obtaining the best SiGe pMOSFETs (see, for instance, Refs. [93–95]). The first electron-transport RTD was demonstrated in 1991 [81], and the first LED in SiGe

TABLE 2.3

Milestones in the Development of SiGe–Strained Si FETs and Other Devices

Historical Event

Year

Ref.

Field effect device concept First Si MOSFET First Si CMOS First oxidation study of SiGe First SiGe nMODFET First SiGe pMODFET First SiGe photodetector First SiGe SBD First SiGe hole RTD First SiGe BiCFET First SiGe gate CMOS technology First SiGe waveguide First SiGe pMOSFET First SiGe electron RTD First SiGe LED First SiGe solar cell First a-SiGe phototransistor First SiGe pMOSFET on SOI First strained Si pMOSFET First strained Si nMOSFET First SiGe:C pMOSFET First SiGe pFET on SOS First submicron strained Si MOSFET First vertical SiGe pFET First strained Si CMOS technology

1926 1960 1963 1971 1986 1986 1986 1988 1988 1989 1990 1990 1991 1991 1991 1992 1993 1993 1993 1994 1996 1997 1998 1998 2002

[68] [69] [70] [71] [72] [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] [79] [80] [81] [82] [83] [84] [85] [86] [87] [88] [89] [90] [91] [92]

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

2-8

66870_C002 Final Proof

page 8

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

also in 1991 (a busy year for our field). In 1992, the first a-SiGe solar cell was discussed [83], and in 1993, the first high-gain a-SiGe phototransistor [84]. The first SiGe pMOSFETs using alternate substrate materials were demonstrated, first in SOI in 1993 [85], and then on sapphire in 1997 [88], the first SiGe:C channel pMOSFET was demonstrated in 1996 [89], and the first vertical SiGe FET was published in 1998 [92]. Because of the desire to use Si-based bandgap engineering to improve not only the p-channel MOSFET, but also the n-channel MOSFET, research in the early- to mid-1990s in the FET field began to focus on strained Si MOSFETs on relaxed SiGe layers, with its consequent improvement in both electron and hole transport properties. This work culminated in the first strained Si pMOSFET in 1993 [87], and the first stained Si nMOSFET in 1994 [88], and remains an intensely active research field today. Key to the eventual success of strained Si CMOS approaches was that significant mobility enhancement could be achieved in both nFETs and pFETs down to very short (sub-micron) gate lengths, and this was first demonstrated in 1998 [90]. Strained Si CMOS at the 90-nm node and below is rapidly becoming mainstream for most serious CMOS companies, and the first commercial 90 nm strained Si CMOS technology platform was demonstrated by Intel in 2002 [91]. At last count, there were upwards of a halfdozen companies (e.g., Texas Instruments and IBM) also rapidly pushing toward 90 nm (and below) strained Si CMOS technologies, utilizing a variety of straining techniques, and thus it would appear that strained Si CMOS will be a mainstream IC technology in the near future, joining SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology. This is clearly outstanding news for our field. The merger of SiGe HBTs with strained Si CMOS would be a near-term logical extension.

References 1. R Braunstein, AR Moore, and F Herman. Intrinsic optical absorption in germanium–silicon alloys. Physical Review B 32:1405–1408, 1958. 2. HC Theuerer, JJ Kleimack, HH Loar, and H Christensen. Epitaxial diffused transistors. Proceedings of the IRE 48:1642–1643, 1960. 3. BA Joyce and RR Bradley. Epitaxial growth of silicon from the pyrolysis of monosilane on silicon substrates. Journal of the Electrochemical Society 110:1235–1240, 1963. 4. JH van der Merwe. Crystal interfaces. Part I. Semi-infinite crystals. Journal of Applied Physics 34:117–125, 1963. 5. JH van der Merwe. Crystal interfaces. Part II. Finite overgrowths. Journal of Applied Physics 34:123–127, 1963. 6. JW Matthews and AE Blakeslee. Defects in epitaxial multilayers: I. Misfit dislocations in layers. Journal of Crystal Growth 27:118–125, 1974. 7. E Kasper, HJ Herzog, and H Kibbel. A one-dimensional SiGe superlattice grown by UHV epitaxy. Journal of Applied Physics 8:1541–1548, 1975. 8. JC Bean, TT Sheng, LC Feldman, AT Fiory, and RT Lynch. Pseudomorphic growth of GexSi1x on silicon by molecular beam epitaxy. Applied Physics Letters 44:102–104, 1984. 9. R People and JC Bean. Calculation of critical layer thickness versus lattice mismatch for GexSi1x/Si strained layer heterostructures. Applied Physics Letters 47:322–324, 1985. 10. R People. Indirect bandgap of coherently strained Si1xGex bulk alloys on h0 0 1i silicon substrates. Physical Review B 32:1405–1408, 1985. 11. DV Lang, R People, JC Bean, and AM Sergent. Measurement of the bandgap of GexSi1x/Si strainedlayer heterostructures. Applied Physics Letters 47:1333–1335, 1985. 12. JF Gibbons, CM Gronet, and KE Williams. Limited reaction processing: silicon epitaxy. Applied Physics Letters 47:721–723, 1985. 13. G Abstreiter, H Brugger, T Wolf, H Joke, and HJ Kerzog. Strain-induced two-dimensional electron gas in selectively doped Si/SixGe1x superlattices. Physical Review 54:2441–2444, 1985. 14. BS Meyerson. Low-temperature silicon epitaxy by ultrahigh vacuum/chemical vapor deposition. Applied Physics Letters 48:797–799, 1986.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

A Brief History of the Field

66870_C002 Final Proof

page 9

16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

2-9

15. R People and JC Bean. Band alignments of coherently strained GexSi1x/Si heterostructures on h0 0 1i GeySi1y substrates. Applied Physics Letters 48:538–540, 1986. 16. BS Meyerson, KJ Uram, and FK LeGoues. Cooperative phenomena is silicon/germanium low temperature epitaxy. Applied Physics Letters 53:2555–2557, 1988. 17. CA King, JL Hoyt, CM Gronet, JF Gibbons, MP Scott, and J Turner. Si/Si1x/Gex heterojunction bipolar transistors produced by limited reaction processing. IEEE Electron Device Letters 10:52–54, 1989. 18. TO Sedgwick, M Berkenbilt, and TS Kuan. Low-temperature selective epitaxial growth of silicon at atmospheric pressure. Applied Physics Letters 54:2689–2691, 1989. 19. PJ Wang, FF Fang, BS Meyerson, J Mocera, and B Parker. Two-dimensional hole gas in Si/Si0.85Ge0.15 modulation doped heterostructures. Applied Physics Letters 54:2701–2703, 1989. 20. P Agnello, TO Sedgwick, MS Goorsky, J Ott, TS Kuan, and G Scilla. Selective growth of silicon– germanium alloys by atmospheric-pressure chemical vapor deposition at low temperatures. Applied Physics Letters 59:1479–1481, 1991. 21. T Manku and A Nathan. Lattice mobility of holes in strained and unstrained Si1xGex alloys. IEEE Electron Device Letters 12:704–706, 1991. 22. T Manku and A Nathan. Electron drift mobility model for devices based on unstrained and coherently strained Si1xGex grown on h0 0 1i silicon subtrate. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 39:2082–2089, 1992. 23. K Erbel, SS Iyer, S Zollner, JC Tsang, and FK LeGoues. Growth and strain compensation effects in the ternary Si1xyGexCy alloy system. Applied Physics Letters 60:3033–3035, 1992. 24. HJ Osten, E Bugiel, and P Zaumseil. Growth of inverse tetragonal distorted SiGe layer on Si(0 0 1) by adding small amounts of carbon. Applied Physics Letters 64:3440–3442, 1994. 25. A Fischer, H-J Osten, and H Richter. An equilibrium model for buried SiGe strained layers. SolidState Electronics 44:869–873, 2000. 26. J Bardeen and WH Brattain. The transistor, a semi-conductor triode. Physical Review 71:230–231, 1947. 27. W Shockley, M Sparks, and GK Teal. p–n junction transistors. Physical Review 83:151–162, 1951. 28. M Tanenbaum and DE Thomas. Diffused emitter and base silicon transistors. Bell System Technical Journal 35:23–34, 1956. 29. See, for instance, W Shockley. U.S. Patents 2,502,488, 2,524,035, and 2,569,347. 30. H Kroemer. Zur theorie des diffusions und des drifttransistors. Part III. Archiv der Elektrischen Ubertragungstechnik 8:499–504, 1954. 31. H Kroemer. Quasielectric and quasimagnetic fields in nonuniform semiconductors. RCA Review 18:332–342, 1957. 32. H Kroemer. Theory of a wide-gap emitter for transistors. Proceedings of the IRE 45:1535–1537, 1957. 33. B Brar, GJ Sullivan, and PM Asbeck. Herb’s bipolar transistors. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 48:2473–2476, 2001. 34. RM Warner. Microelectronics: Its unusual origin and personality. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 48:2457–2467, 2001. 35. SS Iyer, GL Patton, SL Delage, S Tiwari, and JMC Stork. Silicon–germanium base heterojunction bipolar transistors by molecular beam epitaxy. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, San Francisco, 1987, pp. 874–876. 36. GL Patton, DL Harame, JMC Stork, BS Meyerson, GJ Scilla, and E Ganin. Graded-SiGe-base, polyemitter heterojunction bipolar transistors. IEEE Electron Device Letters 10:534–536, 1989. 37. GL Patton, JH Comfort, BS Meyerson, EF Crabbe´, E de Fre´sart, JMC Stork, JY-C Sun, DL Harame, and J Burghartz. 63-75 GHz fT SiGe-base heterojunction-bipolar technology. Technical Digest IEEE Symposium on VLSI Technology, Honolulu, 1990, pp. 49–50. 38. GL Patton, JH Comfort, BS Meyerson, EF Crabbe´, GJ Scilla, E de Fre´sart, JMC Stork, JY-C Sun, DL Harame, and J Burghartz. 75 GHz fT SiGe base heterojunction bipolar transistors. IEEE Electron Device Letters 11:171–173, 1990.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

2-10

66870_C002 Final Proof page 10 16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

39. JH Comfort, GL Patton, JD Cressler, W Lee, EF Crabbe´, BS Meyerson, JY-C Sun, JMC Stork, P-F Lu, JN Burghartz, J Warnock, K Kenkins, K-Y Toh, M D’Agostino, and G Scilla. Profile leverage in a selfaligned epitaxial Si or SiGe-base bipolar technology. Technical Digest IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 1990, pp. 21–24. 40. DL Harame, JMC Stork, BS Meyerson, EF Crabbe´, GL Patton, GJ Scilla, E de Fre´sart, AA Bright, C Stanis, AC Megdanis, MP Manny, EJ Petrillo, M Dimeo, RC Mclntosh, and KK Chan. SiGe-base PNP transistors fabrication with n-type UHV/CVD LTE in a ‘‘NO DT’’ process. Technical Digest IEEE Symposium on VLSI Technology, Honolulu, 1990, pp. 47–48. 41. EF Crabbee´, GL Patton, JMC Stork, BS Meyerson, and JY-C Sun. Low temperature operation of Si and SiGe bipolar transistors. Technical Digest IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 1990, pp. 17–20. 42. DL Harame, EF Crabbe´, JD Cressler, JH Comfort, JY-C Sun, SR Stiffler, E Kobeda, JN Burghartz, MM Gilbert, J Malinowski, and AJ Dally. A high-performance epitaxial SiGe-base ECL BiCMOS technology. Technical Digest IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 1992, pp. 19–22. 43. DL Harame, JMC Stork, BS Meyerson, KY-J Hsu, J Cotte, KA Jenkins, JD Cressler, P Restle, EF Crabbe´, S Subbanna, TE Tice, BW Scharf, and JA Yasaitis. Optimization of SiGe HBT technology for high speed analog and mixed-signal applications. Technical Digest IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, San Francisco, 1993, pp. 71–74. 44. E Kasper, A Gruhle, and H Kibbel. High speed SiGe-HBT with very low base sheet resistivity. Techncial Digest IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, San Francisco, 1993, pp. 79–81. 45. EF Crabbe´, BS Meyerson, JMC Stork, and DL Harame. Vertical profile optimization of very high frequency epitaxial Si- and SiGe-base bipolar transistors. Technical Digest IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 1993, pp. 83–86. 46. DL Harame, K Schonenberg, M Gilbert, D Nguyen-Ngoc, J Malinowski, S-J Jeng, BS Meyerson, JD Cressler, R Groves, G Berg, K Tallman, K Stein, G Hueckel, C Kermarrec, T Tice, G Fitzgibbons, K Walter, D Colavito, T Houghton, N Greco, T Kebede, B Cunningham, S Subbanna, JH Comfort, and EF Crabbe´. A 200 mm SiGe-HBT technology for wireless and mixed-signal applications. Technical Digest IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 1994, pp. 437–440. 47. JD Cressler, EF Crabbe´, JH Comfort, JY-C Sun, and JMC Stork. An epitaxial emitter cap SiGebase bipolar technology for liquid nitrogen temperature operation. IEEE Electron Device Letters 15:472–474, 1994. 48. JA Babcock, JD Cressler, LS Vempati, SD Clark, RC Jaeger, and DL Harame. Ionizing radiation tolerance of high performance SiGe HBTs grown by UHV/CVD. IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science 42:1558–1566, 1995. 49. LS Vempati, JD Cressler, RC Jaeger, and DL Harame. Low-frequency noise in UHV/CVD Si- and SiGe-base bipolar transistors. Proceedings of the IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Minnneapolis, 1995, pp. 129–132. 50. L Lanzerotti, A St Amour, CW Liu, JC Sturm, JK Watanabe, and ND Theodore. Si/Si1xyGexCy /Si heterojunction bipolar transistors. IEEE Electron Device Letters 17:334–337, 1996. 51. A Schu¨ppen, S Gerlach, H Dietrich, D Wandrei, U Seiler, and U Ko¨nig. 1-W SiGe power HBTs for mobile communications. IEEE Microwave and Guided Wave Letters 6:341–343, 1996. 52. PA Potyraj, KJ Petrosky, KD Hobart, FJ Kub, and PE Thompson. A 230-Watt S-band SiGe heterojunction junction bipolar transistor. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 44:2392–2397, 1996. 53. K Washio, E Ohue, K Oda, M Tanabe, H Shimamoto, and T Onai. A selective-epitaxial SiGe HBT with SMI electrodes featuring 9.3-ps ECL-Gate Delay. Technical Digest IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, San Francisco, 1997, pp. 795–798. 54. HJ Osten, D Knoll, B Heinemann, H Ru¨cker, and B Tillack. Carbon doped SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors for high frequency applications. Proceedings of the IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Minneapolis, 1999, pp. 109–116.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

A Brief History of the Field

66870_C002 Final Proof page 11 16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

2-11

55. SJ Jeng, B Jagannathan, J-S Rieh, J Johnson, KT Schonenberg, D Greenberg, A Stricker, H Chen, M Khater, D Ahlgren, G Freeman, K Stein, and S Subbanna. A 210-GHz fT SiGe HBT with nonself-aligned structure. IEEE Electron Device Letters 22:542–544, 2001. 56. JS Rieh, B Jagannathan, H Chen, KT Schonenberg, D Angell, A Chinthakindi, J Florkey, F Golan, D Greenberg, S-J Jeng, M Khater, F Pagette, C Schnabel, P Smith, A Stricker, K Vaed, R Volant, D Ahlgren, G Freeman, K Stein, and S Subbanna. SiGe HBTs with cut-off frequency of 350 GHz.Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, San Francisco, 2002, pp. 771–774. 57. B El-Kareh, S Balster, W Leitz, P Steinmann, H Yasuda, M Corsi, K Dawoodi, C Dirnecker, P Foglietti, A Haeusler, P Menz, M Ramin, T Scharnagl, M Schiekofer, M Schober, U Schulz, L Swanson, D Tatman, M. Waitschull, JW Weijtmans, and C Willis. A 5V complementary SiGe BiCMOS technology for high-speed precision analog circuits. Proceedings of the IEEE Bipolar/ BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Toulouse, 2003, pp. 211–214. 58. B Heinemann, R Barth, D Bolze, J Drews, P Formanek, O Fursenko, M Glante, K Glowatzki, A Gregor, U Haak, W Ho¨ppner, D Knoll, R Kurps, S Marschmeyer, S Orlowski, H Ru¨cker, P Schley, D Schmidt, R Scholz, W Winkler, and Y Yamamoto. A complementary BiCMOS technology with high speed npn and pnp SiGe:C HBTs. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 2003, pp. 117–120. 59. J Cai, M Kumar, M Steigerwalt, H Ko, K Schonenberg, K Stein, H Chen, K Jenkins, Q Ouyang, P Oldiges, and T Ning. Vertical SiGe-base bipolar transistors on CMOS-compatible SOI substrate. Proceedings of the IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Toulouse, 2003, pp. 215–218. 60. J-S Rieh, D Greenberg, M Khater, KT Schonenberg, J-J Jeng, F Pagette, T Adam, A Chinthakindi, J Florkey, B Jagannathan, J Johnson, R Krishnasamy, D Sanderson, C Schnabel, P Smith, A Stricker, S Sweeney, K Vaed, T Yanagisawa, D Ahlgren, K Stein, and G Freeman. SiGe HBTs for millimeterwave applications with simultaneously optimized fT and fmax. Proceedings of the IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) Symposium, Fort Worth, 2004, pp. 395–398. 61. DL Harame and BS Meyerson. The early history of IBM’s SiGe mixed signal technology. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 48:2555–2567, 2001. 62. T Tatsumi, H Hirayama, and N Aizaki. Si/Ge0.3Si0.7 heterojunction bipolar transistor made with Si molecular beam epitaxy. Applied Physics Letters 52:895–897, 1988. 63. H Temkin, JC Bean, A Antreasyan, and R Leibenguth. GexSi1x strained-layer heterostructure bipolar transistors. Applied Physics Letters 52:1089–1091, 1988. 64. D-X Xu, G-D Shen, M Willander, W-X Ni, and GV Hansson. n-Si/p-Si1x /n-Si double-heterojunction bipolar transistors. Applied Physics Letters 52:2239–2241, 1988. 65. GL Patton, SS Iyer, SL Delage, S Tiwari, and JMC Stork. Silicon–germanium-base heterojunction bipolar transistors by molecular beam epitaxy. IEEE Electron Device Letters 9:165–167, 1988. 66. A Gruhle, H Kibbel, U Ko¨nig, U Erben, and E Kasper. MBE-Grown Si/SiGe HBTs with high b, fT, and fmax. IEEE Electron Device Letters 13:206–208, 1992. 67. AJ Joseph, D Coolbaugh, D Harame, G Freeman, S Subbanna, M Doherty, J Dunn, C Dickey, D Greenberg, R Groves, M Meghelli, A Rylyakov, M Sorna, O Schreiber, D Herman, and T Tanji. 0.13 mm 210 GHz fT SiGe HBTs—expanding the horizons of SiGe BiCMOS. Technical Digest IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, San Francisco, 2002, pp. 180–182. 68. H Lilienfeld Patent, 1926; O. Heil, British patent number 439,457, 1935. 69. D Khang and MM Atalla. Silicon–silicon dioxide field induced surface devices. Solid State Research Conference, Pittsburgh, 1960. 70. FM Wanlass and CT Sah. Nanowatt logic using field-effect metal-oxide-semiconductor triodes (MOSTs). IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, Philadelphia, 1963, pp. 32–33. 71. P Balk. Surface properties of oxidized germanium-doped silicon. Journal of the Electrochemical Society 118:494–495, 1971. 72. H Daembkes, H-J Herzog, H Jorke, H. Kibbel, and E Kasper. The n-channel SiGe/Si modulation doped field-effect transistor. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 33:633–638, 1986.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

2-12

66870_C002 Final Proof page 12 16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

73. TP Pearsall and JC Bean. Enhancement and depletion-mode p-channel GexSi1x modulation-doped field effect transistor. IEEE Electron Device Letters 7:308–310, 1986. 74. H Temkin, TP Pearsall, JC Bean, RA Logan, and S Luryi. GexSi1x strained-layer superlattice waveguide photodetectors operating near 1.3 mm. Applied Physics Letters 48:963–965, 1986. 75. RD Thompson, KN Tu, J Angillelo, S Delage, and SS Iyer. Interfacial reaction between Ni and MBE grown SiGe alloys. Journal of the Electrochemical Society 135:3161–3163, 1988. 76. HC Liu, D Landheer, M Buchmann, and DC Houghton. Resonant tunneling diode in the Si1xGex system. Applied Physics Letters 52:1809–1811, 1988. 77. RC Taft, JD Plummer, and SS Iyer. Demonstration of a p-channel BiCFET in the GexSi1x /Si system. IEEE Electron Device Letters 10:14 –16, 1989. 78. TJ King, JR Pfriester, JD Scott, JP McVittie, and KC Saraswat. A polycrystalline SiGe gate CMOS technology. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 1990, pp. 253–256. 79. RA Soref, F Namavar, and JP Lorenzo. Optical waveguiding in a single-crystal layer of germanium– silicon grown on silicon. Optics Letters 15:270–272, 1990. 80. DK Nayak, JCS Woo, JS Park, KL Wang, and KP MacWilliams. Enhancement-mode quantum-well GexSi1x PMOS. IEEE Electron Device Letters 12:154–156, 1991. 81. K Ismail, BS Meyerson, and PJ Wang. Electron resonant tunneling in Si/SiGe double barrier diodes. Applied Physics Letters 59:973–975, 1991. 82. DC Houghton, JP Noel, and NL Rowell. Electroluminescence and photoluminesence from SiGe alloys grown on (1 0 0) silicon by MBE. Materials Science and Engineering B 9:237–244, 1991. 83. DS Chen, JP Conde, V Chu, S Aljishi, JZ Liu, and S Wagner. Amorphous silicon–germanium thinfilm photodetector array. IEEE Electron Device Letters 13:5–7, 1992. 84. S-B Hwang, YK Fang, K-H Chen, C-R Liu, J-D Hwang, and M-H Chou. An a-Si:H/a-Si, Ge:H bulk barrier phototransistor with a-SiC:H barrier enhancement layer for high-gain IR optical detector. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 40:721–726, 1993. 85. DK Nayak, JCS Woo, GK Yabiku, KP MacWilliams, JS Park, and KL Wang. High mobility GeSi PMOS on SIMOX. IEEE Electron Device Letters 14:520–522, 1993. 86. DK Nayak, JCS Woo, JS Park, KL Wang, and KP MacWilliams. High-mobility p-channel metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor on strained Si. Applied Physics Letters 62:2853–2855, 1993. 87. J Welser, JL Hoyt, and JF Gibbons. Electron mobility enhancement in strained-Si n-type metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors. IEEE Electron Device Letters 15:100–102, 1994. 88. SK Ray, S John, S Oswal, and SK Banerjee. Novel SiGeC channel heterojunction pMOSFET. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 1996, pp. 261–264. 89. SJ Mathew, WE Ansley, WB Dubbelday, JD Cressler, JA Ott, JO Chu, PM Mooney, KL Vavanagh, BS Meyerson, and I Lagnado. Effect of Ge profile on the frequency response of a SiGe pFET on sapphire technology. Technical Digest of the IEEE Device Research Conference, Boulder, 1997, pp. 130–131. 90. K Rim, JL Hoyt, and JF Gibbons. Transconductance enhancement in deep submicron strained-Si n-MOSFETs. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 1998, pp. 707–710. 91. KC Liu, SK Ray, SK Oswal, and SK Banerjee. Si1xGex /Si vertical pMOSFET fabricated by Ge ion implantation. IEEE Electron Device Letters 19:13–15, 1998. 92. S Thompson, N. Anand, M Armstrong, C Auth, B Arcot, M Alavi, P Bai, J Bielefeld, R Bigwood, J Brandenburg, M Buehler, S Cea, V Chikarmane, C Choi, R Frankovic, T Ghani, G Glass, W Han, T Hoffmann, M Hussein, P Jacob, A Jain, C Jan, S Joshi, C Kenyon, J Klaus, S Klopcic, J Luce, Z Ma, B McIntyre, K Mistry, A Murthy, P Nguyen, H Pearson, T Sandford, R Schweinfurth, R Shaheed, S Sivakumar, M Taylor, B Tufts, C Wallace, P Wang, C Weber, and M Bohr. A 90 nm logic technology featuring 50 nm strained silicon channel transistors, 7 layers of Cu interconnects, low k ILD, and 1 mm2 SRAM Cell. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 2002, pp. 61–64.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

A Brief History of the Field

66870_C002 Final Proof page 13 16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

2-13

93. VP Kesan, S Subbanna, PJ Restle, MJ Tejwani, JM Aitken, SS Iyer, and JA Ott. High performance 0.25 mm p-MOSFETs with silicon–germanium channels for 300 K and 77 K operation. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, San Francisco, 1991, pp. 25–28, 1991. 94. S Verdonckt-Vanderbroek, E Crabbe´, BS Meyerson, DL Harame, PJ Restle, JMC Stork, AC Megdanis, CL Stanis, AA Bright, GMW Kroesen, and AC Warren. High-mobility modulation-doped, graded SiGe-channel p-MOSFETs. IEEE Electron Device Letters 12:447–449, 1991. 95. S Verdonckt-Vanderbroek, E Crabbe´, BS Meyerson, DL Harame, PJ Restle, JMC Stork, and JB Johnson. SiGe-channel heterojunction p-MOSFETs. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 41:90–102, 1994.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C002 Final Proof page 14 16.10.2007 7:08pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C003 Final Proof

page 1

16.10.2007 7:16pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

3 Overview: Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

John D. Cressler Georgia Institute of Technology

SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology is the obvious groundbreaker of the Si heterostructures application space and numerous commercial products exist around the world. At present count there are 25 þ SiGe HBT industrial fabrication facilities on line in 2005, and growing steadily. In fact, virtually every major player in the communications electronics market either (a) has SiGe up and running in-house, or (b) is using someone else’s SiGe fab as foundry for their designers. Clearly this field is maturing rapidly. Key to this success lies in the successful integration of the SiGe HBT and Si CMOS, with no loss of performance from either device. Chapter 4, ‘‘Device Structures and BiCMOS Integration Issues,’’ by D. Harame of IBM Microelectronics, discusses the various nuances of integration of HBTs with CMOS in SiGe fabrication. A recent demonstration of integrating a vertical SiGe HBT on thin film, CMOScompatible SOI substrates has generated considerable interest and is addressed in Chapter 5, ‘‘Fabricating SiGe HBTs on CMOS-Compatible SOI,’’ by J. Cai of IBM Research. For mixed-signal circuit applications of SiGe technology, the performance of integrated passive components is often just as important for circuit designers as the transistors, and significant strides have been made in the improvement of passives (and the requisite compact models for them) in recent years, and is reviewed in Chapter 6, ‘‘Passive Components,’’ by J.N. Burghartz of Delft University. A novel aspect of this handbook is that it contains numerous ‘‘snapshot’’ views of the industrial ‘‘state-of-the-art’’ for SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology, and is designed to provide the reader with a useful basis of comparison for the current status and future course of the global industry. These technology snapshots feature all the leaders of SiGe HBT BiCMOS field, including: Chapter 7, ‘‘Industry Examples at State-of-the-Art: IBM,’’ by A. Joseph of IBM; Chapter 8, ‘‘Industry Examples at State-of-the-Art: Jazz,’’ by P. Kempf of Jazz Semiconductor; Chapter 9, ‘‘Industry Examples at State-of-the-Art: Hitachi,’’ by K. Washio of Hitachi; Chapter 10, ‘‘Industry Examples at State-of-the-Art: Infineon,’’ by T. Meister of Infineon; Chapter 11, ‘‘Industry Examples at State-of-the-Art: IHP,’’ by D. Knoll of IHP; Chapter 12, ‘‘Industry Examples at State-of-the-Art: ST Microelectronics,’’ by A. Chantre of ST Microelectronics; Chapter 13, ‘‘Industry Examples at State-of-the-Art: Texas Instruments,’’ by B. El-Kareh of Texas Instruments; and Chapter 14, ‘‘Industry Examples at State-of-the-Art: Philips,’’ by R. Colclaser of Philips. In addition to this copious material, and the numerous references contained in each chapter, a number of review articles and books detailing SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology exist, including Refs. [1–11]. 3-1

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

3-2

66870_C003 Final Proof

page 2

16.10.2007 7:16pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

References 1. JD Cressler, DL Harame, JH Comfort, JMC Stork, BS Meyerson, and TE Tice. Silicon–germanium heterojunction bipolar technology: the next leap in silicon? Technical Digest of the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, San Francisco, 1994, pp. 24–27. 2. JD Cressler. Re-engineering silicon: Si–Ge heterojunction bipolar technology. IEEE Spectrum 49–55, 1995. 3. DL Harame, JH Comfort, JD Cressler, EF Crabbe´, JY-C Sun, BS Meyerson, and T Tice. Si/SiGe epitaxial-base transistors: Part I—Materials, physics, and circuits. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 40:455–468, 1995. 4. DL Harame, JH Comfort, JD Cressler, EF Crabbe´, JY-C Sun, BS Meyerson, and T Tice. Si/SiGe epitaxial-base transistors: Part II—Process integration and analog applications. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 40:469–482, 1995. 5. DL Harame. High-performance BiCMOS process integration: trends, issues, and future directions. Proceedings of the IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Minneapolis, 1997, pp. 36–43. 6. HJ Osten, D Knoll, B Heinemann, H Rucker, and B Tillack. Carbon-doped SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors for high-frequency applications. Proceedings of the IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Minneapolis, 1990, pp. 109–116. 7. BS Meyerson. Silicon:germanium-based mixed-signal technology for optimization of wired and wireless telecommunications. IBM Journal of Research and Development 44:391–407, 2000. 8. A Gruhle. Prospects for 200 GHz on silicon with SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors. Proceedings of the IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Minneapolis, 2001, pp. 19–25. 9. DL Harame, DC Ahlgren, DD Coolbaugh, JS Dunn, G Freeman, JD Gillis, RA Groves, GN Henderson, RA Johnson, AJ Joseph, S Subbanna, AM Victor, KM Watson, CS Webster, and PJ Zampardi. Current status and future trends of SiGe BiCMOS technology. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 48:2575–2594, 2001. 10. R Singh, DL Harame, and MM Oprysko. Silicon Germanium: Technology, Modeling, and Design. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 2004. 11. JD Cressler and G Niu. Silicon–Germanium Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors. Boston, MA: Artech House, 2003.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C004 Final Proof

page 1

18.10.2007 1:40pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

4 Device Structures and BiCMOS Integration 4.1 4.2

Introduction......................................................................... 4-1 Types of HBT Structures .................................................... 4-1 Bipolar Structure Process Feature Tradeoffs . Bipolar Structure Examples

4.3 4.4 4.5

BiCMOS Integration Flows ................................................ 4-9 Challenges of Integrating HBTs with Advanced CMOS ( VB), as shown by the shaded area. This region gives rise to collector saturation and should be avoided in circuit applications. There is a well-known tradeoff between the speed (fT) and the breakdown voltage (BVCEO) in a traditional bipolar transistor, from the vertical scaling of the collector depletion layer [13]. The voltage swing of a high-speed device is constrained by the breakdown voltage. We can design an SOI bipolar device such that the collector voltage is pinned at a value below the BVCEO of a bulk device with the same collector doping. The SOI device is expected to have improved BVCEO as well as Early voltage VA. Avalanche multiplication and breakdown is sensitive to the maximum electric field (EMAX) near the B–C junction interface. In a bulk device, EMAX increases with collector voltage as a function of pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 0 VC
VB þ VBI , whereas in the fully depleted collector device, it is pinned at (qNC/«S)y1 , independent of collector voltage. Thus avalanche effect progresses more slowly with increasing collector voltage in a fully depleted collector device than a bulk device. Avalanche breakdown is delayed to higher collector voltage in the SOI device where the lateral field becomes large enough to raise EMAX. The depletion width on the base side is determined by EMAX, which does not change with collector voltage in the fully depleted collector device. Therefore, the modulation of quasineutral base width by the collector voltage is much weaker than that of a bulk device, which results in higher VA. In an accumulation-subcollector device (region IV in Figure 5.3), the B–C junction reverse bias is dropped over TSi whereas in a bulk device the same reverse bias is dropped over a larger distance, or WC > TSi if collector-doping concentrations are the same. This means higher EMAX and somewhat degraded BVCEO and VA in an accumulation-subcollector device. The difference in the maximum field is SOI Bulk EMAX
EMAX ¼

5.4

qNC WC
TSi : «S TSi

(5:5)

Making SiGe HBTs on Thin SOI Substrate

Figure 5.4 shows the process flow diagrams for building npn SiGe HBTs on SOI substrate. The silicon film thickness for SOI CMOS has been scaled down from about 0.2 mm to below 0.1 mm, along with channel length scaling. The new SiGe HBT is expected to be scalable to thinner SOI substrate as will be discussed in Section 5.6. In the experiment, we used the same SOI substrate that is used for a 130 nm SOI CMOS technology [14], which has a silicon thickness of 0.12 mm and a buried oxide thickness of 0.14 mm. After shallow-trench isolation, a phosphorus implant is introduced to define the collectordoping concentration in the silicon area. It can be a blanket implant in a bipolar-only process, or a masked implant in a BiCMOS flow. Both a uniform doping profile and a low–high retrograde doping profile were exercised. Then a mask is used for a high-dose phosphorus implant that defines an nþ reachthrough region surrounding the n-type collector in the middle. The mask dimension determines the length of the n-collector, LC, which was varied in the experiment to evaluate its effect on collector resistance and breakdown behaviors. Next, a dielectric stack, followed by a heavily doped pþ polysilicon layer, is deposited over the wafer. The pþ polysilicon will provide low-resistance contact to the base and the dielectric stack is served as an insulator between the pþ polysilicon and the collector. The thickness of the insulator should be optimized as it contributes to parasitic collector–base capacitance. The parasitic CCB could dominate in a fully depleted collector device as the collector–base junction capacitance is minimized. The use of a thicker insulator reduces CCB but creates more topography later in the process that can increase the base resistance. Then a window is etched into the polysilicon and insulator to expose the silicon surface for epitaxial growth of the SiGe base layer. The window size, LB, should be minimized while providing enough room for a defect-free SiGe base region. The SiGe base layer was grown by a nonselective

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C005 Final Proof

page 7

18.10.2007 1:41pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

5-7

SiGe HBTs on CMOS-Compatible SOI

n Buried oxide

STI, collector implant

Substrate of SOI

n+

n+

n Buried oxide Substrate of SOI

p+ n+

n+ reachthrough implant p+ n+

n

Dielectric stack, p+ poly

Buried oxide Substrate of SOI

p+ n+

p+

p n

n+

SiGe-base

Buried oxide Substrate of SOI

n+

n+ p+ n+

Dielectric stack, emitter window

p+

p n

n+

Buried oxide

n+ poly emitter

Substrate of SOI

p+ n+

n+ p n

p+ n+

Pattern n+ emitter poly

Buried oxide Substrate of SOI

B p+ n+

E n+ p n

p+

Buried oxide Substrate of SOI

FIGURE 5.4

C

Pattern p+ base poly

n+ CoSi, and contact open

An example of process flow to make SiGe HBTs on CMOS-compatible SOI.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

5-8

66870_C005 Final Proof

page 8

18.10.2007 1:41pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

FIGURE 5.5

Cross-sectional SEM micrograph of a SiGe HBT on 0.12 mm silicon film SOI.

low-temperature epitaxy (LTE) process using UHV/CVD tools. During the LTE process, polysilicon is grown on the sidewalls of the dielectric window, which provides the link between the SiGe base layer and the overhanging pþ polysilicon layer. Next, a second dielectric stack is deposited which will serve as an insulator between the base and the emitter. An emitter window mask is used to etch an opening in the dielectric stack, and a layer of in situ arsenic-doped polysilicon layer is deposited that becomes the nþ emitter. Due to the two-dimensional electric field in the depleted collector region, the electrons coming down through the middle of the emitter window will have a longer lateral drift path in the depleted collector than those from the edge of the emitter window. The speed of the SOI device is expected to degrade at large emitter width. Simulation results suggest that a good rule of thumb is to keep WE < 2TSi. Two more mask levels are then used to pattern an nþ polysilicon emitter region and a pþ polysilicon base region, respectively. Cobalt silicide is formed over the pþ base and nþ collector reachthrough regions to reduce access resistance to the intrinsic base and collector of the device. Finally, contacts to the nþ emitter, pþ base, and nþ collector reachthrough are etched open. It should be noted that the deep subcollector implantation and drive-in, the n-type epitaxial silicon growth, and the deep-trench isolation process steps associated with fabrication of a conventional vertical bipolar transistor are not needed in fabricating the thin-SOI bipolar. Figure 5.5 shows an SEM micrograph of an SOI SiGe HBT, after contacts to the emitter, base, and collector are opened. The mask dimensions of emitter width, LTE window, and collector length are 0.16, 0.5, and 1.2 mm, respectively. The collector-doping profile is uniform, with NC ¼ 1.5  1017 cm
3. Devices with smaller LB and LC designs and different collector-doping profiles were also fabricated.

5.5

Characteristics of SOI SiGe HBTs

In this section, the electrical characteristics of the manufactured thin-SOI SiGe HBTs will be reviewed, with a focus on the breakdown behavior in the depleted collector SOI device as well as the substrate bias effect on both the DC and AC performance. Figure 5.6 shows the Gummel plot and the output IC
VCE characteristics, with substrate bias, VSE (referenced to the emitter voltage), as a parameter that is varied from
5 to 20 V. The Gummel plot shows a peak current gain of over 400. Since the base and emitter process are borrowed from a bulk SiGe technology [15], the current gain is similar to that of the bulk devices. The substrate bias has an effect at emitter–base forward biases higher than 0.9 V. The opposite movement in IB and IC is a signature of collector saturation effect where the forward biasing of collector–base junction reduces IC while contributing to more IB. A positive substrate bias suppresses this saturation effect by increasing the vertical potential drop in the collector that prevents electrons from back injection into the base. The

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C005 Final Proof

page 9

18.10.2007 1:41pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

5-9

SiGe HBTs on CMOS-Compatible SOI

0.01 VCB = 0 V 1⫻10−4 IC IC, IB (A)

1⫻10−6 IB 1⫻10−8

VSE= −5 V 0V 5V 20 V

1⫻10−10

1⫻10−12 0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

(a) 1.0

1.1

VBE (V) 0.25 IB = 0.1 µA/step

IC (mA)

0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05 (b) 0.00 0

1

2

3 VCE (V)

4

5

6

FIGURE 5.6 DC characteristics of a 0.16 mm  0.8 mm SOI SiGe HBT under four substrate bias (VSE ¼ VS
VE) conditions:
5 V (dash–dot), 0 (solid), 5 V (dash), and 20 V (dot). (a) Gummel plot and (b) output characteristics.

IC
VCE in Figure 5.6(b) shows almost identical turn-on behaviors under zero and positive substrate biases, whereas under the negative substrate bias, it requires higher collector voltage to turn on the device, another manifestation of saturation effect. This is consistent with Figure 5.3, which predicts an 0 effectively forward biased B–C junction (VC
VB < 0) when VS
VB <
2 V. As expected from the voltage-pinning effect, BVCEO is the highest at 5.5 V under zero substrate bias. The reduction of BVCEO at VSE ¼ 20 V is due to the accumulation subcollector that breaks the voltage pinning and creates a vertical potential drop of VCB across TSi. In contrast, at VSE ¼ 5 V, avalanche current turns on at the same VCE as the high-positive bias case, but the rate of increase with collector voltage is slower. This can be explained by Figure 5.3. Under low-positive VSE, as VCE increases, the collector makes a transition from the one with an accumulation subcollector (region IV) to a fully depleted collector (region I). The transition decouples the collector voltage to the maximum electric field at the B–C junction interface and results in a much slower increase of avalanche current with VCE.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C005 Final Proof page 10 18.10.2007 1:41pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

5-10

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

For the same collector design, BVCEO depends on the current gain (IC/IB) due to the bipolar effect. A more direct examination of avalanche multiplication is through the measurement of the ‘‘M
1’’ factor [16]. In this measurement, a constant forward emitter current (IE) is forced through the device while ramping up the collector voltage. The electron–hole pairs generated by impact ionization in the collector depletion region contribute to an increase in the collector current and a corresponding reduction in the base current (DIC ¼
DIB). The factor ‘‘M
1’’ is extracted as jDIBj/IE. Figure 5.7a compares the avalanche multiplication in an SOI SiGe HBT to two bulk SiGe HBTs with 90 GHz fT (open symbols) and 50 GHz fT (solid symbols), respectively. In bulk devices, avalanche multiplication has the similar exponential dependence on VCB. The 90 GHz device has an ‘‘M
1,’’ which is about 6 times higher than the 50 GHz device due to heavier collector doping concentration as a part of vertical scaling. The SOI device shows a much weaker dependence of ‘‘M
1’’ on VCB under zero substrate bias, or under positive substrate bias in the high VCB range. This corresponds to the bias conditions for a fully depleted collector. In the open-base configuration, the increase of collector current due to avalanche effect is multiplied by the current gain b of the bipolar transistor. When b(M
1) ¼ 1, the collector current is doubled from its

1

IE = 10 µA Bulk SiGe HBT

Multiplication factor −1

0.1

20V

0.01

5V

1⫻10−3 0V

1⫻10−4

−5V

1⫻10−5 0

1

(a)

2

SOI SiGe HBT 3

4

5

Collector−base reverse bias (V)

M−1 at VCB = 1.5 V (10−3)

5 4

SOI SiGe HBT (increase substrate bias)

3

NC2

2 bulk SiGe HBT (vertical scaling)

1 NC1 0 20

(b)

40

60

80

100

Cut-off frequency (GHz)

FIGURE 5.7 Comparison of measured avalanche multiplication factor (M
1) in the collector–base junction between SOI SiGe HBTs and bulk SiGe HBTs. (a) ‘‘M
1’’ as a function of reverse C–B junction bias. (b) Correlation between ‘‘M
1’’ and cutoff frequency, dashed line indicates trend from bulk SiGe HBT technologies.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C005 Final Proof page 11 18.10.2007 1:41pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

5-11

SiGe HBTs on CMOS-Compatible SOI

low VCB value, which can be used as a measure for device breakdown. The flat portion of the ‘‘M
1’’ data suggests that it is possible to significantly increase the BVCEO of a fully depleted collector device by reducing the current gain from 400 in the experimental hardware to about 100. Under positive substrate bias and in the low VCB range, which corresponds to the accumulation subcollector condition, ‘‘M
1’’ is nearly the same as the 50 GHz bulk device. Under negative substrate bias, the exponential rise of ‘‘M
1’’ suggests that the lateral field dominates avalanche multiplication in the saturated collector region where there is minimum vertical potential drop in the collector. Figure 5.7b shows that the SOI devices and the bulk devices have a different ‘‘M
1’’ versus fT tradeoff. The peak fT of the SOI devices can be improved by applying positive substrate biases without much increase of avalanche multiplication, while scaling NC in a bulk device results in a steeper penalty in ‘‘M
1,’’ or breakdown voltage. The fT and fMAX characteristics of an SOI SiGe HBT are shown in Figure 5.8, along with those of a lateral SOI bipolar device from Ref. [7]. The SiGe HBT shows a 150% to 350% improvement in peak fT, depending on the substrate bias condition. The maximum oscillation frequency, fMAX, on the other pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi hand, is less sensitive to the substrate bias. This is expected from the fMAX / fT =CCB dependence. As VSE increases, CCB increases as the collector makes a transition from a fully depleted one to the one with an accumulation subcollector. A 30% increase of fT is observed for a VSE change from 0 to 5 V, while there is minimal change in fMAX. This suggests that CCB increases by 30% due to the presence of an accumulation back surface. To understand the strong dependence of fT on VSE, it is instructive to look at the two-dimensional potential distribution in the collector depletion region. Figure 5.9 shows the simulated equipotential contours in the forward active mode with VCB ¼ 1 V and VBE ¼ 0.84 V. The potential VI is referenced to the vacuum level in the emitter. The boundaries of the collector depletion region are defined approximately by VI ¼
4 V at the base side and VI ¼
2.5 V at the nþ reachthrough side. At zero substrate bias (VSE ¼ 0 V) in part (a), the collector is fully depleted under the base and there is little potential drop along the vertical direction. The arrow indicates the electron drift path along the electric field direction. It is mostly lateral with a length of 0.5 mm. At 20 V substrate bias (VSE ¼ 20 V), the potential at the back interface is fixed at VI ¼
2 V, the same potential as the nþ

80 fT

SOI substrate bias

fMAX

20 V

fT, fMAX (GHz)

60

5V Vertical SOI SiGe HBT 40 0V

20

Lateral SOI Bipolar [7] 0 1⫻10−6

1⫻10−5

1⫻10−4

1⫻10−3

Collector current/emitter length (A/µm)

FIGURE 5.8 fT and fMAX characteristics of a 0.16 mm  0.8 mm SOI SiGe HBT, with SOI substrate bias as a parameter. The characteristics of a lateral SOI bipolar transistor from Ref. [7] are plotted for comparison.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C005 Final Proof page 12 18.10.2007 1:41pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

5-12

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology VCB = 1 V, VBE = 0.84 V 1.0

1.0

0.8

0.8

−2.5

3 −2.5

C

0.4

E −3.5

−2.5 −5

−3.5

−4.5 −5

−3.5 −3

−4 −3.5

B

0.6

3 −2.5

C

0.4

−2.5

−3.4 −2.5

5 10 14.8

0.2

−4 −3.5 −3

5 10 14.8

0.2

S

S

0.0

VSE = 0 V

x (µm)

(b)

VSE = 20 V

1.0

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0

1.0

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0

0.0 (a)

−3

−2

−4.5 −5

−4

E −4 −5.5

0.5

y (µm)

3 −2.5

y (µm)

B

0.6

x (µm)

FIGURE 5.9 Simulated potential contours in (a) a fully depleted collector device and (b) the same device transformed to an accumulation subcollector device by a 20 V substrate bias. The arrows represent the direction of electron flow in the collector depletion region. Due to symmetry, only half of the device structure is shown.

reachthrough region. The large substrate bias attracts a majority carrier accumulation layer with an electron concentration of (VS
VC
VBI)/qCOX ¼ 2.7  1012 cm
2. The accumulation layer serves as an ultrathin subcollector, which provides a low resistance path to the nþ reachthrough. It also helps to reduce the collector series resistance in the reachthrough region. The electron drift path becomes vertical and much shorter, on the order of the SOI film thickness, or 0.1 mm. The shortened drift path results in a transit time tBC ¼ WdBC/2vSAT reduction of about 2 psec, which accounts for 80% of the fT improvements. The remaining improvement comes from the reduction of collector series resistance from the accumulation subcollector. Similar fT improvement may be obtained at a much lower substrate bias if the buried oxide is scaled down. For future SOI-CMOS technology, the ability to use a back gate voltage to control the CMOS threshold voltage is desirable for compensating chip-to-chip process variations. This can drive the scaling of buried oxide thickness to below 20 nm. On an SOI substrate with relatively thin buried oxide, it would suffice to connect the SOI substrate of the bipolar portion to the supply voltage VCC (3 V) of the analog–RF circuits to get the benefit of an accumulation subcollector. Use of nþ substrate instead of pþ substrate would further lower the required substrate bias by about 1 V. In lieu of an accumulation subcollector, a retrograde collector-doping profile with low concentration near the base and high concentration near the buried oxide can simulate some of the accumulation-subcollector effect, albeit the doping gradient is limited by the diffusion process and is much less ideal. Experimental hardware with a retrograde collector-doping profile measured a 60 GHz fT at zero substrate bias [11]. The ECL ring oscillator operation has been demonstrated using SiGe SOI bipolar transistors, with a minimum delay time of 18 pico-second per stage for a logic swing of 300 mV [11].

5.6 Process Optimization, Device Scaling, and Complimentary Bipolar This section will highlight the opportunities for some future work on the SOI SiGe HBTs. First, there are several process development opportunities for enhancing the device speed while maintaining the benefit

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C005 Final Proof page 13 18.10.2007 1:41pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

5-13

SiGe HBTs on CMOS-Compatible SOI TABLE 5.1

Lithographical and SOI Thickness Scaling of Vertical SOI Bipolar Transistors Scaling Factor

Parameters

Fully Depleted Collector

WE, LB, LC TSi NC IC/LE WdBC, lateral WdBC, vertical RCLE CCB/LE RCCCB

a b 1/b2 a/b2 a b — — —

Accumulation Subcollector

Partially Depleted Collector

a b 1/b2 a/b2 — b a a/b a2/b

a b 1/b2 a/b2 — b ab a/b a2

of high breakdown voltage, which includes: (1) self-alignment of the LTE window to the nþ reachthrough region; (2) minimizing the ‘‘facet’’ region near the edge of the epitaxial layer such that the LTE window size (LB) can be reduced for the same emitter width; and (3) self-alignment of the emitter opening to the base layer. All these steps would facilitate closer placement of the nþ reachthrough to the center of the device to reduce the lateral drift path in a fully depleted collector. A buffered region of intermediate doping concentration between the nþ reachthrough and the n-collector would also help to reduce the lateral drift path while maintaining the same collector voltage pinning under the base. For SOI-CMOS, the trend in lateral (lithography dimensions) and vertical (TSi) scaling is expected to continue. We will show that the RF performance of the SOI bipolar device will benefit from this scaling trend as well. Table 5.1 shows the effect of scaling on the collector depletion layer drift length WdBC and collector delay time RCCCB for three types of collectors: fully depleted, depleted with accumulation subcollector, and partially depleted. Independent lateral and vertical scaling factors, a(1 GHz. The parasitic inductances, capacitances, and resistances of the interconnects are then becoming comparable in value to those of the passive component itself, thus generally lowering the quality of that component. Also, such interconnects with all associated parasitics have to be carefully considered in the circuit design making that task extremely difficult. Placement of passive components off chip into the package or onto the printed circuit board (PCB) as a coplanar waveguide (CPW), a microstrip, or a discrete element is no longer an option as RFs are >1 GHz. Chip integration of passives, however, raises other concerns [2]. At frequencies in the range of about 900 MHz to 2.4 GHz, the inductance and capacitance values needed are considerably large (e.g., for a 50-V impedance; see Figure 6.1), thus occupying excessive chip real estate. Since that chip area is cycled through the entire transistor fabrication process on-chip inductors and capacitors are expensive. The total area taken by the inductors can in some circuits occupy nearly 50% of the total chip area. An option, which is sometimes used at frequencies near 1 GHz, is the simulation of a large capacitance or a large inductance by active circuitry. That technique, however, has the disadvantage that it generally leads to higher power and noise. The task of integrating inductors and capacitors is simpler at elevated RF, at which comparably smaller values of inductance and capacitance are required. Figure 6.1 illustrates that near 15 GHz, however, inductance values as low as 0.5 nH are needed to represent a 50-V impedance on 6-1

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C006 Final Proof

6-2

page 2

18.10.2007 1:42pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

Too large size!

Too small inductance value! Too long transmission line!

2

10

1.5 l = λ/4

1

1

l (mm)

L (nH); C (pF)

wL = 50 W

0.5 1/wC = 50 W 0.1

0

10

20

30

40

50

0

f (GHz)

FIGURE 6.1 Inductance and capacitance values needed to represent a 50 V impedance. Microstrip length required for a l/4 transmission line. (From JN Burghartz, KT Ng, NP Pham, B Rejaei, and PM Sarro. Proceedings of the Device Research Conference, 2001, pp. 113–114. With permission.)

chip. Beyond about that value on-chip inductors face the same virtue as their in-package counterparts did at about 1 GHz, i.e., their inductance becomes comparable to that of the interconnects feeding signals into them. At frequencies >15 GHz one, therefore, would like to use inductors and capacitors in a distributed form, i.e., by using CPWs or microstrips, as one used to do on PCB at low RF. In contrast to the lumped passive elements, which had to be smaller than l/10, such transmission line structures need to have a physical size of at least l/4 [3]. That means that the concerns with the size of the on-chip passive components suddenly become stressed again with that migration from lumped to distributed component design. Only at frequencies >30 GHz RF circuit design based on integrated microstrips or CPWs starts to become economically feasible (Figure 6.1). In spite of the simplicity of the illustrations in Figure 6.1, it becomes obvious that the frequency range from 15 to 30 GHz requires the RF engineer’s ingenuity to be able to come up with solutions to the integration of passive components [4]. In addition to the issue of chip area, any extra process steps required for the integration of the passive components and devices have to be taken into consideration. In a SiGe fabrication process, preference will likely be given to such passive component and device structures that can be integrated by exclusively using process elements from the bipolar transistor integration process (Table 6.1). Since most silicon RF integration schemes today are BiCMOS processes, with the SiGe HBT merged into a logic CMOS

TABLE 6.1 Types of Passive Components and Devices Listed with the Device Integration Processes, in Which They Most Efficiently Can Be Realized Type of Passive Component

Bipolar

CMOS

Add-On

Resistor Capacitor Varactor Diode RF Switch Inductor Transformer Transmission line Resonator or filter

Polysilicon Interdigitated PN Junction

Implanted MOS MOS

Thin Film MIM MEMS Schottky

PN MOS-FET PIN; MEMS Spiral Shielded Spiral Spiral: stacked; bifilar; nested Microstrip; coplanar waveguide LC; SAW

MEMS; FM Core FM Core Micromachined MEMS; BAW

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C006 Final Proof

Passive Components

page 3

18.10.2007 1:42pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

6-3

process, the range of such ‘‘free’’ passive components can greatly be expanded, as Table 6.1 shows. Nevertheless, there are special passives that require additional process steps or materials. They are adopted if more economic solutions are not satisfactory to the RF circuit designer or if they are instrumental in overcoming a design bottleneck.

6.2

Resistors and Capacitors

Resistors and capacitors have been a part of silicon fabrication processes for a long time. Resistors are used in bipolar circuits for dc biasing purposes and metal–oxide–silicon (MOS) capacitors are freely available in CMOS and BiCMOS processes. Resistors can be integrated in three basic forms, i.e., as an implanted or diffused component, as a polysilicon resistor, and as a thin-film metal element (Table 6.1). In bipolar processes sheet resistances ranging from 10 to 10,000 V/sq. can be realized by exploiting either the diffused regions (buried layer, intrinsic base) or the polysilicon films (extrinsic base, emitter). In BiCMOS processes, the well and channel stopper diffusions can also be used in order to cover the sheet resistance range from 100 to 1000 V/sq. Implanted and diffused resistors, however, are not well suited for RF circuit design because the junction isolation leads to a considerably large-shunt capacitance that is bias dependent. Polysilicon resistors work better in that respect since they are separated from the silicon substrate by the field oxide, leading to a much smaller shunt capacitance. The sheet resistance of doped polysilicon, however, varies with the polygrain structure and the dopant distribution between grains and grain boundaries. This results in a typically much larger statistical variation of the sheet resistance compared to implanted or diffused resistors [5]. The best results can be achieved with metal thin-film resistors that are imbedded into the multilevel interconnect stack [6] by, however, investing an extra masks layer and additional process steps (Table 6.1). The good electrical isolation of poly and metal thinfilm resistors from the silicon substrate, however, causes that such resistors are also thermally isolated due to the poor thermal conductivity of the SiO2. A small temperature coefficient is therefore another aspect in selecting the optimum resistor structure for RF applications. Capacitors can be integrated as an interdigitated metal structure, an MOS structure, or a metal– insulator–metal (MIM) structure. The interdigitated capacitor is adopted from III-V monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) technology, where it is useful since often only one interconnect layer is available. Since this is not an issue in silicon technology and because the capacitance or area is very small in comparison to that of the MOS and the MIM capacitors, the interdigitated capacitor is not used in SiGe MMICs. MOS capacitors have the same disadvantage as the mentioned implanted or diffused resistors, i.e., a considerable portion of the RF signal flows through the silicon substrate. Also, one terminal is built in silicon causing a relatively high series resistance, thus lowering the quality of the RF capacitor. Nevertheless, MOS capacitors have the comparably highest capacitance/area so that they are used in special applications, such as for dc blocking. The most favorable RF capacitor is the MIM structure since both terminals are built in metal and the structure has good oxide isolation from the substrate. A lumped-element model of an MIM capacitor is shown in Figure 6.2. The figure-of-merit of an RF capacitor is the quality factor (Q), which is defined as the ratio of the stored and the dissipated energies, i.e., QC ¼
im(Z)/re(Z), with Z the impedance of the component. It is obvious that the Q-factor will become lower as the frequency is increased, because the impedances of the lumped capacitors drop with frequency so that an increasing fraction of the total energy applies to dissipation at the resistors (see Figure 6.2). A second concern is self-resonance. The resonance frequency (fSR) is set by the parasitic series inductance LS and (primarily) CP and should be sufficiently larger than the desired operating frequency. Apart from the types and thicknesses of metal and dielectric layers available with a particular fabrication process layout optimization is effective in optimizing for Q and fSR [7]. Figure 6.3 illustrates that a finger layout with a high aspect ratio leads to both an increased Q and a higher fSR. A multifinger layout rather than one single finger can be used to best fit the MIM capacitor into the RF circuit layout. Another issue, besides layout optimization, is the accurate compact modeling of the capacitor. Figure 6.4 shows an example of the optimum 1.3-pF MIM capacitor layout from Figure 6.3, which is well applicable up to 10 GHz. The compact model with parameters shown in the insert of

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C006 Final Proof

6-4

page 4

18.10.2007 1:42pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

CP

P1

LS COx

CB

P2

RS RP

RB

COx RB

CB

Sub*

FIGURE 6.2 Compact model of an integrated capacitor. (From JN Burghartz, M Soyuer, KA Jenkins, M Kies, M Dolan, KJ Stein, J Malinowski, and DL Harame. IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 32:1440–1445, 1997. With permission.) 100

MIM Capacitors: Areas from 10⫻194 mm2 to 80⫻24.5 mm2

4 3

80

Finger ratio increase

Q

60 40

2 1

Quality factor

Capacitance (pF)

5

20

C 0

0 0

2

4

6

8

10

Frequency (GHz)

FIGURE 6.3 Measured capacitances and quality factors of multifinger MIM capacitors with varied finger aspect ratios. (From JN Burghartz, M Soyuer, KA Jenkins, M Kies, M Dolan, KJ Stein, J Malinowski, and DL Harame. IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 32:1440–1445, 1997. With permission.)

Figure 6.4 is derived from the general MIM capacitor model in Figure 6.2 with simplifications by neglecting RP and CB.

6.3

Inductors and Transformers

Inductors on Silicon Substrates Design and Compact Modeling Inductors, in contrast to capacitors and resistors, are fairly new passive components in silicon technology. In 1990, Nguyen and Meyer [8] were the first to place a spiral coil (Figure 6.5) over a conductive, and thus lossy, silicon substrate. The Q of a spiral inductor (QL ¼ þim(Z)/re(Z)) hardly reached Q ¼ 5 in the early attempts in spite of extensive knowledge in spiral inductor design from III-V MMICs and PCB implementations. As rough guidelines, the ratio of outer (R) to inner (Ri) coil radius should be R/Ri ¼ 5 for a maximum Q value and the maximum radius should not exceed l/60 to avoid distributed effects [3]. The fact that in silicon technology the inductor coil is placed over a conductive substrate is the main cause of the difficulties to reach appropriate Qs. The primary parameter set to define a spiral inductor on silicon (without the underpath) thus includes the conductor width (W) and space (S), the number of turns (N), the coil radius (R), the metal thickness (TM) and resistivity (rM), the thickness (TOx) and permittivity («Ox) of the dielectric layer between coil and silicon, and the resistivity (rSi), permittivity («Si), and thickness (TSi) of the silicon substrate (Figure 6.5). In addition, the specifications

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C006 Final Proof

page 5

18.10.2007 1:42pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

6-5

Passive Components

100

10 0.04nH

MIM-Cap

0.7Ω

1.37 pF

Capacitance (pF)

6

0.026pF 15Ω

60

Sub

40

Q 4 C

2

Quality factor

80

8

20

0

0 2

0

4

6

8

10

Frequency (GHz)

FIGURE 6.4 Measured and modeled frequency dependence of capacitance and quality factor of an optimized multifinger MIM capacitor (model with parameters in inset). (From JN Burghartz, M Soyuer, KA Jenkins, M Kies, M Dolan, KJ Stein, J Malinowski, and DL Harame. IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 32:1440–1445, 1997. With permission.) N rM

eOx TM R TOx

TSi

W

S

rSi, e Si

FIGURE 6.5 Cross section of a spiral inductor on silicon, defined by the width (W) and space (S) of the metal conductor, the number of turns (N), the outer radius of the coil (R), the metal resistivity (rM), the metal thickness (TM), the distance of the spiral coil from the silicon substrate (TOx), the oxide permittivity («Ox), the thickness of the silicon substrate (TSi), and the permittivity («Si) and resistivity (rSi) of the silicon. (From JN Burghartz and B Rejaei. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 50:718–729, 2003; JN Burghartz, M Soyuer, and KA Jenkins. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 43:1559–1570, 1996. With permission.)

of the underpath that connects the inner coil terminal to the outside have to be considered, though play a minor role in most designs. The limitation in Q is a result of ohmic losses and parasitic capacitances in the coil and in the substrate, as illustrated in the compact model in Figure 6.6. There, the electrical characteristics of the spiral coil are represented by LS*, RS, and CP. The dielectric isolation between coil and substrate is modeled by COx, and the substrate is described by RB and CB. The elements LE, RE, and M are used to illustrate the effect of eddy currents in the substrate, which become noticeable only for a high silicon conductivity. The resistor RSub describes the effect of a planar substrate contact on the inductor characteristics. First, we discuss the situation for RSub ! 1 (no substrate contact) and RE ! 1

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C006 Final Proof

6-6

page 6

18.10.2007 1:42pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

CP POut COx RSub CB

PIn

R LS*=LS−M S M

COx

LE−M RE RShield

RB

RB

CB

Sub Sub*

FIGURE 6.6 Compact model of an integrated inductor. (From JN Burghartz and B Rejaei. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 50:718–729, 2003; JN Burghartz, M Soyuer, and KA Jenkins. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 43:1559–1570, 1996. With permission.)

25

60 Qmax

sse

rate

15

los

ses

10

f(Qmax)

5

L

10 0 0

Quality factor

bst

il lo

30 20

20 Su

s

40

Co

Inductance (nH)

50

1

2 3 Frequency (GHz)

4

5

0

FIGURE 6.7 Inductance and quality factor of an integrated inductor versus frequency. (From JN Burghartz and B Rejaei. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 50:718–729, 2003; JN Burghartz, M Soyuer, and KA Jenkins. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 43:1559–1570, 1996. With permission.)

(no substrate eddy currents, i.e., M ¼ 0; LS* ¼ LS). If a low-frequency bias is applied between the inductor terminals (POut, PIn in Figure 6.6) the RF signal primarily passes through the inductance LS and the resistance RS, because the impedance vLS is small and the impedances 1/vCP and 1/vCOx are large. The quality factor increases then as Q ¼ vLS/RS, which is shown in Figure 6.7. With increasing frequency a larger fraction of the RF signal passes through the substrate since vLS becomes larger, 1/vCOx becomes smaller, and because COx >> CP (TOx > CP, fSR shows a pronounced decay, which causes that fSR >> f (Qmax) is no longer valid and the component operates as a resonator rather than an inductor. That means, however, that the design direction becomes distinctly different. Now, not an increase but a

Resonator mode regime

Eddy current regime

Inductor mode regime

x 5

L (Q max) (nH)

(a)

20

Qmax

10

f(Qmax)

0

0

6

25

5

20

4

fSR

15 L(Q max)

3

10

2

5

1 0 0.001 (b)

fSR (GHz)

Qmax

10

f (Qmax) (GHz)

30

15

0 0.1

10

1000

Silicon resistivity (Ω-cm)

FIGURE 6.8 Maximum quality factor (Qmax), frequency at Qmax (f (Qmax)), inductance (L(Qmax)), and resonant frequency (fSR) of an integrated inductor as a function of substrate resistivity with indication of the three characteristic modes of operation. (From JN Burghartz and B Rejaei. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 50:718–729, 2003; JN Burghartz, M Soyuer, and KA Jenkins. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 43:1559–1570, 1996. With permission.)

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C006 Final Proof

6-8

page 8

18.10.2007 1:42pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

reduction in substrate resistivity leads to a higher Qmax. The Q of the resonator namely depends on both the qualities of the lossy inductor coil (QL ¼ vLS/RS) and the lossy oxide capacitor (QC ¼ 1/vRBCOx). The QC is increased by lowering the substrate resistivity and thus RB. It can be seen from Figure 6.8 that, surprisingly, somewhat higher Qmax values can be achieved in comparison to a 10 V cm substrate resistivity, particularly if eddy currents in the substrate can be suppressed. (Note that these three modes of operation of a spiral coil structure are closely related, but not identical, to the TEM, slow wave, and eddy current modes of a microstrip as described by Hasegawa et al. [18].) While eddy currents cannot, or at least not easily, be suppressed in the low-resistivity silicon, operation in resonator mode with suppressed eddy currents can be enforced by inserting a patterned ground shield in between the spiral coil and the silicon substrate [19]. Figure 6.9 shows the Qmax and the fSR of the 2-nH inductor (from Figure 6.8) with a patterned ground and the shield resistivity as the only parameter, showing that Qmax can be raised by 50% while sacrificing fSR. The effect of a patterned ground shield can be modeled by the resistor RShield in the compact model of Figure 6.6. Inductor Optimization The optimization of inductors on silicon is extensively discussed in a review paper by Burghartz and Rejaei [20]. In Figure 6.10, the Qmax values achievable for a wide range of inductances are shown for a conventional Al metallization and substrate resistivity for thick Cu interconnects in combination with high-resistivity silicon (HRS). There is a general trend that large inductance values combine typically with considerably lower Qs than small inductances. This is a result of the larger area needed to accomplish large inductances and the consequently lower impedance of the substrate leakage path (COx, CB, RB in Figure 6.6). Another consequence is that with larger inductance values Qmax appears at a lower frequency f (Qmax). This does not appear to be an issue in RF circuit design since at higher frequencies the required inductance values are smaller and the Qs needed are larger. The last feature from Figure 6.6 to be discussed is the effect of a substrate contact. Clearly, a uniform ground potential underneath the inductor coil would provide the best possible electrical symmetry of the component, except for the small geometrical asymmetry of the coil itself [21]. In silicon technology, however, only planar substrate contacts can be used to bias the silicon substrate. It has been shown that, if such a planar substrate contact is positioned close to the coil, the inductor would become electrically

40

16 Eddy currents QMax No eddy currents

30 fSR

8

20

4

10

fSR (GHz)

12 Qmax

rSi = 10 Ω-cm

rShield 0 0.0001

0.01

1

100

0 10,000

Shield resistivity (Ω-cm)

FIGURE 6.9 Maximum quality factor (Qmax) and resonant frequency (fSR) of an integrated inductor with patterned ground shield as a function of the resistivity of the shield metal. (From JN Burghartz and B Rejaei. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 50:718–729, 2003; JN Burghartz, M Soyuer, and KA Jenkins. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 43:1559–1570, 1996. With permission.)

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C006 Final Proof

page 9

18.10.2007 1:42pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

6-9

Passive Components

Maximum quality factor

100 SAM

4 µm Cu+ 3 kΩ-cm Si

10

1µm Al+ 5 Ω-cm Si 1 1

10 Inductance (nH)

100

FIGURE 6.10 Maximum quality factor (Qmax) versus inductance of spiral inductors built in a conventional aluminum interconnect process or with copper metallization on a high-resistivity silicon substrate. (From JN Burghartz and B Rejaei. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 50:718–729, 2003; JN Burghartz, M Soyuer, and KA Jenkins. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 43:1559–1570, 1996. With permission.)

asymmetric. The substrate contact thus has to be considered in the circuit layout [22]. Only an RF ground plane underneath the coil can eliminate this asymmetry, provided that the ground plane is spaced away sufficiently to prevent from eddy current effects [23,24]. That sensitivity of the inductor characteristics to eddy currents in nearby metal features also prevents one from placing other circuit components inside the large spiral coil or from building the coil over other circuitry [25], except if micromachining techniques are adopted (Section 6.6). Accurate modeling of the spiral inductor structure is another important task. While the compact model in Figure 6.6 is already sufficiently accurate, it has the restriction of being nonpredictive. An extensive review of predictive inductor models [26–29] is included in Ref. [30].

Integrated Transformers Transformers have been used in RF circuits since the early days of telegraphy. Conceptually, a transformer consists of two spiral coils that are brought in close proximity to achieve mutual magnetic coupling. Figure 6.11 shows the three generic types of transformers that are conceivable, i.e., the stacked (Finlay) type, the bifilar (Shibata resp. Frlan) type, and the nested coil type [31,32]. The mutual coupling, which is a first indication of quality of a transformer, is higher for the stacked coils than that of the bifilar structure, which again is higher than that of the nested coils [32]. The strong mutual coupling, however, also results in a large parasitic capacitance between the coils, which affects the bandwidth of the transformer by making the mutual coupling of the coils partly capacitive. The maximum available gain (Gmax), as used for RF transistors [3], is a useful figure-of-merit of a transformer [32], since it is independent of the port impedances. A good transformer should obviously have both high Gmax and large bandwidth. In that respect, the stacked coils provide the best results in comparison, followed by the bifilar and the nested types [33]. Stacked coils also consume minimum chip area but require three interconnect layers instead of two needed to fabricate the other types. Obviously, if capacitive coupling between the coils has a detrimental effect on the transformer Gmax and bandwidth, substrate effects will play a considerable role and will degrade the transformer in both aspects [32]. Substrate effects are minimum for the stacked coil configuration. Interestingly, a patterned metal ground shield can provide a slightly increased Gmax and bandwidth [32]. The bifilar coil type is most suitable for the design of multifilament, balun, and symmetric transformers, as extensively discussed in a review paper by Long [31] and in a book by Niknejad and Meyer [34].

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C006 Final Proof

6-10

page 10 18.10.2007

1:42pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

Bifilar coils (Shibata)

Stacked coils (Finlay)

Nested coils Bifilar coils (Frlan)

FIGURE 6.11 Plan view sketches of generic transformer structures. (From JR Long. IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 35:1368–1382, 2000. With permission.)

6.4

Transmission Lines

At frequencies beyond about 30 GHz inductances and capacitances have to be integrated as distributed elements (Figure 6.1). This requires the fabrication of transmission lines on a lossy silicon substrate either as a CPW or as a microstrip. Both types of lines have been used on PCB or in III–V MMICs. In silicon technology, however, CPWs suffer from considerable losses in the conductive silicon substrate and microstrips are difficult to integrate due to lack of a through-substrate via process in conventional silicon technology. During the past decade these issues have been circumvented and addressed, respectively, by building microstrips in the multilevel interconnects away from the substrate [35] and by fabricating CPWs over HRS [36]. The small vertical spacing of signal and ground planes of microstrips built in the multilevel interconnects leads to a comparably narrow required width of the signal line, thus raising ohmic losses and the overall attenuation of the line. A wider signal line for reduced losses is feasible if the ground plane is integrated into the silicon substrate. This, however, requires micromachining techniques [37] (see also Section 6.6). In that case, as for the CPWs, HRS substrates have to be used to suppress the losses in the silicon. Then, particularly for the CPW, the passivation of the silicon near the Si–SiO2 interface is crucial to be able to minimize those losses [38]. The attenuation figures achieved for transmission lines on silicon substrates are in the range of 2 to 5 dB/cm at 10 GHz, depending on the metal type and thickness and on the silicon resistivity. With the passivation the attenuation can be about tenfold improved.

6.5

Diodes and Switches

There are several types of diodes that can be applied in RF and microwave applications. Varactors are used, for example, in voltage-controlled oscillators (VCO) and can be built as pn-junction [7] and MOScapacitor type components [39]. The pn-junction varactor can directly be derived from the collector– base junction structure of the bipolar transistor. The component can be modeled by using the scheme in Figure 6.2. The challenge in integrating a varactor on a silicon substrate is to achieve a maximum capacitance/area with minimum parasitic resistances and inductances of the terminals and the internal metallization, leading to a multifinger structure as the optimum layout of the component [7]. For

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C006 Final Proof

page 11 18.10.2007

1:42pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

6-11

Passive Components

60

5 A= 2 ⫻ 15 ⫻ 27.75 µm2

4 Capacitance (pF)

Varactor (pn junction): 50 40

3 30

Bias increase

2

C 20

1

Quality factor

Q

10

0 0

2

4 6 Frequency (GHz)

8

0 10

FIGURE 6.12 Measured capacitances and quality factors of multifinger pn-junction MIM capacitors with varied reverse bias. (From JN Burghartz, M Soyuer, KA Jenkins, M Kies, M Dolan, KJ Stein, J Malinowski, and DL Harame. IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 32:1440–1445, 1997. With permission.)

varactors used in the 900 MHz to 2.4 GHz range the multifinger design provides Qs in the range of 20 to 50 (Figure 6.12), which is quite sufficient considering the limited Qs of the inductors in the LC tank of the VCO. Diodes, more specifically p–i–n diodes, are used in RF switches, particularly the transmit– receive (T–R) switch at the antenna of the RF transceiver [40]. A p–i–n diode works as a bias-controlled resistor with excellent linearity and distortion and has also been applied in microwave circuits to amplitude modulation, attenuation, and signal leveling. In addition to their use in RF switches, they also make excellent phase shifters and limiters [3]. The integration of p–i–n diodes in silicon processes, however, is difficult since they are typically built as vertical devices by exploiting the entire wafer thickness. Therefore, as the MESFET switch in III–V technology, it is possible to consider MOSFET switches in silicon technology, but they have an inferior insertion loss and isolation and they consume more chip area compared to their III–V contenders [41]. The third type of switch device that is considered for silicon technology is the MEMS switch [42], which appears to be only a technological option in applications where the p–i–n and MOS switches cannot meet the required specifications. A third type of diode that is well integratable in silicon technology is the Schottky rectifier, which can reach cutoff frequencies well in excess of 100 GHz [3,43].

6.6

Special Passive Components

Emerging Passives With the trend toward fully monolithic RF transceivers novel materials and structures are now introduced to silicon technology. Introducing them as an addition to the core device integration process is a favorable concept for economic reasons [44]. Micromachining and MEMS can be used to greatly increase the quality of passive components [37,45,46] or to integrate large components above [46] or below the active devices into the bulk silicon substrate [37]. Micromachining can also be used to establish an RF ground plane in silicon process technology [37] (see ‘‘Substrate Effects and Shields’’). The enhancement in component quality is quite pronounced in mechanical resonators [47], mechanically variable capacitors [48], and RF MEMS switches (Section 6.5). Ferromagnetic thin films can be instrumental in reducing the size of inductors and transformers and to realize novel-integrated RF passive components [49,50]. The integration of bulk-acoustic wave filters

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C006 Final Proof

6-12

page 12 18.10.2007

1:42pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

[51] and tunable passives becomes possible by using ferroelectric thin films on silicon [52]. In this way, other microwave components known from the hybrid technologies may be brought to silicon technology by exploiting integratable ferromagnetic and ferroelectric thin films [49]. On-chip antenna is another passive component that may gain significance in the emerging fields of integrated microwave sensors [53], unobtrusive radio devices [54], and for intrachip [55] and chip–chip signal transmission [56].

Suppression of Parasitic Effects In addition to the desired passive components there are parasitic effects that affect the characteristics of an integrated RF circuit. RF currents through the electrically conducting silicon substrate [37], electromagnetic coupling between integrated inductors and to the package [23,25], and thermal coupling through the silicon [57] are such parasitic effects that are undesirable since they are difficult to model and are detrimental to the circuit performance. Such parasitic effects, therefore, have to be carefully considered in the circuit layout [58]. Isolation techniques available with conventional silicon process technology, however, are not sufficiently effective at RF and microwaves [59]. Novel structures to block or to ground such crosstalk signals between RF circuit elements are therefore required. Availability of an RF ground plane with a via connection to the wafer frontside is, therefore, a valuable addition to any RF silicon integration process (see also Section 6.4) [37]. In addition to the unwanted crosstalk signals to an RF ground, crosstalk can also be lowered to some extent by increasing the silicon substrate resistivity and the spacing between source and drain of the parasitic RF signals. Overly, high substrate resistivity, however, does not provide any benefit as far as the crosstalk goes, since then the substrate characteristics are fully capacitive and in TEM mode [18,60]. Then, local replacement of the silicon by a lowpermittivity material will have the effect of a virtual increase of the length of the crosstalk path. This can, for example, be achieved by etching trenches through the entire substrate [37].

6.7

Summary

In this chapter, we have given a broad overview of the passive components and devices required for RF silicon integration processes. The discussion has been restricted to passives that are integrated on the chip, but with highlighting the criteria that favor the integration of passive components over off-chip or in-package solutions. The effect of parasitics on the quality and the characteristics of passive components, as well as on the coupling between passives, have been addressed as well. Among the passive components and devices, the spiral inductor on silicon has particularly been highlighted in the discussions, because this component is still fairly new to silicon technology, it limits the performance and power consumption of RF circuits, and it consumes a considerable fraction of the costly chip area. The discussion of other passive components and devices, as well as of parasitic effects, has been kept brief but combined with an extensive reference list. All in all, it can be stated that passive components and devices are an integral, if not dominant, part of monolithic RF silicon technology.

Acknowledgments The author would like to thank his colleagues at the Laboratory of High-Frequency Technology and Components (HiTeC) at DIMES, TU Delft, and his former colleagues at IBM Research and IBM Microelectronics for the many stimulating discussions on aspects of RF silicon technology. This applies particularly to Dr. Behzad Rejaei (HiTeC), Dr. Mehmet Soyuer (IBM), and Dr. Keith Jenkins (IBM).

References 1. LE Larson. Silicon technology tradeoffs for radio-frequency/mixed-signal ‘‘systems-on-a-chip.’’ IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 50:683–699, 2003.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

Passive Components

66870_C006 Final Proof

page 13 18.10.2007

1:42pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

6-13

2. JN Burghartz. Silicon RF technology—The two generic approaches. Proceedings of the European Solid-State Device Research Conference (ESSDERC), 1997, pp. 143–153. 3. I Bahl and P Barthia. Microwave Solid State Circuit Design. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1988. 4. JN Burghartz, KT Ng, NP Pham, B Rejaei, and PM Sarro. Integrated RF passive components— discrete vs. distributed. Proceedings of the Device Research Conference, 2001, pp. 113–114. 5. A Schuppen, H Dietrich, S Gerlach, H Hohnemann, J Arndt, U Seller, R Gotzfried, U Erben, and H Schumacher. SiGe-technology and components for mobile communication systems. Proceedings of the Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting (BCTM), 1996, pp. 130–133. 6. R Henderson, P Zurcher, A Duvallet, C Happ, M Petras, M Raymond, T Remmel, D Roberts, B Steimle, S Straub, T Sparks, M Tarabbia, and M Miller. Tantalum nitride thin film resistors for integration into copper metallization based RF-CMOS and BiCMOS technology platforms. Digest of Papers of the Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, 2001, pp. 71–74. 7. JN Burghartz, M Soyuer, KA Jenkins, M Kies, M Dolan, KJ Stein, J Malinowski, and DL Harame. Integrated RF components in a SiGe bipolar technology. IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 32:1440–1445, 1997. 8. NM Nguyen and RG Meyer. IC-compatible inductors and LC passive filters. IEEE Journal of SolidState Circuits 25:1028–1031, 1990. 9. M Soyuer, JN Burghartz, KA Jenkins, S Ponnapalli, JF Ewen, and WE Pence. Multilevel monolithic inductors in silicon technology. Electronics Letters 31:359–360, 1995. 10. JN Burghartz, KA Jenkins, and M Soyuer. Multi-level-spiral inductors using VLSI interconnect technology. IEEE Electron Device Letters 17:428–430, 1996. 11. JN Burghartz and B Rejaei. Saddle add-on metallization for RF-IC technology. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 51:460–466, 2004. 12. J Crols, P Kinget, J Craninckx, and M Steyaert. An analytical model of planar inductors on lowly doped silicon substrates for high frequency analog design up to 3 GHz. Digest of Technical Papers of the Symposium on VLSI Circuits, 1996, pp. 28–29. 13. JM Lopez-Villegas, J Samitier, C Cane, and P Losantos. Improvement of the quality factor of RF integrated inductors by layout optimization. Technical Digest of the Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) Symposium, 1998, pp. 169–172. 14. LF Tiemeijer, D Leenaerts, N Pavlovic, and RJ Havens. Record Q spiral inductors in standard CMOS. Technical Digest of the International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), 2001, pp. 949–951. 15. HB Erzgra¨ber, M Pierschel, GG Fischer, T Grabolla, and A Wolff. High performance integrated spiral inductors based on a minimum AC difference voltage principle. Digest of Technical Papers of the Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, 2000, pp. 71–74. 16. JN Burghartz, KA Jenkins, and M Soyuer. Multi-level-spiral inductors Using VLSI interconnect technology. IEEE Electron Device Letters 17:428–430, 1996. 17. RB Merrill, TW Lee, Y Hong, R Rasmussen, and LA Moberly. Optimization of high Q integrated inductors for multi-level metal CMOS. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, 1995, pp. 983–986. 18. H Hasegawa, F Mieko, and Y Hisayoshi. Properties of microstrip line on Si–SiO2 system. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 19:869–881, 1971. 19. CP Yue and SS Wong. On-chip spiral inductors with patterned ground shields for Si-based RF ICs. IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 33:743–752, 1998. 20. JN Burghartz and B Rejaei. On the design of RF spiral inductors on silicon. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 50:718–729, 2003. 21. JN Burghartz, M Soyuer, and KA Jenkins. Integrated RF and microwave components in BiCMOS technology. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 43:1559–1570, 1996. 22. JN Burghartz, AE Ruehli, KA Jenkins, M Soyuer, and D Nguyen-Ngoc. Novel substrate contact structure for high-Q silicon-integrated spiral inductors. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, 1997, pp. 55–58.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

6-14

66870_C006 Final Proof

page 14 18.10.2007

1:42pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

23. JN Burghartz. Progress in RF inductors on silicon-understanding substrate losses. Technical Digest of the International Electron Devices Meeting, 1998, pp. 523–526. 24. KT Ng, NP Pham, PM Sarro, B Rejaei, and JN Burghartz. Characterization of a bulk-micromachined post-process module for silicon RF technology. Digest of Papers of the Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, 2000, pp. 99–102. 25. JN Burghartz, DC Edelstein, M Soyuer, HA Ainspan, and KA Jenkins. RF circuit design aspects of spiral inductors on silicon. IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 33:2028–2034, 1998. 26. JR Long and MA Copeland. Modeling of monolithic inductors and transformers for silicon RFIC design. In Microwave Symposium Digest (Technologies for Wireless Applications), 1995, pp. 129–134. 27. CP Yue, C Ryu, J Lau, TH Lee, and SS Wong. A physical model for planar spiral inductors on silicon. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, San Francisco, 1996, pp. 155–158. 28. AM Niknejad and RG Meyer. Analysis, design, and optimization of spiral inductors and transformers for Si RF Ics. IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 33:1470–1481, 1998. 29. B Rejaei, JL Tauritz, and P Snoeij. A predictive model for Si-based circular spiral inductors. Digest of Papers of the Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, 1998, pp. 148–154. 30. JN Burghartz. Spiral inductors on silicon—Status and trends. International Journal of RF and Microwave Computer-Aided Engineering 8:422–432, 1998. 31. JR Long. Monolithic transformers for silicon RF IC design. IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 35:1368–1382, 2000. 32. KT Ng, B Rejaei, and JN Burghartz. Substrate effects in monolithic RF transformers. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 50:377–383, 2002. 33. KT Ng, B Rejaei, TR deKruiff, M Soyuer, and JN Burghartz. Analysis of generic spiral–coil RF transformers on silicon. IEEE Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, 2000, pp.103–107. 34. AM Niknejad and RF Meyer. Design, Simulation, and Applications of Inductors and Transformers for Si RF ICs. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000. 35. DC Laney, LE Larson, P Chan, J Malinowski, D Harame, S Subbanna, R Volant, and M Case. Microwave transformers, inductors and transmission lines implemented in an Si/SiGe HBT process. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 49:1507–1510, 2001. 36. HH Meinel. Millimeter-wave technology advances since 1985 and future trends. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 39:759–767, 1991. 37. NP Pham, PM Sarro, KT Ng, and JN Burghartz. IC-compatible two-level bulk micromachining process module for RF silicon technology. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 48:1756–1764, 2001. 38. B Rong, JN Burghartz, LK Nanver, B Rejaei, and M vanderZwan. Surface-passivated high-resistivity silicon substrates for RFICs. IEEE Electron Device Letters 25:176–178, 2004. 39. WMY Wong, PS Hui, C Zhiheng, S Keqiang, J Lau, and PCH Chan. A wide tuning range gated varactor. IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 35:773–779, 2000. 40. RH Caverly. RF technique for determining ambipolar carrier lifetime in PIN RF switching diodes. Electronics Letters 34:2277–2278, 1998. 41. RH Caverly. Linear and nonlinear characteristics of the silicon CMOS monolithic 50-V microwave and RF control element. IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 34:124–126, 1999. 42. GM Rebeiz. RF MEMS: theory, design, and technology. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2003. 43. KM Strohm, J Buechler, and E Kasper. SIMMWIC rectennas on high-resistivity silicon and CMOS compatibility. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 46:669–676, 1998. 44. JN Burghartz, M Bartek, B Rejaei, PM Sarro, A Polyakov, NP Pham, E Boullaard, and KT Ng. Substrate options and add-on process modules for monolithic RF silicon technology. Proceedings of the 2002 Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting (BCTM), 2002, pp. 17–23.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

Passive Components

66870_C006 Final Proof

page 15 18.10.2007

1:42pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

6-15

45. KJ Herrick, JG Yook, and LPB Katehi. Microtechnology in the development of three-dimensional circuits. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 46:1832–1844, 1998. 46. JB Yoon, YS Choi, BI Kim Y Eo, and E Yoon. CMOS-compatible surface-micromachined suspendedspiral inductors for multi-GHz silicon RF Ics. Electron Device Letters, IEEE 23:591–593, 2002. 47. JR Clark, WT Hsu, and CT Nguyen. High-Q VHF micromechanical contour-mode disk resonators. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, San Francisco, 2000, pp. 493–496. 48. M Bakri-Kassem and RR Mansour. Two movable-plate nitride-loaded MEMS variable capacitor. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 52:831–837, 2004. 49. B Rejaei, M Vroubel, Y Zhuang, and JN Burghartz. Assessment of ferromagnetic integrated inductors for Si-technology. Digest of Papers of the topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, 2003, pp. 100–103. 50. MG Allen. MEMS technology for the fabrication of RF magnetic components. IEEE International Magnetics Conference, 2003, pp. FC-05. 51. M Ylilammi, J Ella, M Partanen, and J Kaitila. Thin film bulk acoustic wave filter. IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control 49:535–539, 2002. 52. KA Jose, H Yoon, KJ Vinoy, P Sharma, VK Varadan, and V Varadan. Low voltage tunable capacitors for RF MEM filters and antenna applications. Digest of the International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. 3, 2001, pp. 670–673. 53. P Russer. Si and SiGe millimeter-wave integrated circuits. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 46:590–603, 1998. 54. E Aarts. Ambient intelligence: A multimedia perspective. IEEE Multimedia 11:12–19, 2004. 55. BA Floyd, H Chih-Ming Hung, KK O. Intra-chip wireless interconnect for clock distribution implemented with integrated antennas, receivers, and transmitters. IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 37:543–552, 2002. 56. JJ Lin, L Gao, A Sugavanam, X Guo, R Li, JE Brewer, and KK O. Integrated antennas on silicon substrates for communication over free space. IEEE Electron Device Letters 25:196–198, 2004. 57. BM Tenbroek, MSL Lee, W Redman-White, RJT Bunyan, and MJ Uren. Impact of self-heating and thermal coupling on analog circuits in SOI CMOS. IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 33:1037– 1046, 1998. 58. T Blalack, Y Leclercq, and CP Yue. On-chip RF isolation techniques. Proceedings of the Bipolar/ BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, 2002, pp. 205–211. 59. KA Joardar. A simple approach to modeling cross-talk in integrated circuits. IEEE Journal of SolidState Circuits 29:1212–1219, 1994. 60. M Pfost, HM Rein, and T Holzwarth. Modeling substrate effects in the design of high-speed Si-bipolar Ics. IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 31:1493–1501, 1996.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C006 Final Proof

page 16 18.10.2007

1:42pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C007 Final Proof

page 1

23.10.2007 5:24pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

7 Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: IBM

Alvin J. Joseph and James S. Dunn IBM Microelectronics

7.1

7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6

Introduction......................................................................... 7-1 BiCMOS Process Integration ............................................. 7-1 The SiGe HBT—Key Technology Elements ...................... 7-5 Electrical Performance ........................................................ 7-6 Manufacturability .............................................................. 7-12 Summary ............................................................................ 7-16

Introduction

The general market acceptance of SiGe BiCMOS technologies can be attributed to the ability to address the product performance at a very competitive cost by integrating high-performance SiGe HBTs, with state-of-the-art CMOS, and high-quality passives. SiGe HBTs have shown to be highly reliable even under extreme stress conditions [1,2] and give superior yields compared to other compound semiconductor technologies (e.g., GaAs). It is not surprising, therefore, to see SiGe BiCMOS technologies in mass production that range in various applications, such as wireless, storage, and instrumentation [3,4]. SiGe BiCMOS technologies offer the flexibility to be optimized based on the specific market applications. For example, performance focus applications such as wired, automotive, and instrumentation require ultrahigh-performance SiGe HBTs. Integrating a simplified low-cost SiGe HBT is the focus, however, for consumer applications such as wireless and storage. Therefore, a ‘‘one size fits all’’ approach for technology optimization will not be optimal to address various market segments due to significant tradeoffs one has to make on either performance or cost. The IBM SiGe BiCMOS technology roadmap addresses these wide-ranging applications by offering two flavors of SiGe HBTs. State-of-the-art examples of IBM SiGe BiCMOS technologies at 0.13 mm CMOS node will be discussed in detail in this section. SiGe BiCMOS 8HP is a technology which features a 200/275 GHz (fT/fmax) SiGe HBT with passives and back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) metallurgy tailored for applications in the 77 GHz range. Technology optimization in this case centers around the performance of the SiGe HBT. SiGe BiCMOS 8WL technology features a 100/200 GHz (fT/fmax) SiGe HBT with 0.5 dB minimum noise figure (NFMIN) at 10 GHz with wide range of active and passive devices that support cost-sensitive consumer applications. In this case, the technology optimization focus shifts to reducing process complexity (or cost) while maintaining adequate SiGe HBT performance.

7.2

BiCMOS Process Integration

The state-of-the-art BiCMOS process integration approach falls into the category of a base-after-gate (BAG) method, where the base of the SiGe HBT is built after the bulk of the CMOS processing is completed 7-1

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C007 Final Proof

7-2

page 2

23.10.2007 5:24pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

BiCMOS 8HP 0.13 µm CMOS Backbone

Shallow trench

BiCMOS 8WL

Bipolar

Subcoll., Nepi, Deep Trench

0.13 µm CMOS Backbone

Shallow trench

Coll. reachthru Well I/I, Gate ox, Gate Poly dep/pattern/ etch, sidewall ox., spacer, CMOS protect layer

S/D implant, anneal, Resistor salicide block

Base window, collector pedestal, UHV/CVD SiGe base, emitter definition, raised Xbase, ISD poly emitter dep, pattern and etch, Xbase pattern and etch

Well I/I, Gate ox, Gate Poly dep/pattern/ etch, sidewall ox., spacer, CMOS protect layer

Subcollector I/I Base window, UHV/CVD SiGe base, emitter definition, raised Xbase, ISD poly emitter dep, pattern and etch, Xbase pattern and etch

S/D Implant, anneal, Resistor salicide block Custom trench

Salicide and contacts Salicide and contacts

Metal interconnect Custom analog metals

FIGURE 7.1

Bipolar

Metal interconnect

Custom analog metals

Process flow comparing both BiCMOS 8HP and BiCMOS 8WL in a 0.13 mm CMOS backbone.

[5]. This approach is chosen to minimize the thermal budget for the SiGe HBT. Figure 7.1 shows the integration flows utilized in the 0.13 mm IBM SiGe BiCMOS processes. Both 8HP and 8WL process flow use the 0.13 mm CMOS backbone with the addition of bipolar and custom BEOL analog metals. Process flows deviate between 8HP and 8WL due to the tradeoff associated with the bipolar performance. The process flow starts with the formation of the NPN subcollector and the appropriate SiGe HBT isolation scheme. For the 200 GHz fT SiGe HBT in 8HP, critical process elements include a very lowresistance buried subcollector, n-type epitaxy formation, collector reach-through, and deep-trench isolation. In contrast, the 100 GHz fT SiGe HBT in 8WL does not require such process components and can be easily replaced by an implanted subcollector. After such processing sequence, the wafer in each case essentially looks like a standard CMOS processed wafer and can be put through the exact same processing sequence without any significant perturbation to the base CMOS process flow. Both BiCMOS flows then proceed with the standard CMOS processing steps: well implants, single and dual gate oxidations, gate poly deposition or pattern or etch, sidewall oxidation, LDD and extension implants, and finishing with the spacer formation. Essentially, bulk of the CMOS processing is completed with only the source–drain implant and activation remaining. There are multiple reasons for postponing the source–drain implants till after the bipolar formation—(a) the phosphorus (n-FET) and boron (pFET) dopants utilized for advanced CMOS tend to diffuse through the gate with additional lowtemperature cycles from the bipolar processing, (b) these implants can be used for the contact regions of parasitic active or passive devices built using bipolar elements, and (c) preserve modularity with the single activation RTA that can activate the CMOS and bipolar emitter. It should be noted that while the ‘‘BAG’’ approach reduces the thermal cycle for SiGe HBTs, it shifts the process challenge to clearing bipolar films from CMOS regions as well as requiring some re-engineering of CMOS well/extension/LDD implants for parametric centering. Prior to moving into the SiGe HBT build, the CMOS regions are protected by an etch stop layer that can later be easily removed. The bipolar module is extensively the same between 8HP and 8WL, with minor differences in the collector tailor implants and SiGe base profile. Structurally, both devices look quite similar and utilize advanced concepts of raised extrinsic base [6,7] as well as fully realigned in situ doped emitter processing [8,9] (see Figure 7.2). The bipolar module begins by defining a bipolar window opening by etching through a seed polysilicon and dielectric stack. Afterwards, the nonselective epitaxial growth of the

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C007 Final Proof

page 3

23.10.2007 5:24pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

7-3

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: IBM

In situ doped emitter

Dielectric Isolation Silicide

Raised extrinsic base Boron-Doped SiGe base Collector Reachthrough plug Trench isolation

SIC collector Subcollector

FIGURE 7.2

Cross-sectional diagram of a raised extrinsic base SiGe HBT device.

UHV/CVD SiGe base region is completed. The raised extrinsic base with heavily doped p-type is then introduced. This provides a low-resistance linkup to the intrinsic base as well as much-reduced collector–base capacitance (CCB) for the SiGe HBT. The emitter–base junction is completed by the formation of an emitter opening with inside spacers, and then depositing an in situ doped polysilicon realigned emitter. The emitter polysilicon is then patterned and etched followed by the pattern or etch of the base polysilicon. The process challenge resides in the careful choice of an etch stop CMOS protect layer and the isotropic polysilicon etch that can clear all residual bipolar films from the CMOS gate topography. The CMOS protect layer is then removed for the source–drain implant and activation RTA. In the case of 8WL, prior to salicidation, a custom trench is etched around the NPN to reduce the collector–substrate capacitance. The trench is later filled with the contact dielectric and planarized. This allows minimum perturbation to the BiCMOS flow, while providing significant performance advantage for HBTs with negligible cost addition. The process sequence then moves into cobalt salicidation, contact formation, and BEOL metallization. Figure 7.3 shows a top view SEM of a static RAM cell built in 8HP, showing a clean CMOS integration that is possible with the 0.13 mm BiCMOS integration scheme. High-quality passive elements such as precision resistor, MIMcap, inductors, along with varactor, Schottky, and PIN diodes are integrated in a modular fashion to make technology attractive for various applications. Table 7.1 shows a comparative look at the various passive elements offered in 8HP and 8WL. Multiple resistors are available that range in sheet resistance, TCR, parasitic capacitance to substrate, and tolerance. For example, low TCR (100 at 5 GHz. High-density MIM capacitors are required in wireless application to reduce the area consumed by precision capacitors that typically range from 1 to 10 pF. A high-k dielectric MIM capacitor has been developed in 8WL that is capable of 5 f F/mm2 density with high reliability of 10 ppm failure rate at 5 V for a

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C007 Final Proof

7-4

page 4

23.10.2007 5:24pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

Metal-1 Contact

Polygate

FIGURE 7.3 Top view scanning electron micrograph of a static RAM built using 0.13 mm groundrules and fully compatible with foundry CMOS integrated in BiCMOS 8HP.

TABLE 7.1

Passive Devices Offered in Both 8HP and 8WL Technologies

Resistors Diffused (n-type—ohms/sq.) Poly (p-type—ohms/sq.) Metal (TaN—ohms/sq.) Capacitors Hyper-abrupt varactor (VA ¼ 0 to
3 V) MOS varactor (VG ¼
1 to 1 V) MIMcap (fF/mm2) Decoupling (fF/mm2) Inductor AM with M1 groundplane Dual Cu with M1 groundplane Diodes Schottky barrier (Vf at 100 uA in mV) ESD protection

BiCMOS 8HP

BiCMOS 8WL

8.8, 73 340, 1700 60

73 220, 340, 1700 60

3.6:1 tuning 6:1 tuning 1 11

4:1 tuning 6:1 tuning 5 11

Q ¼ 19; L ¼ 1 nH Q ¼ 22.5; L ¼ 1 nH — Yes

350 Yes

total device area of 106 mm2 at 100 K power-on-hours (see Figure 7.4). This MIM capacitor is compatible with both Al and Cu BEOL integration as a modular element and does not require any changes to the standard BEOL processes to achieve high reliability. Due to the high frequency requirements in 8HP, the MIM capacitor is mostly limited by the minimum geometry possible as opposed to density. For example, to get 50 V impedance for applications in 60 to 80 GHz range, the MIM capacitor geometry of approximately 50 mm2 is reasonable to control if a 1.0 f F/mm2 capacitance density is utilized. The requirements for metallization also diverge due to the targeted application space for 8HP and 8WL. Clearly, the lower levels of metal wiring are required for tight-pitch CMOS integration that enables chip size reduction for system-on-chip integration trends observed in wireless applications. Analog metal above the standard CMOS wiring is needed to address several parameters such as inductor Q, transmission line, and wireability. In the case of 8HP, a standard 4-mm thick Al metal wire separated by at least 10 mm from metal-1 supports the 77 GHz transmission lines. This single metal scheme, however, is not optimal for varied wireless applications due to the cost and complexity considerations. In 8WL, therefore, multiple analog metal options are offered to address performance and cost tradeoffs. Figure 7.5 compares various options offered in 8WL relative to 8HP and base CMOS technology. Thick single and dual damascene Cu levels with tight pitch are utilized in 8WL to lower the wire and via resistance as well as to reduce the inductor footprint.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C007 Final Proof

page 5

23.10.2007 5:24pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

7-5

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: IBM

100 K µm2 single MIM capacitor

109

100KPOH

108

Time (s) to failure

107 106 105 104 103 102

Fit 1 PPM 10 PPM 100 PPM

101 100

6

8 10 12 Stress voltage (V)

14

16 18 20

FIGURE 7.4 A state-of-the-art MIM capacitor built using high-k dielectric with density of 5.0 fF/mm2 and a lifetime of 100K POH at 9.0 V. This device is integrated into the 8WL Cu BEOL metallurgy.

0.13 µm CMOS

8HP

8WL Option 1

8WL Option 2

8WL Option 3

AM

Al

RF/Analog module

EZ Cu

LY

E1

E1 LM

2X 2X 1X 1X 1X 1X

Standard CMOS ASIC Layers

FIGURE 7.5 Cross-sectional sketch of the BEOL metals in 0.13 mm BiCMOS technologies relative to the base CMOS configuration. Analog metal modules are kept thick to improve the inductor performance.

7.3

The SiGe HBT—Key Technology Elements

In this section, we discuss the key process modules that undergo optimization depending on the technology of choice, i.e., 8HP or 8WL. Primarily, we focus on the subcollector, base–emitter regions, and bipolar isolation. In order to attain the lowest collector resistance, high-performance transistors typically employ buried subcollector with an epi growth. In addition, collector epilayer thickness allows one to tune fT as well as

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C007 Final Proof

7-6

page 6

23.10.2007 5:24pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

allow for multiple breakdown voltage devices. This technique is employed in 8HP to achieve 200 GHz fT. For transistors where subcollector resistance is not the performance limiter, one can easily replace with an implanted subcollector, leading to a much simplified processing [10]. The desired subcollector offset, such as that attained by epitaxial layer growth, is set by the implantation depth and reduction to channeling tails. Special process considerations, such as resist profile and postimplant annealing, need to be employed for ensuring manufacturability. By using various layout techniques one can reduce the total collector resistance and improve fT, without compromising on the processing complexity. The best achievable sheet resistances from both these methods differ by at least an order of magnitude, at the expense of complexity or wafer cost. This difference results in an acceptable but modest peak-fT reduction (200 GHz).

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C008 Final Proof

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Jazz

page 9

18.10.2007 1:46pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

8-9

having a boron-doped silicon or silicon germanium base where the final base width was largely determined by subsequent thermal budget. The situation is different for a carbon-doped SiGe base profile since the use of carbon co-doping to arrest boron diffusion provides a level of independence from any subsequent thermal budget without compromising bipolar performance. However, while the design of the bipolar is less constrained, the CMOS is now limited by the thermal budget bake used to condition the surface prior to SiGe deposition. The optimization of thermal budget must strike a balance between CMOS performance and bipolar yield. Incomplete surface conditioning results in epi defectivity. This process is thermally activated with an activation energy of approximately 1.1 eV. As the footprint of the bipolar is reduced, some reduction in thermal budget will be possible. For example, shrinking the device area by half but keeping defectivity constant could allow nearly a 1008C reduction in bake temperature. Improvements of ex-situ wet processes and in-situ techniques for pre-cleaning and a reduction in active area due to lateral scaling can make it easier to integrate advanced SiGe devices with scaled CMOS.

SiGe npn Manufacturability A key to manufacturability of SiGe technology is the reuse of high-volume CMOS infrastructure. The maturity of process equipment, the high level of factory automation for recipe download and wafer handling, the yield management discipline, and the mechanisms for continuous improvement make it possible to deliver high-quality wafers in complex process technologies. For similar process complexity, as measured by the number of critical photomask layers or the number of process steps, the manufacturing cost and fab yield is comparable regardless of the technology specifics. It is the commitment to establishing process modules that are within the capability of the equipment set that makes it possible to deliver SiGe technology that is as repeatable and cost-effective as mainstream CMOS. RT-CVD has become the most commonly used process for silicon germanium epitaxy due to the commonality of equipment platforms with other production silicon technologies, and the advantages of single-wafer tools for small lot processes in the high mix manufacturing environment typical of many fabs. Single-wafer RT-CVD tools are used for process recipes such as epitaxial silicon growth on silicon substrates, deposition of heavily doped polycrystalline films, and selective silicon-raised source–drain structures. High-quality SiGe epitaxy required the addition of appropriate gas lines, procedures for minimizing oxygen and carbon contamination, and a redesigned wafer susceptor to achieve production worthy results. Focused efforts on both ex-situ and in-situ pre-clean capabilities were necessary to migrate from initial device level results to attainment of low defect density and high yield for typical levels of BiCMOS integration. Though usually limited to approximately 10,000 bipolar transistors and 250,000 CMOS gates for the integration of many analog/RF functions, the 0.18-mm technology must support upwards of 30,000 bipolar transistors and 1.5 million CMOS gates for practical designs. The ability to perform in-line measurement of SiGe epi thickness, germanium content, and boron doping level is required to establish typical production control charts. Spectroscopic ellipsometry can be used on production wafers to monitor SiGe epi thickness, as shown in Figure 8.8a. Demonstrated control of 1.64% 1-sigma variation provides feedback on the epi process. Measurement of poly thickness and in-line sheet resistance closes the loop for day-to-day SiGe manufacturing. Process variation related to the emitter formation, such as emitter pre-clean, in-situ poly doping, and final rapid thermal anneal, adds to the SiGe bipolar variability. Control of all of these parameters translates into resistances and vertical doping profiles that determine the range of bipolar fT, which is shown in Figure 8.8b to be 2.5% 1-sigma for over 40 production lots of a technology with mean fT greater than 155 GHz.

8.4

Process Customization

In a technology landscape where standardization is accepted as the most straightforward route to economies of scale, the modularity of Jazz technology stands as an example of mass customization.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C008 Final Proof page 10 18.10.2007 1:46pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

8-10

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

SiGe Epi thickness (Angstroms)

460

USL

450 440 430 Epi in-line measurement

420 410

LSL

400 0

10

20

(a)

30

40

Sampled lots

240

fT fmax (GHz)

220 220 180 160 140

fT fmax

120 100 0 (b)

10

20

30

40

Sampled lots

FIGURE 8.8 (a) In-line measurement of SiGe epi thickness for a 40 lot sample of 0.18-mm production wafers. (b) Control of process parameters related to bipolar performance is indicated by small fT and fmax variation for a sample of production lots.

This approach requires rethinking all elements of technology delivery: process development, design kits, design libraries, and manufacturing control systems.

Wireless Technology Wireless applications require high-performance bipolar transistors with high-quality passives, and CMOS density suitable for moderate levels of mixed-signal and logic integration. As the integration of multistandard and multifunction devices in analog/RF subsystems is addressed, higher voltage CMOS and bipolar device options are added to enable integration of power management and power amplification functions. This is achieved in a wireless focused version of the Jazz 0.18-mm SiGe BiCMOS (SiGe90) process by adding modules that meet RF subsystem requirements, such as high-Q capacitors, inductors, and varactors that enable improved RF performance and reduced die size. For handset transceivers, 1.8 V CMOS is not generally required as large digital blocks are often placed on a separate base-band chip. Thus, a single-gate 3.3 V MOS transistor option is available in SiGe90 to reduce mask count and cost. Deep-trench isolation can be removed as most RF blocks (outside of possibly the prescaler) make use of larger devices that do not benefit as much from use of deep trench and are not as sensitive to collector–substrate capacitance. Also, a transistor with 155 GHz peak fT is not relevant for 2–5 GHz applications that typically operate at lower current densities. Because of low parasitics, the higher BVceo devices still maintain a high fmax and provide very good noise and low-current performance. Three different top via and thick metal module options are available for usage depending on the cost, integration level, and inductor performance requirements. A module with 3-mm deep top via and

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C008 Final Proof page 11 18.10.2007 1:46pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Jazz

8-11

5.2-mm thick aluminum offers a significant enhancement in inductor performance or reduction in inductor area for the same level of performance. A 1 kOhm/sq p-type poly resistor provides footprint and matching suitable for 2 to 6 GHz RF circuit design. Upgrade of the MIM capacitor to 2.0 fF/-mm2, or 4.0 fF/mm2 in its stacked topology, reduces capacitor area by using a scaled version of a nitride dielectric.

High Data Rate and High-Frequency Technology To enable implementation of circuits with data rates above 10 Gb/sec or frequencies up to 60 GHz, a fully featured version of the Jazz 0.18-mm SiGe BiCMOS process, SiGe120, is offered. The device set includes dual-gate 1.8/3.3 V CMOS and three SiGe npn transistors with fT of 155/78/38 GHz, four layers of standard metalization for dense digital logic and embedded SRAM, low-capacitance thin film metal resistors for high-frequency operation, a linear MIM capacitor with high Q, and two thick layers of aluminum (1.5 and 3.0-mm) for implementation of transmission lines and inductors. The addition of a higher performance SiGe npn transistor module with peak fT over 200 GHz (SiGe200), and higher fT and fmax over a large range of collector current, enables lower power circuits for networking applications, emerging wireless data standards from 20 to 60 GHz, and even collision-avoidance radar above 60 GHz for automobiles.

8.5

Summary

Adding new features that build on established technology has resulted in a family of processes that offer a combination of active devices, passive components, and interconnect schemes specifically optimized for different types of products. In the mobile phone, extending the voltage capability of the transistor to 5 to 8 V to meet the requirements of RF power control, power management, and low drop out regulation enables higher levels of analog and RF product integration. High-density passives to scale down capacitor and inductor area can be more important to the reduction of die size than the scaling of digital blocks. Use of only the necessary process modules reduces overall manufacturing complexity, and ultimately cost of a design for a specific market segment. This specialty roadmap for analog and RF functional scaling will repeat with the maturation of subsequent generations of CMOS technology. There will be less emphasis on linewidth reduction and more effort related to the reuse of advanced CMOS process equipment for new materials and structures that advance the functional scaling of highly integrated mixed-signal, analog, and RF products.

Acknowledgments The author would like to thank the entire Jazz Semiconductor team for their technology development efforts, as well Marco Racanelli and Greg U’Ren for their direct contributions to this manuscript.

References 1. M Racanelli, Z Zhang, J Zheng, A Kar-Roy, P Joshi, A Kalburge, L Nathawad, M Todd, C Ukah, C Hu, C Compton, K Schuegraf, P Ye, R Dowlatshahi, G Jolly, and P Kempf. BC35: a 0.35 mm, 30 GHz, Production RF BiCMOS Technology. Proceedings of the Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Minneapolis, 1999, pp. 125–128. 2. A Chantre, M Marty, JL Regolini, M Mouis, J de Pontcharra, D Dutartre, C Morin, D Gloria, S Jouan, R Pantel, M Laurens, and A Monroy. A high performance low complexity SiGe HBT for BiCMOS integration. Proceedings of the Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Minneapolis, 1998, pp. 93–100. 3. JS Rieh, B Jagannathan, H Chen, KT Schonenberg, D Angell, A Chinthakindi, J Florkey, F Golan, D Greenberg, SJ Jeng, M Khater, F Pagette, C Schnabel, P Smith, A Stricker, K Vaed, R Volant, D Ahlgren, G Freemen, K Stein, and S Subbanna. SiGe HBTs with cut-off frequency of 350 GHz. IEDM Technical Digest International Electron Devices Meeting, San Francisco, 2002, pp. 771–774.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

8-12

66870_C008 Final Proof page 12 18.10.2007 1:46pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

4. M Racanelli and P Kempf. SiGe BiCMOS technology for communication systems. Extended Abstracts of the International Conference on Solid State Devices and Materials, Nagoya, 2002, pp. 286–287. 5. M Racanelli, K Schuegraf, A Kalburge, A Kar-Roy, B Shen, C Hu, D Chapek, D Howard, D Quon, F Wang, G U’Ren, L Lao, H Tu, J Zheng, J Zhang, K Bell, K Yin, P Joshi, S Akhtar, S Vo, T Lee, W Shi, and P Kempf. Ultra high speed SiGe npn for advanced BiCMOS technology, International Electron Devices Meeting Washington, 2001, pp. 01-337–15.3.4. 6. K Oda, E Ohue, I Suzumura, R Hayami, A Kodama, I Shimamoto, and K Washio. Self-aligned selective-epitaxial-growth Si1xy GexCy HBT technology featuring 170-GHz fmax. International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 2001, pp. 2–5. 7. M Racanelli and P Kempf. SiGe BiCMOS technology for communication products, Custom Integrated Circuits Conference, San Jose, 2003, pp. 331–334. 8. M Kamat, P Ye, Y He, B Agarwal, P Good, S Lloyd, and A Loke. High performance low current CDMA receiver front end using 0.18-mm SiGe BiCMOS. IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium, Philadelphia, 2003, pp. 23–26. 9. P Ma, M Racanelli, J Zheng, and M Knight. A 1.4 mA and 3 mW, SiGe90, BiFET low noise amplifier for wireless portable applications. IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium, Philadelphia, 2003, pp. 237–240. 10. P Ye, B Agarwal, M Reddy, L Li, J Cheng, PC Mudge, E McCarthy, and SL Lloyd. High performance circuits in 0.18-mm SiGe BiCMOS process for wireless applications. IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium, Seattle, 2002, pp. 329–332. 11. M Racanelli, P Ma, and P Kempf. SiGe BiCMOS technology for highly integrated wireless transceivers. 25th GaAs IC Symposium, San Diego, 2003, pp. 183–186.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C009 Final Proof

page 1

18.10.2007 1:47pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

9 Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Hitachi

Katsuyoshi Washio Hitachi Ltd.

9.1

9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5

Introduction......................................................................... 9-1 SiGe HBT Technologies ...................................................... 9-2 SiGe BiCMOS Technologies ............................................... 9-6 Interconnection and Passive Elements .............................. 9-9 Summary ............................................................................ 9-11

Introduction

High-speed monolithic integrated circuits (ICs) and large-scale ICs (LSIs) are the key components for multigigabit data communication systems and wide-bandwidth radio communication systems. Such systems include backbone networks, intercity communication networks, local area networks, and Ethernet for data communications, and microwave and millimeter-wave mobile networks, fixed wireless access, and intelligent transport systems for radio communications. To meet the growing demand for such systems, both high-speed digital operation with sophisticated functions and high-frequency analog operation should be implemented. From this point of view, high-speed SiGe HBT and SiGe HBT with CMOS (BiCMOS) technologies are the most promising candidates to meet these requirements. This is because SiGe HBTs with a sub-5-psec ECL-gate delay and cutoff frequency about 200 GHz have been successfully demonstrated and can be fabricated by the well-established Si process, which is fully compatible with the CMOS process. For the widespread application of these devices in high-speed digital and RF analog ICs/LSIs, SiGe HBTs must be fabricated at a high yield. Moreover, high-quality passive elements, including high-precision resistors, a high-Q varactor, an MIM capacitor, and high-Q inductors, should also be available for integration on a chip. Consequently, technologies for fabricating a self-aligned SiGe HBT by selective epitaxial growth (SEG) and SiGe BiCMOS have been developed. This self-aligned SEG concept can be expected to achieve highspeed and low-power performance as a result of small parasitic resistances and capacitances. A selfaligned SEG SiGe HBT that has shallow-trench and dual-deep-trench isolations (DTIs) and Ti–salicide electrodes was fabricated on a 200-mm wafer line. The fabrication process is almost completely compatible with the 0.2-mm BiCMOS technology that is applied in fabricating fast-cache memory chips. To improve cutoff frequency, maximum oscillation frequency, and ECL-gate delay, optimization of the width of the SiGe SEG layer and the thickness of the Si-cap layer, incorporation of C to suppress B out-diffusion, and application of thin and heavily-boron-doped base have been investigated. In the case of SiGe BiCMOS technology, CMOS devices with gate lengths of 0.25 mm to 80 nm were integrated. For both the SiGe HBT and BiCMOS technologies, a four-level or five-level metal layer structure for interconnection was formed by chemical–mechanical polishing (CMP). Concerning the integration 9-1

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C009 Final Proof

9-2

page 2

18.10.2007 1:47pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

of high-quality passive elements, a high-precision poly-Si resistor with a ‘‘quasi-layer-on-layer’’ structure, a high-Q varactor constructed of a SiGe-base and a Si-collector junction, an MIM capacitor formed between the first and second metal layers by plasma SiO2 as an insulator, and a high-Q inductor fabricated by using the fourth metal layer are available for integration on the same chips as active devices.

9.2

SiGe HBT Technologies

A scanning electron microscopy (SEM) cross-sectional view of a 0.2-mm self-aligned SEG SiGe HBT is shown in Figure 9.1, including an enlarged view of the active region, the key part of the SiGe HBT [1]. The 0.6-mm-wide Si-cap/SiGe-base multilayer was selectively grown in self-alignment with the 0.2-mmwide emitter by ultrahigh vacuum/chemical vapor deposition (UHV/CVD) [2]. A poly-Si-assisted selfaligned SEG (PASS) structure was applied to provide a good link between the intrinsic SiGe and extrinsic

Base

Emitter

Collector 1st metal

Ti salicide

W 1 µm

Shallow trench Dual deep trench

IDP 0.2 µm Base poly Si

Si/SiGe SEG Poly-SiGe

Buffer poly-Si

FIGURE 9.1 An SEM cross-sectional view of a 0.2-mm self-aligned SEG SiGe HBT with an enlarged active region, the key part of the SiGe HBT. A 0.6-mm-wide Si-cap/SiGe-base multilayer self-aligned to a 0.2-mm-wide emitter was selectively grown by UHV/CVD. A poly-Si-assisted self-aligned SEG (PASS) structure, shallow-trench and dualdeep-trench isolations, and Ti–salicide electrodes were applied. (From K. Washio, M. Kondo, E. Ohue, K. Oda, R. Hayami, M. Tanabe, H. Shimamoto, and T. Harada. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 48:1989–1994, 2001. With permission.)

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C009 Final Proof

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Hitachi

page 3

18.10.2007 1:47pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

9-3

poly-Si bases [3,4]. In the PASS structure, a poly-SiGe base contact was grown, at the same time as the intrinsic SiGe base, around the buffer poly-Si and beneath the extrinsic base poly-Si. This self-aligned active-region structure enabled both low collector capacitance and low base resistance. Furthermore, 0.4-mm-deep shallow-trench isolation (STI) and 0.6-mm-wide 3-mm-DTIs were used to reduce the parasitic capacitances of the collector and substrate, respectively. Ti–salicide layers, with a sheet resistance of 3 V/sq. and contact resistance of about 25 V mm2, were formed on all the electrodes to reduce their parasitic resistances. The process steps in the fabrication of the self-aligned SEG SiGe HBT are explained as follows (Figure 9.2). An nþ buried layer (BL) was formed by ion implantation of antimony followed by annealing. A 0.3-mm-thick Si epitaxial layer was then formed. Next, the shallow- and dual-deep-trench grooves for the isolation were formed and filled up with SiO2 by planarization with CMP. Next, the intrinsic region was covered by the three successively deposited films of Si3N4, poly-Si, and SiO2. This multilayer was used to form the PASS structure. An amorphous Si film for the base poly-Si and a thick SiO2 film were then deposited, and a window to the intrinsic region was opened in these films by etching. The first selectively implanted collector (SIC1) region was then formed by phosphorus-ion implantation through the multilayer and into the Si epitaxial layer. After that, the SiO2 film remained on the sidewall of the window after reactive-ion etching (RIE). The Si3N4 film was then deposited, and it remained on the sidewall of the window. At that time, the top film of the multilayer, the Si3N4, was etched. After that, the remaining films of multilayer, poly-Si and SiO2, were selectively etched. The Si3N4 film was then removed from the sidewall, and the window in the Si3N4 film of the multilayer was enlarged by wet side-etching. Next, the Si-cap/SiGe-base multilayer was selectively grown by UHV/CVD using Si2H6, GeH4, and B2H6 source gases at 5508C for the SiGe layer and Si2H6 at 5808C for the Si layer. The SEG layer consisted of a 15-nm-thick Si cap, 20-nm-thick

FIGURE 9.2 Process steps for fabricating the self-aligned SEG SiGe HBT. (From K. Washio, M. Kondo, E. Ohue, K. Oda, R. Hayami, M. Tanabe, H. Shimamoto, and T. Harada. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 48:1989–1994, 2001. With permission.)

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C009 Final Proof

9-4

page 4

18.10.2007 1:47pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

Si1
xGex , 40-nm-thick Si0.85Ge0.15, and 10-nm-thick Ge-retrograded (from 15% to 0) Si1
xGex . A 15-nm-thick 2  1019 cm
3 boron-doped Si1
xGex layer was formed as the intrinsic base. The poly-SiGe base contact was formed simultaneously with the intrinsic SEG, and this formation was assisted by the middle film of the multilayer, the poly-Si (which was used as a buffer). Next, phosphorus ions were implanted in the lower part of the SEG layer to form the second SIC region (SIC2). Double selective implantations of phosphorous were applied to increase the collector-doping level to about 1  1018 cm
3. Thin SiO2 and in situ phosphorus-doped poly-Si (IDP) layers were deposited, and the IDP film remained on the sidewall of the window. After an emitter area had been opened by wet etching of the thin SiO2, a second IDP layer was deposited. A shallow emitter with a junction depth of about 20 nm was formed by diffusion from the IDP layers into the Si-cap layer at 9008C for 30 sec. Next, Ti–salicide layers on all electrodes of the emitter, base, and collector were formed simultaneously in a self-aligned manner. The SiGe HBT was fabricated on a 200-mm wafer line and the process to fabricate the SiGe HBTs is, with the exception of the SEG, almost the same as the 0.2-mm BiCMOS process [5]. The process is thus completely compatible with BiCMOS technology. The designed profile of the SiGe layer after SEG, featuring dual plateaus with an intermediately Ge-graded slope (DPIG), is shown in Figure 9.3. The Ge profile of the SiGe layer was designed as follows: two plateaus with Ge contents of 10% (on the surface side) and 15% (on the substrate side), a 5-nm-thick Ge-graded layer between the plateaus, and two Ge-graded layers at the interfaces with the Si-epitaxial and Si-cap layers. This DPIG Ge profile was designed to enable precise controllability of the collector current against deviation in the position of the emitter–base junction. At the end of the process, the base was about 30-nm wide, so the two plateaus and the intermediate Ge-graded layer were located in the base. Note that this layer provided an internal drift field in the conduction band and enabled a short base transit time and a high Early voltage in a similar way to the conventional graded-Ge profile. The emitter–base junction was located at the 10%-Ge plateau, and the thickness of this plateau was sufficient to suppress changes in the effective base Gummel number caused by deviation in the emitter–junction depth. The SiGe HBT, with an emitter area AE of 0.2  2 mm, exhibited good I–V performance with a high current gain of 1400. The ideality factor of the base current IB was 1.10, and the base-recombination current was below 10 pA. The HBT yield, measured from 4000 parallel-connected transistors, was more than 99.9993%. These DC characteristics show that no defects were created in the strained Si/SiGe multilayer during the thermal cycles for the HBT formation. The slope of the Arrhenius plot of the normalized current gain indicates that the Ge-induced bandgap reduction for the strained SiGe base layer

NB = 2
1019 cm−3 w B = 15 nm

B

Ge content (%)

15

Ge2

10

Ge1 SEG I/F

5

0 0

20

40 60 Depth (nm)

80

100

FIGURE 9.3 A schematic view of the designed profile, featuring dual plateaus with intermediate Ge-graded slope (DPIG) for the SiGe layer after SEG. Ge1 is the Ge content of the lower plateau and Ge2 is that of the upper plateau. At the end of the process the base was about 30 nm wide, so both plateaus and the intermediate Ge-graded layer were located in the base. (From K. Washio. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 50:656–668, 2003. With permission.)

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C009 Final Proof

page 5

18.10.2007 1:47pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

9-5

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Hitachi

was 110 meV, which verifies that there was no relaxation in the SiGe layer. The typical transistor characteristics of a SiGe HBT with an emitter area of 0.2  2 mm are summarized in Table 9.1. Figure 9.4 shows the dependence of the differential ECL gate-delay time on the switching current as measured from 53-stage ring oscillators with a fan-in and a fan-out of 1 at a single-ended voltage swing VL of 250 mV and a supply voltage of 3.5 V. The SiGe HBTs have an emitter area of 0.2  2 mm. A minimum ECL-gate delay time of 5.5 psec was measured at a switching current of 2 mA. Analysis of the delay components that made up this delay time showed that the contributions of load resistance, base resistance, forward transit time, and other factors were 1.48, 2.39, 0.93, and 0.70 psec, respectively. The power-delay product of the ECL circuit composed of a SiGe HBTwith an emitter area of 0.2  0.5 mm was low, i.e., 4.4 f J. The fast- and low-power performance of the ECL gate was attributed to the low collector capacitance and the low substrate capacitance enabled by the shallow-trench and dual-DTIs, high fT and fmax of the fully selfaligned SEG SiGe HBT structure, and the low parasitic resistance of the Ti–salicide electrodes.

TABLE 9.1 Typical SiGe HBT Characteristics with an Emitter Area of 0.2  2 mm 0.2  2 mm2 1400 1.9 V 3.0 V 6.3 V 90 V 3.6 fF 1.8 fF 122 GHz 163 GHz 5.5 ps

Emitter area Current gain BVCEO BVCER BVCBO Base resistance Collector capacitance Substrate capacitance Cutoff frequency Max. oscillation frequency ECL min. gate delay

Source : K. Washio. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 50:656–668, 2003. With permission.

30 Differential ECL gate AE = 0.2
2 µm

53-stage R. O. 10

50 mV/div.

ECL gate delay time (ps)

20

VL = 250 mV

8 500 ps/div. 6 5.5 ps 4 0.3

3 1 Switching current (mA)

10

FIGURE 9.4 Dependence of the differential ECL gate-delay time on the switching current as measured from ring oscillators. Each SiGe HBT had an emitter area of 0.2  2 mm and ran at a single-ended voltage swing VL of 250 mV and a supply voltage of 3.5 V. The fan-in and fan-out were 1. The output waveform of a 53-stage ECL ring oscillator as measured at a switching current of 2 mA is also shown. A minimum ECL gate-delay time of 5.5 psec was measured. (From K. Washio. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 50:656–668, 2003. With permission.)

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C009 Final Proof

9-6

page 6

18.10.2007 1:47pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

Optimization of the device structure and the intrinsic impurity profile were investigated [6,7]. They are related to the collector–base and emitter–base junctions of the self-aligned SEG SiGe HBTs by varying the width of the SiGe SEG layer and the thickness of the Si-cap layer, respectively. The incorporation of carbon to suppress boron out-diffusion of the base was performed [8]. This is effective both to improve high-speed performance and to reduce fluctuations in device performance by alleviating the lattice strain. Furthermore, a thin and heavily-boron-doped base toward a thickness of 1 nm is applied [9]. As a result, a cutoff frequency of 174 GHz, a maximum oscillation frequency of 204 GHz, and an ECL-gate delay of 4.8 psec were obtained. For low-power and high-speed operation, a scaled-down SiGe HBT, structurally optimized for an emitter scaled-down towards 100 nm, was also developed [10].

9.3

SiGe BiCMOS Technologies

A cross-sectional SEM image of the 0.2-mm self-aligned SEG SiGe HBT, a CMOS transistor, and a polySi resistor on an SOI (1-mm-thick Si on 0.3-mm-thick insulator) wafer based on an HRS (resistivity of about 1 kV cm) is shown in Figure 9.5 [11]. The SiGe HBT was fabricated in the manner described above. A 4  1019 cm
3 boron-doped 10-nm-thick (as SEG) Si0.95Ge0.05 layer was used as the intrinsic base. A 0.5-mm-wide DTI reaches the buried SiO2. The drawn CMOS gate lengths were 0.25 mm (nMOS) and 0.3 mm (pMOS). The gate electrode was constructed of a layer of 50-nm-thick TiSi2 (formed simultaneously with the other electrodes) stacked on 300-nm-thick nþ-doped poly-Si. The process sequence of SiGe BiCMOS is shown in Figure 9.6. The standard steps of the bipolar fabrication process were carried out from the formation of the nþ buried collector layer to the deep trench isolation. A 0.3-mm CMOS process module was then inserted. The thickness of the gate oxide was 6.5 nm. A poly-Si resistor was also formed from nþ-doped gate poly-Si for low sheet resistance (LR). After CMOS formation, the process sequence returns to continue with the bipolar process sequence. During the fabrication of self-aligned SEG SiGe HBTs, the CMOS and poly-Si resistor areas are covered by SiO2. A poly-Si layer was deposited and patterned. Boron and germanium ions were then implanted

M4 (3µm)

M3 MIM-C M2 M1

via TiSi2 poly Si-R

SiO2 (0.3 µm)

SiGe HBT

HRS (1 kΩcm)

nMOS

pMOS

5 µm

FIGURE 9.5 Cross-sectional SEM image of a 0.2-mm self-aligned SEG SiGe HBT, a CMOS transistor (drawn gate lengths were 0.25 mm for nMOS and 0.3 mm for pMOS), and a poly-Si resistor on a 200-mm SOI (1-mm-thick Si on 0.3-mm-thick insulator) wafer based on an HRS (resistivity of about 1 kV cm). A four-level metal (M1–M4) layer structure was used for interconnection. (From K. Washio, E. Ohue, H. Shimamoto, K. Oda, R. Hayami, Y. Kiyota, M. Tanabe, M. Kondo, T. Hashimoto, and T. Harada. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 49:271–278, 2002. With permission.)

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C009 Final Proof

page 7

18.10.2007 1:47pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

9-7

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Hitachi

SiGe HBT n+ buried collector (Sb+) n− epitaxial growth (0.3 µm) Shallow (0.35 µm) trench isolation Collector plug Deep (1µm) trench isolation MR & HR poly-Si (w/ Ge I/I) Base poly-Si (0.2 µm) Emitter window & SIC1 SiGe SEG & SIC2 Emitter poly-Si (in-situ P-doped)

CMOS n & p well I/I Gate poly-Si (LR) PTS I/I & LDD n & p S/D I/I

Ti-salicide Contact & W plug 1st metal & via MIM capacitor 2nd to 4th metal

FIGURE 9.6 Process sequence for 0.2-mm SOI/HRS SEG SiGe HBT/CMOS. A 0.3-mm CMOS process module was inserted after formation of the trench isolations. (From K. Washio, E. Ohue, H. Shimamoto, K. Oda, R. Hayami, Y. Kiyota, M. Tanabe, M. Kondo, T. Hashimoto, and T. Harada. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 49:271–278, 2002. With permission.)

to form pþ poly-Si resistors for medium (MR) and high (HR) sheet resistances. After the deposition of oxide, a 0.2-mm-thick poly-Si layer was formed for the base electrode. Phosphorous ions were implanted after the emitter window opening to form SIC1 and after the SiGe SEG to form SIC2. This can provide optimized collector profiles for both high-speed and high-voltage HBTs. The formation of the emitter poly-Si electrode is followed by the process sequence of an interconnection process module. Numbers of masks used were ten for the SiGe HBTs, ten for the CMOS transistors, and three for the poly-Si resistors. The effectiveness of the DPIG Ge profile was confirmed by the dependence of the current gain on Ge1, the Ge content of the lower plateau. As a result, even for HBTs with various Ge2 (the Ge content of the upper plateau) in the range from 7.5% to 15%, the collector current was well controlled by Ge1 and was independent of Ge2. This indicates that the collector current is mainly determined by the bandgap narrowing of the lower plateau. Therefore, the lower plateau suppresses the change in the effective base Gummel number, which occurs with the conventional graded-Ge profile because of the fluctuation in the emitter–junction depth. Good I–V performance, with a current gain of about 300, is confirmed in the Gummel plots for single and 104 parallel-connected HBTs with an emitter area AE of 0.2  1 mm. The averaged forward base tunneling current was about 2 pA/HBT. The respective ideality factors of the collector current IC and base current IB were 1.007 and 1.075. The current gain was higher than 100 in the zlow-collector-current region up to 1 nA. The HBT yield, as measured from sets of 104 HBTs connected in parallel, was about 99.9997%, which means the defect density was about 2000 defects/cm2 under the assumption of a relaxed-limited yield. This means that the limit on the number of HBTs that may be integrated is about 105. The reliability under the forward- and reverse-bias stressing was investigated and compared with manufactural Si BJTs with guaranteed 10-year operation as a control. No change in the collector and base current were viable at JC up to 60 mA/mm2 under forward-bias stress, and a similar behavior of the base current to that of a Si BJT under reverse-bias stress up to a VEB of 3.5 V were observed. As a result, high reliability of SiGe HBTs was confirmed. The HBT characteristics, breakdown voltage, and high-frequency performance were controlled by the collector sheet concentration NS through the double selective phosphorus implantations in the 0.3-mmthick Si epitaxial layer and in the undoped SiGe. The breakdown voltage BVCEO was 2.5 V for the HSHBT and 3.9 V for the HV-HBT. The high Early voltage VA of more than 100 V for both HBTs indicates that the collector current was determined by the drift field created by the bandgap grading. The dependence of the cutoff frequency fT and maximum oscillation frequency fmax on the collector current

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C009 Final Proof

9-8

page 8

18.10.2007 1:47pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

for the HS-HBT with an emitter area AE of 0.2  1 mm and the HV-HBT with an AE of 0.2  4 mm are shown in Figure 9.7. The peak fT of the HS-HBT with an emitter area AE of 0.2  1 mm and the HV-HBT with an AE of 0.2  4 mm were 76 and 47 GHz, respectively. The peak fT for the HV-HBT was about 60% of that for the HS-HBT, and the collector current density at the peak fT for the HV-HBT was about one fourth of that for the HS-HBT. The dependence of the peak fT on BVCEO was also investigated, and their product was about 190 GHz V. The peak fmax for the HS-HBT was 180 GHz and even that for the

100 HS-HBT AE = 0.2
1 µm

Cutoff frequency (GHz)

80

60

40

20

0 0.1

HV-HBT AE = 0.2
4 µm

0.3

1

3

Collector current (mA)

(a)

40

150

HS-HBT AE = 0.2
1µm

30

10

10 100 Frequency (GHz)

40

50

0.3

fmax 180 GHz

VCE = 2 V IC = 0.7 mA 1

HV-HBT AE = 0.2
4 µm

U

MSG/ MAG

20

0 100

0 0.1 (b)

MSG/MAG, U (dB)

AE = 0.2
1 µm HS-HBT

1

Collector current (mA)

3

MSG/MAG, U (dB)

Maximum oscillation frequency (GHz)

200

HV-HBT AE = 0.2
4 µm

30

U

20

MSG/ MAG

10

VCE = 2 V IC = 0.7 mA

0 1

fmax 125 GHz

10 100 Frequency (GHz)

FIGURE 9.7 Dependence of the cutoff frequencies (a) and maximum oscillation frequencies (b) on collector current for the HS-HBT with an emitter area AE of 0.2  1 mm and the HV-HBT with an AE of 0.2  4 mm. (From K. Washio, E. Ohue, H. Shimamoto, K. Oda, R. Hayami, Y. Kiyota, M. Tanabe, M. Kondo, T. Hashimoto, and T. Harada. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 49:271–278, 2002. With permission.)

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C009 Final Proof

page 9

18.10.2007 1:47pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

9-9

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Hitachi TABLE 9.2 Typical Transistor Parameters for the HS-HBT with an Emitter Area AE of 0.2  1 mm and the HV-HBT with an AE of 0.2  4 mm

WE (mm) LE (mm) hFE n VA (V) BVCEO (V) BVCBO (V) RB (V) RE (V) CJE (fF) CJC (fF) CSUB (fF) fT (GHz) fmax (GHz) min ECL tpd (psec)

HS

HV

0.2 1 300 1.007 >100 2.5 10.0 120 27 9 1.9 1.1 76 180 7.8

0.2 4 300 1.007 >100 3.9 11.5 45 9 13.4 3.4 2.2 47 125 –

Source: K. Washio, E. Ohue, H. Shimamoto, K. Oda, R. Hayami, Y. Kiyota, M. Tanabe, M. Kondo, T. Hashimoto, and T. Harada. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 49:271–278, 2002. With permission.

HV-HBT was 125 GHz, thanks to both the low collector capacitance, which was a result of the selfaligned SEG structure and optimized collector profile, and the low base resistance. These results indicate that both HBTs are very suitable for high-frequency analog applications. Typical transistor parameters for the HS-HBT with an emitter area AE of 0.2  1 mm and the HV-HBT with an AE of 0.2  4 mm are summarized in Table 9.2. Here, CSUB was reduced to about 60% of that without SOI [12]. This is because CSUB is given by the series connection of the depletion capacitance under the nþ buried collector and the capacitance of the buried oxide. To improve the functionality, scaled CMOS with gate lengths of 0.18 mm [13], 0.13 mm [14], and 80 nm [15] in SiGe BiCMOS technologies have been advanced by optimizing process flow and reducing thermal budgets.

9.4

Interconnection and Passive Elements

A cross-sectional view of the four-level structure of metal layers with an MIM capacitor is also shown in Figure 9.5. The structure of metal layers for use in interconnection was fabricated by applying CMP to planarize the tungsten deposited for the 0.5-mm-wide contact plugs and 0.6  0.6-mm via holes and to planarize the plasma–SiO2 interlayer insulators. All of the metal layers were multilayered structures of Al, Ti, and TiN. A concave MIM capacitor with a capacitance of 0.7 fF/mm2 was formed between the first- and second-level metal layers by using a 50-nm-thick layer of plasma SiO2 as an insulator. The third- and fourth-level (3-mm-thick Al) metal layers made up high-Q spiral inductors. Eleven masks were used for the four-level structure of metal layers for interconnection, including the MIM capacitor. Precise resistors were formed from pþ poly-Si, with a ‘‘quasi-layer-on-layer’’ structure fabricated by Ge implantation, for medium and high sheet resistances (MR, HR) in the SiGe BiCMOS. A cross-sectional TEM image of a precise poly-Si resistor is shown in Figure 9.8. By using high-dose Ge implantation, roughly the upper half of the poly-Si layer with small grains as deposited (deposition temperature TD was higher than 6008C) became amorphous. It then changed to large-grain poly-Si by recrystallization after annealing. The ‘‘quasi-layer-on-layer’’ structure was thus fabricated. The temperature coefficient TC of resistance for large-grain poly-Si is positive, while that for small-grain poly-Si is negative. Therefore, these opposite characteristics act to cancel out the temperature dependence of the resistance. Furthermore, this

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C009 Final Proof page 10 18.10.2007 1:47pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

9-10

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

Poly-Si deposition (TD>600C) Small-grain poly-Si

B and Ge I/I (high dose) Amorphous Si Small-grain poly-Si

Annealing (recrystallization)

Positive TC

Large-grain poly-Si Small-grain poly-Si Negative TC

Large grains

Small grains

50 nm FIGURE 9.8 Cross-sectional TEM image of a precise poly-Si resistor formed from pþ poly-Si with a ‘‘quasi-layeron-layer’’ structure fabricated by Ge implantation, for both medium sheet resistance (MR) and high sheet resistance (HR) in the SiGe BiCMOS. (From K. Washio. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 50:656–668, 2003. With permission.)

‘‘quasi-layer-on-layer’’ structure made the precise control of the sheet resistance possible; the sheet resistance was mainly determined by the thickness of the upper large-grain poly-Si layer with low resistivity, and its thickness could be controlled well by the Ge-implantation energy. The parameters of the passive elements are summarized in Table 9.3. An ordinary nþ poly-Si resistor, LR (low sheet resistance of 65 V/sq.), had a temperature coefficient of 600 ppm/8C. On the other hand, both types of pþ poly-Si resistors with a ‘‘quasi-layer-on-layer’’ structure, MR (medium sheet resistance of 220 V/sq.) and HR (high sheet resistance of 635 V/sq.), had low temperature coefficients of 330 and 180 ppm/8C, respectively. The MIM capacitor with an area of 50  100 mm and a capacitance of 4.2 pF, which is usually used to stabilize the supply voltage, had an adequate Q of 13 at 10 GHz. In 10 parallelconnected varactors, each with a SiGe-base and Si-collector junction area of 2.3  2.3 mm, the ratio of Cmax to Cmin for VCB of 0 to 3 V was 1.8 and Q was 45 at 10 GHz and a VCB of 1.5 V. This high-Q varactor is applicable to oscillators with a high-purity signal spectrum for use in mobile communications. A three-turn square (132 mm on the outer sides) spiral inductor with a cavity at the center and a line width/line-to-line space of 6/3 mm was formed on a standard low-resistivity substrate (LRS) in the SiGe HBT process. It had L value of 1.36 nH and Q of 8.8 at 5.8 GHz, and L of 1.45 nH and Q of 15.1 at 10 GHz. The octagonal spiral inductor on the SOI/HRS was compared with that on an SOI/LRS. The width and spacing were 9 and 3 mm, respectively. The frequency dependence of the inductance was the

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C009 Final Proof page 11 18.10.2007 1:47pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

9-11

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Hitachi TABLE 9.3 Resistor

Passive-Element Parameters nþ poly (LR) pþ poly (MR) pþ poly (HR)

Capacitor

MIM

Varactor

MOS SiGe/Si

Inductor

Oct. spiral

65 V/sq. 600 ppm/8C 220 V/sq. 330 ppm/8C 635 V/sq. 180 ppm/8C 0.7 fF/mm2 13 Q(10 GHz) 4.7 fF/mm2 1.8 (Cmax/Cmin) 45 Q(10 GHz) 0.95/19 nH/Q (10 GHz)

Source : K. Washio, E. Ohue, H. Shimamoto, K. Oda, R. Hayami, Y. Kiyota, M. Tanabe, M. Kondo, T. Hashimoto, and T. Harada. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 49:271–278, 2002. With permission.

same on the HRS and LRS; however, Q of the HRS became higher at frequencies above 5 GHz, and Q at 15 GHz on the HRS was about twice that on the LRS. These results indicate that the high-resistivity substrate is effective in reducing conductive loss through the Si substrate in the microwave band. The octagonal spiral inductor on the HRS, with an L value of 0.95 nH, showed a high-Q of 19 at 10 GHz.

9.5

Summary

Self-aligned SiGe HBT and BiCMOS technologies have been developed. A Si-cap/SiGe-base multilayer fabricated by the SEG method was applied to improve both high-speed and low-power performance of the SiGe HBTs. The process is almost completely compatible with well-established Si BiCMOS technology, and the SiGe HBT and BiCMOS were fabricated on a 200-mm wafer line. To meet the demand for the integration of sophisticated functions, high-quality passive elements, including a high-precision poly-Si resistor, a high-Q varactor, an MIM capacitor, and a high-Q spiral inductor, have also been developed.

Acknowledgments The author would like to express his sincere thanks to Dr. A. Anzai, Dr. Y. Hatta, and H. Hosoe at the Hitachi Device Development Center (HDDC), and Dr. O. Kanehisa, Dr. K. Seki, and K. Kimura at the Hitachi Central Research Laboratory (HCRL) for their encouragement. The author would also like to express his sincere thanks to Dr. T. Onai, E. Ohue, K. Oda, Dr. M. Kondo, H. Shimamoto, M. Tanabe, R. Hayami, Dr. Y. Kiyota, I. Suzumura, Dr. M. Miura, A. Kodama at HCRL, and to T. Harada, K. Mikami, T. Hashimoto, S. Wada, T. Tominari, K. Tokunaga at HDDC for their extensive contributions throughout this work.

References 1. K. Washio, M. Kondo, E. Ohue, K. Oda, R. Hayami, M. Tanabe, H. Shimamoto, and T. Harada. A 0.2-mm self-aligned selective-epitaxial-growth SiGe HBT featuring 107-GHz fmax and 6.7-ps ECL. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 48:1989–1994, 2001. 2. K. Oda, E. Ohue, M. Tanabe, H. Shimamoto, T. Onai, and K. Washio. 130-GHz fT SiGe HBT technology. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, DC, 1997, pp. 791–794.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

9-12

66870_C009 Final Proof page 12 18.10.2007 1:47pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

3. K. Washio, E. Ohue, K. Oda, M. Tanabe, H. Shimamoto, T. Onai, and M. Kondo. A selectiveepitaxial-growth SiGe-base HBT with SMI electrodes featuring 9.3-ps ECL-gate delay. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 46:1411–1416, 1999. 4. K. Washio. SiGe HBT and BiCMOS technologies for optical transmission and wireless communication systems. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 50:656–668, 2003. 5. T. Hashimoto, T. Kikuchi, K. Watanabe, N. Ohashi, T. Saito, H. Yamaguchi, S. Wada, N. Natsuaki, M. Kondo, S. Kondo, Y. Homma, N. Owada, and T. Ikeda. A 0.2-mm bipolar-CMOS technology on bonded SOI with copper metallization for ultra high-speed processors. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, San Francisco, 1998, pp. 209–212. 6. E. Ohue, R. Hayami, K. Oda, H. Shimamoto, and K. Washio. 5.3-ps ECL and 71-GHz static frequency divider in self-aligned SEG SiGe HBT. Technical Digest of the IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Minneapolis, 2001, pp. 26–29. 7. K. Washio, E. Ohue, K. Oda, R. Hayami, M. Tanabe, and H. Shimamoto. Optimization of characteristics related to the emitter-base junction in self-aligned SEG SiGe HBTs and their application in 72-GHz-static/92-GHz-dynamic Frequency Dividers. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 49:1755–1760, 2002. 8. K. Oda, E. Ohue, I. Suzumura, R. Hayami, K. Kodama, H. Shimamoto, and K. Washio. Highperformance self-aligned SiGeC HBT with selectively grown Si1
x
yGexCy base by UHV/CVD. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 50:2213–2220, 2003. 9. T. Tominari, S. Wada, K. Tokunaga, K. Koyu, M. Kubo, T. Udo, M. Seto, K. Ohhata, H. Hosoe, Y. Kiyota, K. Washio, and T. Hashimoto. Study on extremely thin base SiGe:C HBTs featuring sub 5-ps ECL gate delay. Technical Digest of the IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Toulouse, France, 2003, pp. 107–110. 10. K. Washio, E. Ohue, R. Hayami, A. Kodama, H. Shimamoto, M. Miura, K. Oda, I. Suzumura, T. Tominari, and T. Hashimoto. High-speed scaled-down self-aligned SEG SiGe HBTs. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 50:2417–2424, 2003. 11. K. Washio, E. Ohue, H. Shimamoto, K. Oda, R. Hayami, Y. Kiyota, M. Tanabe, M. Kondo, T. Hashimoto, and T. Harada. A 0.2-mm 180-GHz-fmax 6.7-ps-ECL SOI/HRS self-aligned SEG SiGe HBT/CMOS technology for microwave and high-speed digital applications. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 49:271–278, 2002. 12. K. Washio, E. Ohue, K. Oda, R. Hayami, M. Tanabe, H. Shimamoto, T. Harada, and M. Kondo. 82GHz dynamic frequency divider in 5.5ps ECL SiGe HBTs. Digest of Technical Papers of the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, San Francisco, 2000, pp. 210–211. 13. S. Wada, Y. Nonaka, T. Saito, T. Tomonari, K. Koyu, K. Ikeda, K. Sakai, K. Sasahara, K. Watanabe, H. Fujiwara, F. Murata, E. Ohue, Y. Kiyota, H. Shimamoto, K. Washio, R. Takeyari, H. Hosoe, and T. Hashimoto. A manufacturable 0.18-mm SiGe BiCMOS technology for 40-Gb/s optical communication LSIs. Technical Digest of the IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Monterey, 2002, pp. 84–87. 14. T. Hashimoto, Y. Nonaka, T. Saito, K. Sasahara, T. Tomonari, K. Sakai, K. Tokunaga, T. Fujiwara, S. Wada, T. Udo, T. Jinbo, K. Washio, and H. Hosoe. Integration of a 0.13-mm CMOS and a high performance self-aligned SiGe HBT featuring low base resistance. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, San Francisco, 2002, pp. 779–782. 15. T. Hashimoto, Y. Nonaka, T. Tominari, H. Fujiwara, K. Tokunaga, M. Arai, S. Wada, T. Udo, M. Seto, M. Miura, H. Shimamoto, K. Washio, and H. Hosoe. Direction to improve SiGe BiCMOS technology featuring 200-GHz SiGe HBT and 80-nm gate CMOS. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, DC, 2003, pp. 129–132.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C010 Final Proof

page 1

16.10.2007 7:25pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

10 Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Infineon

Thomas F. Meister, H. Scha¨fer, W. Perndl, and J. Bo¨ck Infineon Technologies AG

10.1

10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6

Introduction..................................................................... 10-1 Process Concept............................................................... 10-2 Transistor Fabrication Process ....................................... 10-3 Transistor Results ............................................................ 10-5 Additional Devices .......................................................... 10-9 Circuit Performance ...................................................... 10-10

Introduction

Recent advances [1–7] in state-of-the-art SiGe bipolar and BiCMOS technologies enabled impressive transistor parameters like maximum oscillation frequencies of 285 GHz [1], transit frequencies up to 350 GHz [2] and ring-oscillator gate delay times down to 3.5 psec [5,7]. Therefore, even very highfrequency applications like wireless LANs at 60 GHz, optical communications at 80 Gbit/sec and automotive radar systems around 77 GHz, which can now only be achieved by expensive III–V technologies, seem to become feasible in a low-cost silicon-based technology in a highly integrated manner. The progress in the high-speed performance of SiGe HBTs has been achieved by impurity profile engineering in the SiGe base for improving forward transit time and base resistance as well as by the development of self-aligned transistor architectures providing low parasitic capacitances and low extrinsic series resistances. The different self-aligned emitter–base configurations, which are used in present state-of-the-art SiGe HBT technologies, are requiring either nonselective epitaxial growth (NSEG) [1,2,5] or selective epitaxial growth (SEG) [3,4,6,7] for the integration of the SiGe base. As an example of such an advanced SiGe HBT technology, we describe here Infineon’s high-frequency SiGe bipolar technology. The SiGe technology is based on a double-polysilicon self-aligned (DPSA) transistor configuration, in which the shallow and highly boron-doped SiGe base layer is integrated by means of SEG. The first realizations of such transistors have used epitaxial silicon base layers which have been grown without Ge [8–10]. Because of the superior performance of the SiGe base over the epitaxial Si base, within the next couple of years processes for DPSA HBTs with selectively grown SiGe base layers have been developed [11–14]. Even the first of these DPSA HBTs that were fabricated in 1992 [11] exhibited a maximum oscillation frequency of 50 GHz and a ring oscillator gate delay time of 19 psec, which was state-of-the-art performance at that time. Using the DPSA HBT concept Infineon’s first SiGe bipolar technology, which has been taken into production for the wireless marketplace in the year 1999 [15], exhibited transit and maximum oscillation frequencies of about 75 GHz. In the meantime the transistor performance of DPSA HBTs with a selectively grown SiGe base could be improved considerably, resulting in bipolar and BiCMOS processes with transit and maximum 10-1

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

10-2

66870_C010 Final Proof

page 2

16.10.2007 7:25pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

oscillation frequencies of 200 GHz or above [3,4,6,7]. These advancements have been achieved for example by improvements in shallow base formation technology, which has resulted in reduced base thickness even for significantly increased base boron doping levels, as well as by minimizing the size of the transistors for commensurate improvements of base resistance, emitter–base capacitance, and base– collector capacitance. In the following we describe the process concept, the fabrication process, and the electrical results of Infineon’s actual high-frequency SiGe bipolar technology. The technology provides a transit frequency of 200 GHz, a maximum oscillation frequency of 275 GHz, and a ring oscillator gate delay time of 3.5 psec [7]. The bipolar technology is presently under investigation for the realization of very demanding high-frequency applications like 77 GHz automotive radar and optical communications up to 80 Gbit/sec.

10.2

Process Concept

A transmission electron microscopy (TEM) cross section of the npn transistor in the SiGe technology is shown in Figure 10.1. The transistor has a deep trench/shallow trench isolation which is commonly used in advanced SiGe HBT technologies. The transistor isolation has a completely planar surface topography which is of great advantage for the realization of small feature sizes and small lithographic alignment tolerances in order to minimize the sizes of the transistors. In addition the deep trenches are useful in enabling the realization of high transistor packing densities in circuits and also allow the realization of small subcollector dimensions for achieving low values of the collector–substrate capacitance. The transistor, which is built onto this transistor isolation, has a DPSA emitter–base structure, which uses highly boron-doped and silicided polysilicon layers for contacting the SiGe base of the active transistor. These pþ-polysilicon base electrodes are separated self-aligned by a thin oxide spacer from the heavily arsenic-doped emitter layer. As compared to transistor concepts realizing the separation of the emitter from the extrinsic base regions by a photolithographic alignment step, the self-alignment of the emitter–base structure is very advantageous for achieving low values of base resistance and base– collector capacitance. In our SiGe technology the SiGe base layer is integrated by SEG, which has also allowed the formation of a self-aligned base–collector structure [9–14]. Similar to the other most advanced high-frequency SiGe HBT technologies [1–7], the SiGe base contains a certain amount of carbon for realizing very thin and highly boron-doped base layers with steep doping profile gradients [16,17]. Another feature of the SiGe technology is the heavily arsenic-doped monocrystalline emitter

FIGURE 10.1

TEM cross section of a fabricated transistor.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C010 Final Proof

page 3

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Infineon

16.10.2007 7:25pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

10-3

contact [7,18,19], which, as compared with conventional polysilicon emitters, reduces the emitter resistance of laterally downscaled transistors considerably. Finally, since in high-frequency SiGe bipolar technologies the SiGe HBTs are operating at high current densities, we use a copper metallization system. In comparison with a conventional aluminum metallization, the copper metallization has the advantage of a significantly improved electromigration hardness and lifetime at high current densities. In the copper metallization, consisting of four metallization layers, also a high-precision TaN resistor, and an MIM capacitor have been integrated [20].

10.3

Transistor Fabrication Process

After having described the basic process concept, the transistor fabrication sequence is given in this section. The main emitter–base fabrication steps are outlined in Figure 10.2. After the fabrication of the deep trench/shallow trench transistor isolation a CVD-oxide layer is deposited. Then the pþ-polysilicon base electrodes, a CVD-oxide layer, and a nitride layer are deposited. The stack made of these three layers is patterned by reactive ion etching (RIE) for forming the emitter window (Figure 10.2a). Then a nitride/ oxide stack consisting of a 20-nm thick nitride and a 50-nm thick oxide layer is deposited and spacers— made of the material of the nitride/oxide stack—are formed inside the emitter window by RIE (Figure 10.2b). Outside the emitter window the nitride/oxide stack is protected during this RIE by resist. Now a phosphorus implantation into the emitter window is done for forming the selectively implanted collector. The collector implantation is automatically self-aligned to the active transistor region and therefore advantageous for realizing low base–collector capacitance. Moreover, since the spacers inside the emitter window significantly reduce the implantation area for collector implantation a reduction of base–collector capacitance of about 20% is observed as compared to a collector implantation through the whole emitter window [6]. Since the collector implantation is performed before SiGe base deposition any broadening of the boron impurity profile in the SiGe base layer due to implantation damageinduced point defects is avoided in this transistor concept. This is different from the transistor concepts using NSEG for base integration. In these transistors, a collector implantation, which is self-aligned to the active transistor region, can be only performed after the SiGe base deposition process. After collector implantation the CVD-oxide layer, which is covering the collector region, is removed by a wet etch in the active transistor region. The wet etch is performed until self-aligned adjusted pþ-polysilicon overhangs of about 100 nm over the CVD-oxide layer beneath have been formed (Figure 10.2c). During this wet oxide etch, the nitride layer of the nitride/oxide stack serves to protect the isolation regions. Now the SiGe base layer is integrated by SEG. The deposition is performed in a radiation-heated single wafer reactor using a gas mixture of H2, SiH2Cl2, HCl, GeH4, B2H6, and SiH3CH3. The HCl is used for ensuring the selective growth conditions whereas the SiH3CH3 is added to achieve the incorporation of substitutional carbon in the SiGe base [16,17] during SEG. The growth parameters of the SiGe base deposition process and their optimization for avoiding loading effects and for improving manufacturability are described in detail in Ref. [21]. Under these selective deposition conditions no growth takes place on the transistor and isolation regions which are covered by the nitride layers (Figure 10.2c). Monocrystalline growth of the SiGe base occurs only at the opened collector regions and polysilicon growth only at the overhanging parts of the extrinsic base polysilicon electrodes. During the selective base deposition process the intrinsic SiGe base layer, which is growing bottom up on the collector, is connected with the polycrystalline base link region, which is growing top down from the base electrodes. After base deposition the thin nitride spacers and the sacrificial nitride layers on top of the structure are removed in phosphoric acid (Figure 10.2d). Then the oxide spacers which serve for the self-aligned separation of the heavily doped emitter layer from the heavily borondoped extrinsic base regions are formed inside the emitter window. Now the heavily arsenic-doped emitter layer is deposited by NSEG in a radiation-heated CVD reactor. After the in situ removal of the native oxide layer on the silicon substrate by a bake in H2 atmosphere,

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C010 Final Proof

10-4

page 4

16.10.2007 7:25pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

CVD-Oxide

Nitride

p+-poly (a) n− CVD-Oxide Nitride/oxide stack

(b)

Nitride/oxide spacer

p+-poly n−

n

Nitride

n−

STI

p+-Poly overhang

p+-poly

p+-poly

(c) n−

n

n−

Monocrystalline SiGe base

STI

Polycrystalline base link

p+-poly

p+-poly P

(d) n

SiGe base

−

n

n+-mono

n−

STI

n+-poly

p+-poly

p+-poly

(e)

P n

−

n

n−

STI

FIGURE 10.2 Fabrication steps of emitter–base structure. (a) Formation of emitter window, (b) deposition of nitride/oxide stack, nitride/oxide spacer formation by RIE using a photomask, self-aligned collector implantation, (c) wet oxide etch for self-aligned formation of pþ-polysilicon overhangs, (d) SiGe base deposition by selective epitaxy, removal of nitride spacers, and sacrificial nitride layers by wet etching, and (e) formation of oxide spacers inside the emitter window, fabrication of emitter.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C010 Final Proof

page 5

16.10.2007 7:25pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

10-5

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Infineon

this deposition is performed in the CVD reactor at a temperature of 5508C using disilane as silicon source and arsine as dopant source. Under these deposition conditions, the 1021 cm
3 arsenic-doped emitter layer grows monocrystalline on the silicon area of the active transistor region and amorphous on the surrounding isolation regions with a high growth rate of about 70 nm/min. After patterning the NSEG grown nþ-emitter layer, a rapid thermal annealing (RTA) step is performed, which diffuses the emitter about 20 nm deep into the underlying silicon cap of the base. During this emitter drivein, the amorphous parts of the nþ-emitter layer become polycrystalline (Figure 10.2e). After the emitter drive-in, processing is completed by salicidation of the base electrodes and by forming the copper metallization.

10.4

Transistor Results

A TEM cross section through the emitter–base configuration of the fabricated transistors is shown in Figure 10.3. The mask width of the emitter window is 0.3 mm and the width of the oxide spacers which are used for the self-aligned separation of the emitter from the pþ-polysilicon base electrodes is 80 nm. The resulting effective emitter width is only 0.14 mm. These small values of emitter width are effective for realizing low values of base resistance and emitter–base capacitance. The thin SiGe base layer is confined within the walls defined by the CVD-oxide layer, which lies under the pþ-polysilicon base electrodes. As already described in the fabrication process (Figure 10.2c) the overlay between the pþpolysilicon and the CVD-oxide layer below has been adjusted self-aligned to about 100 nm. In the final transistors this results in a self-alignment of the base/collector structure, which means that the size of the contact region between the extrinsic base electrodes and the SiGe base layer is adjusted independently on a photolithographic alignment step. This self-alignment is advantageous for realizing low values of base– collector capacitance. As seen from the micrograph in Figure 10.3 the heavily arsenic-doped nþ-emitter layer is monocrystalline in the active transistor region. The monocrystalline emitter has the advantage of the absence of any interfacial oxide layer between the nþ-emitter contact layer and the underlying silicon cap of the base where the active emitter is diffused in. This is different from polysilicon emitter transistors. In such transistors always a thin interfacial oxide layer is located between the nþ-polysilicon and the underlying silicon substrate, which often breaks up during the emitter drive-in [22]. The thickness of such an interfacial oxide layer is difficult to control and significantly affects the emitter resistance and base currents in polysilicon emitter transistors. The replacement of the polysilicon emitter by the monocrystalline emitter contact has therefore improved emitter resistance and manufacturability of our SiGe HBTs considerably. The emitter resistance has been measured on devices with an emitter length of 2.6 mm by using the modified open collector method described in Ref. [23]. Figure 10.4 compares the emitter resistances of transistors with monocrystalline and polycrystalline emitter contacts for various

CVD -oxide

p+-poly n+-mono Si

STI SiGe-base

100 nm

FIGURE 10.3 0.14 mm.

TEM cross section of the emitter–base complex of a transistor with effective emitter width of

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C010 Final Proof

10-6

page 6

16.10.2007 7:25pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

values of effective emitter widths. In the polysilicon emitter HBTs the thickness of the interfacial oxide layer has been kept as thin as possible. Nevertheless, for an effective emitter width of 0.18 mm the transistors with monocrystalline emitter exhibit an emitter resistance of only 2.6 V, which is more than 50% lower than the emitter resistance of the polysilicon emitter control HBTs. As can be also seen from Figure 10.4 this advantage of the transistors with monocrystalline emitter contact increases with decreasing emitter width and becomes most pronounced in devices with very small effective emitter width. Also, since the interfacial oxide in polysilicon emitter HBTs is a dominant 1/f noise source, it has been found in Ref. [18] that a monocrystalline emitter contact is very effective for improving 1/f noise in high-speed SiGe HBTs. The SIMS doping profile of the fabricated transistors is shown in Figure 10.5. By the self-aligned collector implantation which has been described in Section 10.3, a high collector doping level of 1  1018 cm
3 has been employed for realizing high current-carrying capability of the transistors. In the SiGe base layer a maximum Ge fraction of 25% has been used. The Ge profile has been steeply graded across the base to achieve an accelerating drift field for the electrons to increase the transit frequency. In the base a boron spike with high concentration of 4  1019 cm
3 has been grown to enable the low base sheet resistance of 2.8 kV/sq. At the emitter side the base is lowly doped with a concentration of 1  1018 cm
3 in order to obtain a small emitter–base capacitance. For realizing high transit frequency the

Ω

n+-poly Si emitter n+-mono Si emitter

6

LE = 2.6 µm RE

4

2

0 0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

WE (µm)

FIGURE 10.4

Emitter resistance RE vs. effective emitter width WE. 30 Base

Collector 25

1021 As

Ge 20 15

1019

C

10

B P 1017 0.05

FIGURE 10.5

0.10

0.15 Depth (mm)

SIMS doping profile of the fabricated transistors.

0.2

5 0 0.25

Ge (%)

Concentration (cm-3)

Emitter

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C010 Final Proof

page 7

16.10.2007 7:25pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

10-7

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Infineon

thickness of the boron spike must be kept as thin as possible during the processing steps and annealing cycles following SiGe base deposition for transistor fabrication. Therefore, as the incorporation of carbon on substitutional sites with typical concentrations between 1  1019 and 5  1019 cm
3 reduces the diffusion of boron in Si and SiGe layers significantly [16,17], the region around the boron spike has been carbon doped with a chemical concentration of 3  1019 cm
3. From this chemical carbon concentration, about 80% was found to be substitutional by x-ray diffraction (XRD). This incorporation of substitutional carbon during SiGe base deposition has effectively reduced the broadening of the base boron dopant profile in the processing steps after SEG. In combination with low-temperature processing therefore steep boron doping profiles have been achieved, resulting in a final metallurgical base width of 27 nm. Despite the highly boron-doped and aggressively vertical-scaled SiGe base profile the transfer characteristics of the fabricated transistors are ideal. Figure 10.6 shows the typical transfer characteristics of transistors with an effective emitter size of 0.14  2.6 mm2. For a base–emitter voltage of 0.8 V the typical current gain is 250. Also shown in Figure 10.6 is the typical transfer characteristic of a transistor array. These transistor arrays are configured with 7000 transistors connected in parallel. The transistor arrays have an emitter area of 7000  0.18  2.6 mm2 and are used for monitoring the transistor yield. As shown in Ref. [7] the typical emitter–base yield of these transistor arrays is near 100% and the collector– emitter yield is about 80%. Figure 10.7 shows the common emitter output characteristics of transistors with an emitter area of 0.14  2.6 mm2. The collector–emitter breakdown voltage BVCE0, which is measured with open base is 1.7 V. The high-frequency performance of the SiGe HBTs has been evaluated using S-parameter measurements up to 30 GHz. The transit frequency fT has been extrapolated from the small signal current gain jh21j2 using transistors with an emitter area of 0.14  2.6 mm2. Figure 10.8 shows the dependency of transit frequency fT on the collector current IC for different base–collector voltages VBC. The transit frequency reaches its maximum of 200 GHz at VBC ¼ 0 and a collector current density of about 8 mA/mm2. The maximum oscillation frequency fmax has been extrapolated from Mason’s unilateral gain U [24] at 25 GHz with
20 dB/dec role-off. Figure 10.9 shows the dependency of the maximum oscillation frequency on collector current. At VBC ¼
1 V the maximum oscillation frequency peaks at 275 GHz. Figure 10.10 shows the measured frequency dependence of the small signal current gain jh21j2, the maximum stable gain MSG and the unilateral gain U at the bias conditions (VBC ¼
1 V, IC ¼ 3.5 mA) where the maximum oscillation frequency reaches its optimum. The transition from the maximum stable gain MSG to the maximum available gain occurs at a frequency higher than 30 GHz. The high values of fmax originate from the integration of the thin base layer into a self-aligned transistor

10−2

7000 transistor array

IC,IB (A)

10−4 10−6 10−8

single transistor

10−10 10−12 0

0.2

0.4

0.6 0.8 VBE (V)

1

1.2

FIGURE 10.6 Transfer characteristics of a transistor with AE ¼ 0.14  2.6 mm2 and a transistor array with AE ¼ 7000  0.18  2.6 mm2.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C010 Final Proof

10-8

page 8

16.10.2007 7:25pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

4

I B = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 µA

IC (mA)

3

2

1

BVCE0 = 1.7 V 0 0

FIGURE 10.7

0.5

1

1.5 VCE (V)

2

2.5

3

Common emitter output characteristics of transistors with AE ¼ 0.14  2.6 mm2.

250

300

275 GHz

200 GHz

VCB = 1 V fmax (GHz)

f T (GHz)

200 VCB =1 V

150 100 50 0 0.01

200

100 VCB = 0 V VCB = 0 V 0.1 1 10 Collector current (mA)

0 0.01 100

FIGURE 10.8 Cut-off frequency fT vs. collector current for transistors with AE ¼ 0.14  2.6 mm2.

0.1 1 10 Collector current (mA)

100

FIGURE 10.9 Maximum oscillation frequency fmax vs. collector current for transistors with AE ¼ 0.14  2.6 mm2.

architecture, providing low capacitances and extrinsic series resistances. Furthermore the high fmax values could be achieved by careful optimization of the highly boron-doped base for achieving simultaneously high transit frequency and low base sheet resistance. Table 10.1 summarizes the most important transistor parameters. The tradeoffs between these transistor parameters have been optimized for a balanced compromise to enable high-frequency circuit applications. The high values of transit frequency have been combined with a low base resistance RB of 50 V. The open-base collector–emitter breakdown voltage BVCE0 is 1.7 V and the open-emitter collector– base breakdown voltage BVCB0 is 5.8 V. The maximum sustainable operating voltage of a SiGe HBT generally lies between BVCE0 (worst case) and BVCB0 (best case). The values for emitter–base capacitance CEB, base–collector capacitance CBC, and collector–substrate capacitance CCS in Table 10.1 refer to unbiased junctions and include the wiring parasitic capacitances up to the first metallization layer. Taking into account the high base and collector doping levels, which have been employed in the

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C010 Final Proof

page 9

16.10.2007 7:25pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

10-9

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Infineon

40 U

Gain (dB)

30 20

VCB = 1 V IC = 3.5 mA

MSG |h21|2

275 GHz

10 190 GHz

0 1

10 100 Frequency (GHz)

1000

FIGURE 10.10 Frequency dependence of the small signal current gain jh21j2, the maximum stable gain MSG, and the unilateral gain U for transistors with AE ¼ 0.14  2.6 mm2.

TABLE 10.1 Device Parameters of the High-Speed npn Transistor with AE ¼ 0.14  2.6 mm2 AE b RBI BVCE0 BVCB0 CEB CBC CCS RB RE fT fmax Gate delay

0.14  2.6 mm2 250 2.8 kV/sq. 1.7 V 5.8 V 6.3 fF 5.5 fF 3.7 fF 50 V 3.5 V 200 GHz 275 GHz 3.5 psec

technology for achieving high transit frequency, high current-carrying capability and low base resistance, the DPSA emitter–base configuration has provided reasonable low values for emitter–base and base–collector capacitances of 6.3 and 5.5 fF, respectively.

10.5

Additional Devices

To enable high-performance circuit applications several additional devices have been added to the highfrequency npn transistor. Table 10.2 summarizes all devices which are available in the technology. In addition to the high-frequency npn transistors which have been described before, two other types of npn transistors are offered on the wafers. Table 10.3 summarizes the device parameters of the three different npn transistor types. These npn transistors have been optimized for different tradeoffs between transit frequency fT and base–collector breakdown voltage BVCB0. By using additional mask steps in the process flow, the npn transistors differ in the collector implantation doses. As compared to the high-frequency npn1 transistor, the reduction of the collector doping level in the additional npn transistors has resulted in increased base–collector breakdown voltages of 8.3 and 10.5 V, respectively. This is resulting in a transit frequency of 135 GHz for the npn2 transistor and in a transit frequency of 80 GHz for the npn3 transistor. As seen from Table 10.2 also three types of resistors and an MIM capacitor are available. The resistors poly R1 and poly R2 are made of the pþ-polysilicon base electrodes but with less boron doping. The two polysilicon resistors have sheet resistances of 150 and 1000 V/sq., respectively. The high-precision TaN

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C010 Final Proof page 10 16.10.2007 7:25pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

10-10

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology TABLE 10.2

Available Devices fT ¼ 200 GHz, BVCB0 ¼ 5.8 V fT ¼ 135 GHz, BVCB0 ¼ 8.3 V fT ¼ 80 GHz, BVCB0 ¼ 10.5 V 150 Ohm/sq. 1000 Ohm/sq. 20 Ohm/sq. 1.4 fF/mm2

npn1 npn2 npn3 Poly R1 Poly R2 TaN R3 MIM

TABLE 10.3 Device Parameters of the Three Different npn Transistor Types (AE ¼ 0.14  2.6 mm2)

fT (GHz) fmax (GHz) CBC (fF) BVCE0 (V) BVCB0 (V)

npn1

npn2

npn3

200 275 5.5 1.7 5.8

135 285 4.6 2.0 8.3

80 225 3.6 3.1 10.5

metal resistor and the MIM capacitor are described in more detail in Ref. [20]. The TaN metal resistor is placed between the first and the second copper metallization layer and has a sheet resistance of 20 V/sq. The MIM capacitor has a specific capacitance of 1.4 fF/mm2 and is integrated between the second and third metallization layer. The MIM capacitor uses a 50-nm thick Al2O3 dielectric layer, which has been deposited by atomic layer deposition.

10.6

Circuit Performance

In this section we describe the ring oscillator gate delay performance. Additionally we discuss some of the circuit results which have been achieved in our SiGe bipolar technology. The ring oscillator gate delay performance is a very good figure-of-merit for the digital circuit speed of a bipolar technology since it accounts for the effects of all transistor parameters and local wiring parasitic elements on the performance of a gate. The gate delay of our SiGe technology has been evaluated by ring oscillators using the power-saving current-mode logic (CML) circuit principle. The CML ring oscillators operate with 2.2 V supply voltage and a differential voltage swing of 400 mV. The dependency of the gate delay time on switching current is shown in Figure 10.11 for a position in the center of a wafer. A minimum gate

Gate delay (psec)

30

20

10

0 0.1

FIGURE 10.11

td = 3.5 ps

1 Igate (mA)

10

CML ring oscillator gate delay vs. current per gate Igate (AE ¼ 0.14  2.6 mm2).

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C010 Final Proof page 11 16.10.2007 7:25pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

10-11

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Infineon

delay time of 3.5 psec is achieved at a switching current density of 8 mA/mm2. This state-of-the-art result demonstrates the well-balanced compromise between the important device parameters in Table 10.1. Figure 10.12 shows the distribution of the minimum gate delay time over a wafer. The mean value is 3.63 psec at a standard deviation of only 1.5%. Figure 10.13 shows the trend of the minimum gate delay in the wafer center over a lot of 15 wafers. The minimum and maximum values over the lot are 3.49 and 3.59 psec, respectively. These results demonstrate that the technology has the performance, homogeneity, and reproducibility needed for advanced high-quality circuit fabrication. To give an impression of application fields which seem to become feasible with high-speed SiGe technologies, we now briefly summarize the results of some high-frequency circuits, which have been fabricated in our technology. The frequency divider results are shown in Table 10.4. The dynamic frequency divider uses the principle of regenerative frequency division and has a divide ratio of 2. The circuit operates with a total supply current of 62 mA up to 110 GHz [25]. The static frequency divider has a divide ratio of 32 and operates up to 86 GHz [25]. This divider is based on the E2CL circuit principle and uses no pretracking technique [26] for further enhancement of operating frequency. Such frequency dividers are key circuit elements in a wide variety of application fields as for example in optical communications and measurement equipment.

[psec]

3.67

3.68

3.75

3.67

3.65

3.62

3.66

3.69

3.67

3.65

3.61

3.54

3.60

3.66

3.71

3.69

3.65

3.58

3.50

3.55

3.63

3.67

3.65

3.59

3.54

3.58

3.65

3.68

3.66

3.60

3.60

3.63

3.62

3.58

3.57

FIGURE 10.12 Wafer map of the ring oscillator gate delay at a switching current density jC ¼ 8 mA/mm2 (AE ¼ 0.14  2.6 mm2).

4.0 3.8 Gate 3.6 delay (psec) 3.4 3.2 3.0 0

5

10

15

Wafer

FIGURE 10.13

Minimum gate delay over a lot of 15 wafers (AE ¼ 0.14  2.6 mm2, jC ¼ 8 mA/mm2).

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C010 Final Proof page 12 16.10.2007 7:25pm Compositor Name: VBalamugundan

10-12

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology TABLE 10.4

Frequency Divider Data

Divide ratio Frequency range Supply voltage Supply current

Static Frequency Divider

Dynamic Frequency Divider

32 86.2 GHz
5.0 V 180 mA

2 35–110 GHz
5.0 V 62 mA

Source : H Knapp et al. International Microwave Symposium, 2003, pp. 1067–1070. With permission.

TABLE 10.5

Data of Lumped-Element Broadband Amplifier

Frequency range Gain Noise Total Output power Supply voltage Supply current

Broadband Amplifiera

VCO with Integrated Bufferb

3 dB-bandwidth: 62 GHz 16 dB — —
5.0 V 155 mA

74–80.5 GHz — Phase noise (1 MHz offset): 18 dB m
5.5 V 218 mA

Active Mixerc 72.3–82.5 GHz >24 dB SSB noise figure: 3

V

@ VBE ¼ 0.7 V @ IEB ¼ 1 mA

HBT1

Peak fT / fmax BVCEO BVCBO

60 / 90 3.2 >8

GHz V V

@ VCE ¼ 1.5 V Extrapolateda @ ICB ¼ 0.1 mA

HBT2

Peak fT / fmax BVCEO BVCBO

85 / 100 2.5 >5

GHz V V

@ VCE ¼ 1.5 V Extrapolateda @ ICB ¼ 0.1 mA

HBTs 1 and 2

MOS and Passives Parameters of IHP’s SGC Process Family NMOS and Isolated NMOS

Saturation current Off current Threshold voltage Effective channel length

540 0.4 0.60 0.24

mA/mm pA/mm V mm

@ VDS ¼ 2.5 V

PMOS

Saturation current Off current Threshold voltage Effective channel length

230 0.5 0.56 0.245

mA/mm pA/mm V mm

@ VDS ¼ 2.5 V

MOS Varactor

Tuning ratio Q factor (@ low/high C)

1:3.4 120/30

Salicide Resistor

Sheet resistance Temperature coefficient

6.6 2900

Vsq ppm/8C

Silicided gate poly

Poly-Si Resistor

Sheet resistance Temperature coefficient

95 450

Vsq ppm/8C

Gate poly (nþ)

Poly-Si Resistor

Sheet resistance Temperature coefficient

350 50

Vsq ppm/8C

HBT base poly

MIM Capacitor

Unit capacitance Voltage coefficient Voltage coefficient Temperature coefficient Breakdown voltage Max. application voltage

1 14 1.6 30 10

fF/mm2 ppm/V ppm/V2 ppm/8C V V

Quality factors (examples)

4 16

Predefined Inductors

2.5 V1.5 1.9 5.0 >40 3.8 2.8 3.0 18 16 85

a

Unit

0.21
0.84 300 202 186 4.3 >1.5 >1.85 4.5 >40 3.8 3.3 3.0 19 16 110

2

mm

GHz GHz ps V V V V fF fF fF V V V

Remark Drawn dimensions @ VBE ¼ 0.7 V @ VCE ¼ 1.5 V CML, 53 stages @ IEB ¼ 1 mA Extrapolateda @ ICB ¼ 0.1 mA IB ¼ const.b @ VEB ¼ 0 V @ VCB ¼ 0 V @ VCS ¼ 0 V

Circle fit of s11 @ VBE ¼ 0.9 V

2

Extrapolated from the IC/AE ¼ (0.3–0.75) mA/mm part of the VCE(IC) characteristics. IB ¼ const. ¼ IB(VBE ¼ 0.7 V; VCB ¼ 0 V); VCE ¼ (0.9 + 0.2)V.

b

7 Gate delay time (ps)

T = 300 K 6

AE = 0.21⫻0.84

5

µm2

∆V = 300 mV VEE = −2.5 V

Impl. extr. base

4 AE = 0.175⫻0.84 µm

2 Elevated extr. base

3 1

10 Current per gate (mA)

FIGURE 11.8 CML ring oscillator gate delay vs. current per gate for oscillators with 53 stages. Devices with elevated extrinsic base and different emitter dimensions are compared with the standard SGC25C HBTs (with implanted extrinsic base). (From H Ru¨cker, B Heinemann, R Barth, D Bolze, J Drews, U Haak, W Ho¨ppner, D Knoll, K Ko¨pke, S Marschmeyer, H H Richter, P Schley, D Schmidt, R F Scholz, B Tillack, W Winkler, H E Wulf, and Y Yamamoto. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 2003, pp. 121–124. With permission.)

11.4 High-Speed, Complementary SiGe:C HBTs in a BiCMOS Technology The availability of both npn- and pnp-type bipolar transistors with matched performance in a complementary BiCMOS process (CBiCMOS) is a promising route to applications simultaneously requiring low voltage, low power, and high speed. IHP has developed a high-speed CBiCMOS process with bipolar parameters summarized in Table 11.4 [15]. This process offers pnp SiGe:C HBTs with peak fT/fmax values of 80 GHz/120 GHz (Figure 11.9) at 2.6 V BVCEO and a CML ring oscillator delay of 8.9 psec (Table 11.4). The simultaneously fabricated npn SiGe:C HBTs show fT/fmax values of 180 GHz/185 GHz, i.e., a

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C011 Final Proof

11-10

page 10 18.10.2007

1:38pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology TABLE 11.4

CBiCMOS HBT Parameters (AE ¼ 0.21
0.84 mm2) npn

pnp

Parameter

Value

Value

Unit

Current gain Peak fT Peak fmax Min. RO delay time BVEBO BVCEO BVCES Early voltage B–E capacitance B–C capacitance C–S capacitance Emitter resistance Collector resistance Base resistance

160 180 185 4.6 >1.5 2.0 5.0 150 4.5 3.6 3.0 19 16 123

180 80 120 8.9 >2.5 2.6 5.5 40 5.3 3.0 4.0 22 50 147

GHz GHz ps V V V V fF fF fF V V V

Remark @ VBE ¼ 0.7 V @ VCE ¼ 1.5 V CML, 53 stages @ IEB ¼ 1 mA @ 10 mA @ 10 mA @ VBE ¼ 0.7 V @ VEB ¼ 0 V @ VCB ¼ 0 V @ VCS ¼ 0 V

Circle fit of s11 @ VBE ¼ 0.9 V

Source: B Heinemann, R Barth, D Bolze, J Drews, P Formanek, O Fursenko, M Glante, K Glowatzki, A Gregor, U Haak, W Ho¨ppner, D Knoll, R Kurps, S Marschmeyer, S Orlowski, H Ru¨cker, P Schley, D Schmidt, R F Scholz, W Winkler, and Y Yamamoto. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 2003, pp. 117–120.

fT or fmax (GHz)

200 150

A E = 2⫻ (0.21⫻0.84) µm2

npn

VCE = 1.5 V pnp-only

100

fmax pnp

50 fT 0

10−4

10−3 Collector current (A)

10−2

FIGURE 11.9 Transit frequency (fT) and maximum oscillation frequency (fmax) vs. collector current for pnp and npn HBTs fabricated on the same wafer in the CBiCMOS and for pnp devices from a pnp-only BiCMOS. (From B Heinemann, R Barth, D Bolze, J Drews, P Formanek, O Fursenko, M Glante, K Glowatzki, A Gregor, U Haak, W Ho¨ppner, D Knoll, R Kurps, S Marschmeyer, S Orlowski, H Ru¨cker, P Schley, D Schmidt, R F Scholz, W Winkler, and Y Yamamoto. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 2003, pp. 117– 120. With permission.)

performance almost as high as that of the SGC25C process, despite a changed emitter construction and the additional thermal budget within the CBiCMOS process. A pnp-only, reference BiCMOS flow even produced peak fT/fmax values for the pnp devices of 115 GHz/115 GHz (Figure 11.9). This pnp RF performance of CBiCMOS and pnp-only BiCMOS surpasses the best reported values of this transistor type substantially. The strong performance gain of the pnp HBTs is mainly due to a highly tuned vertical doping profile, taking full advantage of the reduced P diffusion in the C-doped base [16] combined with the special collector construction of IHP’s 200 GHz npn transistors. This construction allows one to integrate an isolated pnp into a CMOS process easily, while simultaneously minimizing collector resistance and capacitance. CBiCMOS process flow and transistor cross sections are shown in Figure 11.10 and Figure 11.11. The RF CMOS baseline is the same as used for the SGC (npn-only) process family. Up to the npn base layer

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C011 Final Proof

page 11 18.10.2007

1:38pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

11-11

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: IHP

CBiCMOS PROCESS FLOW

Gate etch (M6), Spacer formation BIPOLAR (NPN+PNP) MODULE (M7)-(M16) Deposition of CMOS protection layers (M7): Opening npn regions+ High dose npn collector implant + RTA Oxide deposition (M8): Opening active npn coll. regions npn base epitaxy

NPN

PNP

(M9): Opening pnp regions + High dose pnp collector implant + n-isolation implant + RTA Oxide deposition (M10): Opening active pnp coll. regions pnp base epitaxy (M11): Structuring pnp emitter window etch stop layer + base link implant

(M12): Opening npn em. window + SIC As doped npn emitter deposition (M13): Opening pnp em. window + SIC B doped pnp emitter deposition (M14): Structuring pnp poly emitters (M15): Structuring npn emitter + pnp base poly (M16): Implantation of npn base and pnp collector contacts Removing CMOS protection layers by wet etch S/D implantations (M17, M18) ... Passivation (M30)

FIGURE 11.10

Base

Flow of the complementary BiCMOS process.

Emitter

Collector

Base

Emitter

Collector

npn Emitter Poly pnp Base Poly SIC

n+ S/D

High doped collector

SIC

p+

n+ S/D

High doped collector

n-Isolation

n well

FIGURE 11.11 Schematic cross section of the npn HBT structure (left) and the pnp HBT structure (right) of the complementary BiCMOS process. (From B Heinemann, R Barth, D Bolze, J Drews, P Formanek, O Fursenko, M Glante, K Glowatzki, A Gregor, U Haak, W Ho¨ppner, D Knoll, R Kurps, S Marschmeyer, S Orlowski, H Ru¨cker, P Schley, D Schmidt, R F Scholz, W Winkler, and Y Yamamoto. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 2003, pp. 117–120. With permission.)

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C011 Final Proof

11-12

page 12 18.10.2007

1:38pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

epitaxy the process flow is identical to SGC25C. Then, the collector regions of the pnp transistors are formed in analogy with the npn flow. In addition to the collector well implant, a high-energy implantation is applied for the vertical isolation of the pnp. The pnp epitaxy stack consists of a Si buffer layer, the P-doped SiGe:C layer (30 nm thick), delivering a pinched sheet resistance of about 10 kV/sq, and a Si cap layer. A total of ten mask steps are used for the complementary bipolar module, five for the pnp and four for the npn, and one common mask step for structuring npn emitter poly and pnp base poly. The demonstrated RF performance, the high early voltages (Table 11.4) and further results, such as the only weak sensitivity of b and peak fT to the collector bias [15], indicate that valence band barrier effects, a serious problem of pnp HBTs, are largely suppressed before onset of the Kirk effect by a careful profile design at the base–collector junction. A major concern with such heavily doped, rapidly annealed devices, as produced in SGC25C and CBiCMOS is the defect density. The Gummel plots of both npn and pnp 4k HBT arrays, shown in Figure 11.12, prove that this problem has been successfully solved for both HBT types.

11.5 Low-Cost SiGe:C BiCMOS Process with a One-Mask HBT Module (SGB25V) The majority of current BiCMOS applications, in particular in the wireless area, have more modest speed requirements, typically below 100 GHz, but are highly cost-sensitive. Therefore, IHP has developed, in addition to the technologies with high-performance HBTs, a very simple, flexible, and hence low-cost SiGe:C BiCMOS process with ample performance for the majority of high-volume applications. The technology, called SGB25V, is a 0.25 mm BiCMOS SiGe:C HBT process with only 19 lithographic steps, offering four levels of Al and a full menu of active and passive devices (Table 11.5). Three different SiGe:C HBTs can be fabricated simultaneously by adding a single lithography level to the underlying RF CMOS process. These devices offer BVCEO/fT values ranging from 2.4 V/80 GHz to 7 V/30 GHz. The further device menu includes 2.5 V VDD MOS transistors for digital applications, an isolated NMOS device, an accumulation type MOS varactor, a junction varactor, three polysilicon resistors with sheet resistances ranging from 6 V/sq. to 2 kV/sq., a 2-mm thick upper Al layer for high-Q inductor fabrication, and a 1 fF/mm2 MIM.

10−1

10−1

10−2 Base, collector current (A)

npn

pnp

10−2

5 arrays AE = 4096⫻ (0.21⫻0.84) µm2

10−3 10−4 10−5

10−3 10−4 10−5

10−6

10−6

10−7

10−7

10−8

VCB = 0 V

10−8

10−9

T = 300 K

10−9

10−10

−0.8

−0.6

−0.4 0.4 0.6 Base−emitter voltage (V)

10−10 0.8

FIGURE 11.12 Gummel plots of pnp and npn HBT arrays fabricated in the CBiCMOS flow. (From B Heinemann, R Barth, D Bolze, J Drews, P Formanek, O Fursenko, M Glante, K Glowatzki, A Gregor, U Haak, W Ho¨ppner, D Knoll, R Kurps, S Marschmeyer, S Orlowski, H Ru¨cker, P Schley, D Schmidt, R F Scholz, W Winkler, and Y Yamamoto. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 2003, pp. 117–120. With permission.)

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C011 Final Proof

page 13 18.10.2007

1:38pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

11-13

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: IHP TABLE 11.5

SGB25V HBT, MOS, and Passives Parameters

Device

Parameter

Value

Unit

Remark

2

SGB25V HBT parameters (AE ¼ 0.5
0.9 mm ) Current gain BVEBO

190 >3

V

@ VBE ¼ 0.7 V @ IEB ¼ 1 mA

npn-H

Peak fT/fmax BVCEO BVCES

30 / 70 7 >20

GHz V V

@ VCE ¼ 2 V Extrapolateda @ 0.1 mA

npn-S

Peak fT/fmax BVCEO BVCES

50 / 95 4.0 16

GHz V V

@ VCE ¼ 2 V Extrapolateda @ 0.1 mA

npn-P

Peak fT/fmax BVCEO BVCES

80 / 95 2.4 7.7

GHz V V

@ VCE ¼ 2 V Extrapolateda @ 0.1 mA

npn-H,S,P

SGB25V MOS and Passives Parameters NMOS and Isolated NMOS

Saturation current Off current Threshold voltage Effective channel length

570 3 0.61 0.22

mA/mm pA/mm V mm

@ VDS ¼ 2.5 V

PMOS

Saturation current Off current Threshold voltage Effective channel length

290 3 0.51 0.185

mA/mm pA/mm V mm

@ VDS ¼ 2.5V

MOS Varactor

Identical to SGC processes

pþn Varactor

Tuning ratio Q factors (@ low/high C)

1.7:1 35 / 20

Salicide Resistor

Sheet resistance Temperature coefficient

6.8 2950

V/sq. ppm/K

Silicided gate poly

Poly-Si Resistor

Sheet resistance Temperature coefficient Temperature coefficient

310 105 0.64

V/sq ppm/K ppm/K2

Gate poly (pþ) 408C to 1258C

Poly-Si Resistor

Sheet resistance Temperature coefficient Temperature coefficient

2000 2760 6.1

V/sq ppm/K ppm/K2

Low-doped gate poly

MIM Capacitor Inductors

Identical to SGC processes Identical to SGC processes

@ 5 GHz

408C to 1258C

a

Extrapolated from the IC/AE ¼ (0.3–0.75) mA/mm2 part of the VCE(IC) characteristics.

The CMOS backbone of SGB25V differs from that CMOS baseline used for the SGC25 processes and for a SGB25V pre-production version [17]. The process changes allowed us to release MOS devices with lower leff, and led to a strong yield increase for dense CMOS sections, which use the shorter devices. Moreover, a set of polysilicon resistors is now available, providing a wider range of sheet resistance values compared to the SGC process family. The SGB25V process flow is shown in Figure 11.13. HBT fabrication starts after depositing the MOS gates and a Si3N4 protection layer. The single HBT mask is used to remove by RIE the nitride film and the gate material from the HBT regions, and to carry out a chain of P implants. After wet etching the gate oxide, the SiGe:C base and a Si LDE layer are successively grown. L-shaped inside spacers are formed, a SIC implantation is carried out, and an As-doped emitter Si layer is deposited. Then, emitter and base

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C011 Final Proof

11-14

page 14 18.10.2007

1:38pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

SGB25V PROCESS FLOW

Shallow trench etch (M1) and fill Deep n-well implantation (M2), RTA MOS well implantations (M3, M4), RTA Gate oxidation, Gate poly deposition

Gate etch (M6), Spacer formation S/D implantations (M7, M8), RTA Salblock(M9), Co salicide formation Contact (M10), Met-1 (M11) Via-1 (M12), MIM (M13), Met-2 (M14) Via-2 (M15), Met-3 (M16) Via-3 (M17), Met-4 (M18) Passivation (M19)

FIGURE 11.13

• • • •

19 mask steps Shallow trench isolation Triple well option (by deep n-well) 5 nm gate oxide HBT MODULE (M5)

Nitride layer for CMOS protection (M5): Opening active collector regions + Low dose collector implants Non-selectiveSi/ SiGe:C/ Si epitaxy Forming oxide inside spacers + SIC As doped emitter deposition CMP (Si, SiGe) with stop on nitride Removing nitride layer by wet etch • • • •

Co salicide CMP planarization and W plugs 4 Al layers (w/2 µm thick top metal) 2.5 V supply voltage

Flow and features of the SGB25V process.

material are removed by CMP from the Si3N4 layer surface to isolate the emitter from the extrinsic base. After wet etching the nitride film from the gate stack, CMOS device fabrication is continued. The gate structuring process and the PMOS S/D implants are also used to form and dope the HBT extrinsic base regions, respectively. Note that using gate-poly as material for the HBT extrinsic base is not the only advantage of the special HBT integration scheme applied here. It also minimizes the impact of the HBT thermal steps on the MOS characteristics. However, we would not have been able to take advantage of these without doping the HBTs with C. This prevents B out-diffusion from SiGe, and thus HBT parameter degradation, by CMOS thermal steps such as poly-reoxidation and S/D RTA, which are carried out after HBT integration. Figure 11.14 shows fT vs. collector current curves for the HBTs simultaneously fabricated in SGB25V. The differences in the fT and BVCEO values are produced by varying the layout for the deep P implant for the CMOS triple-well option, and using the PMOS well implants (Figure 11.15). The SGB25V HBT yield (estimated for 4k device arrays) exceeds 90%, matching the numbers obtained with our other BiCMOS processes. VLSI ability of the process is controlled with an 1M SRAM as test vehicle. To study the impact of HBT integration on the yield of this 6-million transistor device, lots were fabricated with and without HBT module. Figure 11.16 demonstrates a typical SRAM yield of around 70% for both cases showing that the HBT integration scheme, used for SGB25V, is modular and has no negative impact on the yield of dense CMOS sections. Moreover, it shows that SGB25V guarantees high yield for VLSI CMOS segments necessary for a cost-effective fabrication of RF-SOCs.

11.6

Circuit Applications of IHP’s SiGe:C Technologies

IHP’s BiCMOS technologies, described in the previous sections, differ in the level of maturity. SGC25A, SGC25B, SGC25C (implanted HBT version), and SGB25V are fully developed and characterized processes which we were able to release for the access of both in-house and external designers. These processes are also offered as EUROPRACTICE platforms. In contrast, the SGC25C version with elevated extrinsic base as well as the CBiCMOS process have pre-production status. Therefore, the access to these processes is presently restricted to in-house designers and a few longtime partners. For IHP’s BiCMOS technologies design kits are available which support a Cadence mixed signal platform. For HBT characterization, the VBIC model is applied [18].

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C011 Final Proof

page 15 18.10.2007

1:38pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

11-15

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: IHP

Transit frequency (GHz)

80 70

npn-P

2.4V

60

VCE = 2 V

BVCEO

50 40

4.2 V

npn-S

30 20

npn-H

AE = 10⫻(0.5⫻0.9) µm2

7V

10 0.000

0.005

0.010

0.015

0.020

Collector current (A)

FIGURE 11.14 Transit frequency vs. collector current for the three HBT types fabricated in the SGB25V process (npn-P, npn-S, npn-H). The different curves for the same HBT type illustrate the typical scattering across a wafer.

Polysilicon emitter

Gate polysilicon npn-H n+ S/D

SIC

STI

n-Well Coll. well (M5) Poly SiGe:C/Si

Deep n-Well (M2)

SiGe:C base npn-S n+ S/D

SIC Coll. Well

n-Well

Deep n-Well Oxide spacer npn-P SIC Coll. Well

n+ S/D n-Well

Deep n-Well

FIGURE 11.15

Schematic cross sections of the three HBT types fabricated in the SGB25V process.

In the following section, we present some recent exemplary circuit results obtained with IHP’s highperformance BiCMOS processes because these technologies enable new product application areas. For demonstration, a series of benchmarking circuits were designed and tested successfully. The main results are summarized in Table 11.6. Intended applications are very high data rate wireless links in the 60 GHz ISM band and automotive radar at 77 GHz and beyond.

60 GHz Transceiver Circuits For demonstration of new wireless transmission systems with data rates >150 Mb/sec, key circuit blocks for a 60 GHz transceiver system were designed and fabricated [20,21]. The proposed transceiver is based

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C011 Final Proof

11-16

page 16 18.10.2007

1:38pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

SRAMs measured on 45 wafer sites

1M SRAM wafer yield (%)

100

BEC = 0 (@2.5 V) 80

60

40

A

B

C

D

E

F G

H

I

J

K

L

BiCMOS lots

CMOS 20

Lot ID (A − L)

FIGURE 11.16 Wafer yield of 1M SRAMs with a bit error count (BEC) of zero, fabricated in the SGB25V process (BiCMOS lots) or a flow without the SGB25V HBT module (CMOS lots).

TABLE 11.6 Measurement Results of Benchmarking Circuits Fabricated in IHP’s High-Performance BiCMOS Processes Circuit

Parameter

Value

Technology

Ref.

Static frequency divider, 1:2

Maximum input frequency

62 GHz

SGC25B

[19]

Dynamic frequency divider, 1:2

Maximum input frequency

72 GHz

SGC25B

[19]

Low power frequency divider, 1:64, 1 V supply

Maximum input frequency Suppply current

2.4 GHz 0.6 mA

SGC25B SGC25B

[19] [19]

60 GHz LNA

Gain @ 61 GHz

9.6 dB

SGC25C

[20]

LC oscillators

Oscillation frequency

24 GHz 60 GHz 76 GHz 97 GHz 117 GHz

SGC25B SGC25B SGC25B SGC25C SGC25C

[21–23]

Ring oscillators

Gate delay

3.6 ps

SGC25C

[14]

on amplitude shift keying (ASK) modulation principle. The reasons for the selection of this modulation technique are its simplicity, the wide bandwidth of the 61 GHz ISM band, and that there is no need for high-performance A/D converters. The transmit path of the transceiver consists of a 61.25 GHz fundamental mode oscillator, a switch, and a power amplifier. Between the modulator and the power amplifier a filter is inserted to reduce spurs. The receiver path consists of a three-stage, lownoise amplifier (LNA), a mixer, a 56 GHz oscillator, a variable gain amplifier, and an ASK demodulator. One task of the LNA design was to get unconditional stability for both on-wafer measurements and for the use of the amplifier in test board modules together with the other receiver components. Especially the use of bond wires for the connection of the ground potential (and the associated inductance) causes serious stability problems if a single-ended configuration is used. That is why all the stages are designed in differential configuration. The input and output are trafo-coupled. The transformer coupling is useful in two ways. First, it acts as a balun for connection to a singleended antenna. Second, the primary and secondary windings of the transformer are tuned to get a band pass characteristic. With this, an additional input filter in the RX path can be omitted and this function is integrated in the LNA. The single stage of the LNA is a differential stage with inductive load and with matching network at the output. The LNA was measured on wafer with a 110 GHz vector network analyzer. The maximum gain is 9.6 dB. The gain-maximum is reached at 61 GHz, which is

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C011 Final Proof

page 17 18.10.2007

1:38pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

11-17

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: IHP

exactly the target frequency of the requested ISM band (Figure 11.17). The LNA has a band pass characteristic, resulting from the tuned transformers at input and output. With this characteristic, no additional band pass filter is required.

Automotive Radar High-frequency oscillators are key components in modern low-cost radar systems for automotive and other sensor applications. Most of today’s automotive radar systems utilize the frequency bands at 24 and 77 GHz. For future developments, also higher frequency bands at 94 and 140 GHz are of interest. Reasons for the use of higher frequency bands are the further miniaturization of the radar systems and the better beam-forming prospects due to the shorter wavelength. Several LC oscillators for the different frequency ranges were designed and tested [21–23]. The circuit diagram of the oscillators is shown in Figure 11.18. The circuit is a common collector Colpitts oscillator in fully differential implementation. With the symmetric circuit, two advantages are reached: first, it gives reduced signal interference via the silicon substrate and, second, the coupling of the highfrequency energy to subsequent building blocks such as integrated amplifiers or mixers is more effective. 0 0 0 The tank is a symmetric circuit of two inductors L1 and L1 and the MIM capacitors C1, C2, C1 , and C2 . In parallel to the capacitor C1 acts the base–emitter capacitor of the bipolar transistor CBE. For explanation, the tank can be divided into two half circuits separated by the symmetry line shown in Figure 11.18. In operation, the oscillator-halves are working in the odd mode, such that the outputs are 1808 out of phase. The nodes of the tank, indicated by the symmetry line, have virtual ground. The oscillation frequency can then be estimated to a first order by the following equation: f ¼ 1=(2p

pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi L1 {2CBC þ [C2 (CBE þ C1 )=(C1 þ C2 þ CBE )]})

where CBC is the base–collector capacitance of the transistors.

Tank circuit Vctrl L1

L⬘1

C1

C⬘1

C2

Out

C2⬘

10 s21

Gain (dB)

0 −10

Symmetry line

−20 −30

s12

VEE

−40 −50 0

20

FIGURE 11.17

40 60 80 Frequency (GHz)

100

120

Gain curves of the 60 GHz LNA.

FIGURE 11.18 Circuit diagram of the high-frequency oscillator. (From W Winkler, J Borngra¨ber, and B Heinemann. Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, Vol. 8, Numbers 1–3, February/June 2005, pp. 459–461. With permission.)

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C011 Final Proof

11-18

page 18 18.10.2007

1:38pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

The oscillators were characterized using an on-wafer test system with GS probes. For determination of the output spectrum a Rohde & Schwartz spectrum analyzer FSEM30 with a mixer unit FS-Z110 was used. The measurement results of three oscillators are summarized in Table 11.7. The supply voltage of these oscillators is 3 V or 4 V. The output power is from 7 dB m (oscillator 1) to 12 dB m per output channel (oscillator 3). The frequency of oscillation can be tuned by applying a tuning voltage at the Vctrl input. For oscillator 2, intended for 94 GHz, the tuning range is from 97.5 to 95.2 GHz for the control voltage changing from 2.4 V to 0. Because the target frequency was not met in this design, a redesign has 0 to be done. The capacitance of C2 and C2 will be reduced by a modest amount to shift the frequency to 94 GHz. Figure 11.19 shows the measured output spectrum of oscillator 3, which reaches the highest frequency. The tuning range is from 117.2 to 113.7 GHz. The current consumption is within the range of 10 to 28 mA. Of course, the output power will also undergo a change with varying the current flowing through the oscillator. The maximum measured output power is 12 dB m. Within the tunable frequency

TABLE 11.7 Measurement Results of Experimental LC Oscillators Fabricated in IHP’s High-Performance BiCMOS Processes Parameter

Oscillator 1

Oscillator 2

Oscillator 3

Oscillation frequency Supply voltage Supply current Center frequency Tuning range Output power Phase noise at 1 MHz offset Chip size

76 GHz 4.0 V 32 mA 76.1 GHz — 7 dB m 91 dBc/Hz 750
400 mm2

97 GHz 3.0 V 15–37 mA 96.15 GHz 2.3 GHz 11.2 dB m 88 dBc/Hz 750
400 mm2

117 GHz 3.0 V 10–28 mA 115.1 GHz 3.5 GHz 12 dB m — 750
400 mm2

Ref L vl −5 dBm

Marker-12.24 dB m 114.92457381 GHz

−10 −20 −30 −40 −50 −60 −70 −80 Center 114.9312472 GHz

10 MHz/

Span 100MHz

FIGURE 11.19 Spectrum of single-ended output for oscillator 3. The center frequency is 114.3 GHz. (From W Winkler, J Borngra¨ber, and B Heinemann. Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, Vol. 8, Numbers 1–3, February/June 2005, pp. 459–461. With permission.)

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C011 Final Proof

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: IHP

page 19 18.10.2007

1:38pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

11-19

range, the output power is above 20 dB m. The phase noise of oscillators 1 and 2 was measured by using a spectrum analyzer. The phase noise is 91 dB c/Hz and 88 dB c/Hz at 1 MHz offset, respectively.

11.7

Summary

We have described IHP’s modular SiGe:C RF BiCMOS technologies which provide several types of SiGe:C HBTs, combined with a 0.25 mm CMOS core and state-of-the art passive elements. Highperformance npn HBT modules with up to 200 GHz fT, a complementary HBT module with superior pnp performance, and a low-cost HBT module, providing simultaneously three HBT types, can be fabricated in IHP’s BiCMOS processes. This process menu ideally fulfills the technological requirements for the fabrication of modern fiber and wireless communication systems.

Acknowledgments The author would like to thank all IHP colleagues contributing to the HBT and BiCMOS work through the last years. Special thanks goes to B. Heinemann, K.-E. Ehwald, H. Ru¨cker, B. Tillack, and R. Barth who had the strongest impact in the field of process technology. P. Schley, Ha. Erzgra¨ber, and R. Scholz did great jobs in device measurement and characterization. I am also grateful to F. Fuernhammer and G. Grau (Advico) for the efforts to realize an adequate design environment for IHP’s technologies, and to W. Winkler who strongly supported all technology developments by providing suitable benchmark and verification circuits. Last but not least, the author thanks J. Osten who initiated SiGe:C material research at IHP, and A. Ourmazd for excellent management support and many valuable discussions.

References 1. G Ritter, B Tillack, and D Knoll. Successful preparation of high-frequency HBT by integrated RTCVD processes. MRS Symposium Proceedings, 1995, Vol. 387, Rapid Thermal and Integrated Processing IV, pp. 341–346. 2. D Knoll, B Heinemann, R Barth, K Blum, J Drews, A Wolff, P Schley, D Bolze, B Tillack, G Kissinger, W Winkler, and H J Osten. Low cost, 50 GHz fmax Si/SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor technology with epi-free collector wells. Proceedings of the European Solid-State Device Research Conference, Bordeaux, 1998, pp. 140–143. 3. D L Harame, E F Crabbe, J D Cressler, J H Comfort, J Y-C Sun, S R Stiffler, E Kobeda, J N Burghartz, M M Gilbert, J C Malinowski, A J Dally, S Ratanaphanyarat, M J Saccamango, W Rausch, J Cotte, C Chu, and J M C Stork. A high performance epitaxial SiGe-base ECL BiCMOS technology. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, San Francisco, 1992, pp. 19–22. 4. B Heinemann, D Knoll, G Fischer, D Kru¨ger, G Lippert, H J Osten, H Ru¨cker, W Ro¨pke, P Schley, and B Tillack. Control of steep boron profiles in Si/SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors. Proceedings of the European Solid-State Device Research Conference, Stuttgart, 1997, pp. 544–547. 5. H J Osten, G Lippert, D Knoll, R Barth, B Heinemann, H Ru¨cker, and P Schley. The effect of carbon incorporation on SiGe heterobipolar transistor performance and process margin. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 1997, pp. 803–806. 6. D Knoll, B Heinemann, H J Osten, K E Ehwald, B Tillack, P Schley, R Barth, M Matthes, K S Park, Y Kim, and W Winkler. Si/SiGe:C heterojunction bipolar transistors in an epi-free well, singlepolysilicon technology. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, San Francisco, 1998, pp. 703–706. 7. H J Osten, D Knoll, B Heinemann, H Ru¨cker, and B Tillack. Carbon doped SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors for high frequency applications. Proceedings of the Bipolar/ BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Minneapolis, 1999, pp. 109–116. 8. K E Ehwald, D Knoll, B Heinemann, K Chang, J Kirchgessner, R Mauntel, I S Lim, J Steele, P Schley, B Tillack, A Wolff, K Blum, W Winkler, M Pierschel, U Jagdhold, R Barth, T Grabolla, H J Erzgra¨ber,

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

11-20

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

66870_C011 Final Proof

page 20 18.10.2007

1:38pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

B Hunger, and H J Osten. Modular integration of high-performance SiGe:C HBTs in a deep submicron, epi-free CMOS process. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 1999, pp. 561–564. D Knoll, B Heinemann, K E Ehwald, G G Fischer, and B Hunger. Emitter scaling of singlepolysilicon SiGe:C HBTs with highly doped base layers. Proceedings of the European Solid-State Device Research Conference, Cork, 2000, pp. 560–563. S A St Onge, D L Harame, J S Dunn, S Subbana, D C Ahlgren, G Freeman, B Jagannathan, S J Jeng, K Schonenburg, K Stein, R Groves, D Coolbaugh, N Feilchenfeldt, P Geiss, M Gordon, P Gray, D Hershberger, S Kilpatrick, R Johnson, A Joseph, L Lanzerotti, J Malinowski, B Orner, and M Zierak. A 0.24 mm SiGe BiCMOS mixed-signal RF production technology featuring a 47 GHz fT HBT and 0.18 mm leff CMOS. Proceedings of the Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Minneapolis, 1999, pp. 117–120. B Heinemann, D Knoll, R Barth, D Bolze, K Blum, J Drews, K E Ehwald, G G Fischer, K Ko¨pke, D Kru¨ger, R Kurps, H Ru¨cker, P Schley, W Winkler, and H E Wulf. Cost-effective high-performance high-voltage SiGe:C HBTs with 100GHz fT and BVCEO
fT products exceeding 220 V GHz. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 2001, pp. 348–351. D Knoll, B Heinemann, K E Ehwald, H Ru¨cker, B Tillack, W Winkler, and P Schley. BiCMOS integration of SiGe:C heterojunction bipolar transistors. Proceedings of the Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Monterey, 2002, pp. 162–166. B Heinemann, H Ru¨cker, R Barth, J Bauer, D Bolze, E Bugiel, J Drews, K E Ehwald, T Grabolla, U Haak, W Ho¨ppner, D Knoll, D Kru¨ger, B Kuck, R Kurps, S Marschmeyer, H H Richter, P Schley, D Schmidt, R F Scholz, B Tillack, W Winkler, D Wolansky, H E Wulf, Y Yamamoto, and P Zaumseil. Novel collector design for high-speed SiGe:C HBTs. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, San Francisco, 2002, pp. 775–778. H Ru¨cker, B Heinemann, R Barth, D Bolze, J Drews, U Haak, W Ho¨ppner, D Knoll, K Ko¨pke, S Marschmeyer, H H Richter, P Schley, D Schmidt, R F Scholz, B Tillack, W Winkler, H E Wulf, and Y Yamamoto. SiGe:C BiCMOS technology with 3.6 ps gate delay. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 2003, pp. 121–124. B Heinemann, R Barth, D Bolze, J Drews, P Formanek, O Fursenko, M Glante, K Glowatzki, A Gregor, U Haak, W Ho¨ppner, D Knoll, R Kurps, S Marschmeyer, S Orlowski, H Ru¨cker, P Schley, D Schmidt, R F Scholz, W Winkler, and Y Yamamoto. A complementary BiCMOS technology with high speed npn and pnp SiGe:C HBTs. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 2003, pp. 117–120. H Ru¨cker, B Heinemann, D Bolze, D Knoll, D Kru¨ger, R Kurps, H J Osten, P Schley, B Tillack, and P Zaumseil. Dopant diffusion in C-doped Si and SiGe: Physical model and experimental verification. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington, 1999, pp. 345–348. D Knoll, K E Ehwald, B Heinemann, A Fox, K Blum, H Ru¨cker, F Fu¨rnhammer, B Senapati, R Barth, U Haak, W Ho¨ppner, J Drews, R Kurps, S Marschmeyer, H H Richter, T Grabolla, B Kuck, O Fursenko, P Schley, R F Scholz, B Tillack, Y Yamamoto, K Ko¨pke, H E Wulf, D Wolansky, and W Winkler. A flexible, low-cost, high performance SiGe:C BiCMOS process with a one-mask HBT module. Technical Digest of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, San Francisco, 2002, pp. 783–786. B Senapati, R F Scholz, D Knoll, B Heinemann, and A Chakravorti. Application of the VBIC model for SiGe:C heterojunction bipolar transistors. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference Mixed Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems, Szczecin, 2004. W Winkler, J Borngra¨ber, B Heinemann, P Weger, and H Gustat. High-performance and low-voltage divider circuits fabricated in SiGe:C HBT technology. Proceedings of the European Solid-State Circuits Conference, Firenze, 2002, pp. 827–830. W Winkler, J. Borngra¨ber, H Gustat, and F Korndo¨rfer. 60 GHz transceiver circuits in SiGe:C BiCMOS technology. Proceedings of the 30th European Solid-State Circuits Conference, Leuven, 2004, pp. 83–86.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C011 Final Proof

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: IHP

page 21 18.10.2007

1:38pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

11-21

21. W Winkler, J Borngra¨ber, B Heinemann, and P Weger. 60 GHz and 76 GHz oscillators in 0.25 mm SiGe:C BiCMOS. IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference Digest of Technical Papers, San Francisco, 2003, pp. 454–455. 22. W Winkler, J Borngra¨ber, and B Heinemann. A 117 GHz LC-oscillator in SiGe:C BiCMOS technology. Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, Vol. 8, Numbers 1–3, February/June 2005, pp. 459–461. 23. W Winkler and J Borngra¨ber. LC-oscillator for 94 GHz automotive radar system fabricated in SiGe:C BiCMOS technology. Conference Proceedings of the 12th European Gallium Arsenide & other Compound Semiconductors Application Symposium, Amsterdam, 2004, pp. 45–46.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C011 Final Proof

page 22 18.10.2007

1:38pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C012 Final Proof

page 1

18.10.2007 1:36pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

12 Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: ST Alain Chantre, M. Laurens, B. Szelag, H. Baudry, P. Chevalier, J. Mourier, G. Troillard, B. Martinet, M. Marty, and A. Monroy ST Microelectronics

12.1

12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6

Introduction..................................................................... 12-1 Device Structures............................................................. 12-2 Doping and Impurity Profiles........................................ 12-5 BiCMOS Integration Issues ............................................ 12-6 High-Frequency Characteristics ..................................... 12-9 Outlook for the Future ................................................. 12-11

Introduction

The history of SiGe BiCMOS technology development in the ‘‘French silicon valley’’ goes back to the early 1990s [1], when a team of materials researchers at France Telecom CNET Laboratories near Grenoble started investigations in the Si/SiGe system using rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition (RTCVD). Application of this work to the development of heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) soon became a major research theme for the local bipolar device group [2–4]. At the same time, the development of a 0.5-mm single-polysilicon BiCMOS technology was going on in the new 200 mm Crolles plant of STMicroelectronics, a few kilometers away. A joint development work was then initiated between the two teams, with the objective to bring SiGe HBTs into manufacturing when the performance potential of silicon-only bipolar transistors would be fully exhausted [5]. This eventually happened with the 25/40 GHz fT/fmax double-polysilicon self-aligned transistor embedded in the 0.35-mm BiCMOS process. When it was internally demonstrated that much better performance, e.g., 50/70 GHz fT/fmax, could be obtained at the same technology node using a low-complexity SiGe HBT architecture [6], SiGe BiCMOS technology development at ST became a reality. Several SiGe BiCMOS processes, covering the 0.35, 0.25, and 0.13 mm technology nodes, and addressing both wireless and broadband communications applications, have been developed since then, and are now in production or at prototyping level at the Crolles plant. Table 12.1 outlines the main technological features of these processes, in terms of device isolation scheme, SiGe epitaxial base process, emitter–base and collector architectures, and emitter material. Main static and dynamic parameters of the high-speed SiGe HBT in these technologies are also summarized. A common feature of all these processes is the use of RTCVD for the growth of the SiGe (or SiGe:C) base. As discussed in Chapter 5 (see SiGe and Si Strained-Layer Epitaxy for Silicon Heterostructure Devices), RTCVD presents many advantages over competing approaches, and is today the dominant technique for conventional Si epitaxy as well as advanced SiGe processes in the semiconductor industry. Likewise, all technologies rely on a conventional collector structure, consisting of a heavily arsenicimplanted layer buried under lightly doped epitaxial silicon. In contrast with these longstanding technological options, Table 12.1 shows that several materials and architecture changes have been brought to the SiGe HBT while moving along the performance path from 45 to 160 GHz fT. The motivations for these structural changes and the accompanying evolutions of transistor doping and 12-1

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C012 Final Proof

12-2

page 2

18.10.2007 1:36pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

TABLE 12.1

ST SiGe BiCMOS Technologies: Main Process Features and Device Parameters

Technology

BiCMOS6G

BiCMOS7

BiCMOS7RF

BiCMOS9

CMOS node Back-end

0.35 mm Al

0.25 mm Al

0.25 mm Al

0.13 mm Cu

Collector Isolation Base E/B architecture Emitter

BL/epitaxy LOCOS SiGe NSEG QSA single-poly As implant Poly

BL/epitaxy STI/DTI SiGe NSEG QSA double-poly As in-situ doping Mono

BL/epitaxy STI/DTI SiGeC NSEG QSA double-poly As in-situ doping Mono

BL/epitaxy STI/DTI SiGeC NSEG QSA double-poly As in-situ doping Mono

WE (mm) RpB (kV/sq) Basewidth (nm)

0.4 10 —

0.25 6.5
50

0.25 1 —

0.17 3.6
25

Current gain BVCEO (V) VAF (V) fT (GHz) fmax (GHz) JC (mA/mm2) NFmin @ 2 GHz

100 3.6 60 45 60 1.0 0.8

120 2.6 >50 70 90 3.8 —

200 3.0 >150 60 120 1.8 150 160 160 7.5 —

Applications Status

RF Production

Broadband Production

RF, PA Prototyping

Broadband Prototyping

Refs.

[8]

[9]

[15,16]

[17]

impurity profiles are discussed in Sections 12.2 and 12.3, respectively. Section 12.4 addresses some of the issues that have been encountered while integrating these HBTs into the corresponding CMOS flows. Main high-frequency characteristics of the SiGe HBT in the various technologies are reviewed in Section 12.5. Finally, Section 12.6 concludes the chapter with early results from the development of next generation transistors, targeting 230 GHz cutoff frequencies for the 90-nm technology node.

12.2

Device Structures

Figure 12.1 displays SEM cross sections through the SiGe and SiGe:C HBTs used in ST SiGe BiCMOS technologies. The geometrical scale can be inferred from the contact size, i.e., 0.4 mm in (a), 0.25 mm in (b and c) and 0.16 mm in (d). A glance at the pictures shows that, in all technologies, the SiGe base is grown using nonselective epitaxy (NSEG). Compared to the alternative selective deposition process (SEG), this approach presents several advantages [7]: simpler chemistry, larger growth rates (or lower growth temperature), reduced macro- and microloading effects, and improved metrology. Unfortunately, these advantages on the manufacturability side come at the expense of a penalty on the performance side. Indeed, there is no simple way to build a SiGe HBT with fully self-aligned (FSA) emitter–base (E–B) regions on a nonselective base. As briefly discussed in Section 12.6, there are only complex solutions to this problem, which (at least partly) outbalance the advantages of NSEG over SEG structures. A pragmatic answer to this manufacturability vs. performance trade-off is provided by the family of quasiself-aligned (QSA) HBT structures implemented in ST SiGe BiCMOS technologies. As shown in Figure 12.1a, a single-polysilicon QSA structure is used in BiCMOS-6G [8], which mainly addresses the RF mobile communications market. In this construction, the poly-SiGe extension of the base formed on the field oxide (here LOCOS) during epitaxy is used as the extrinsic base material. The emitter (width WE ¼ 0.4 mm) is defined by a window opened in a thin deposited nitride/oxide stack. The low topography of the structure enables the use of a conventional arsenic-implanted polysilicon emitter, which is subsequently patterned around the emitter window using a second

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C012 Final Proof

page 3

18.10.2007 1:36pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

12-3

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: ST

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

FIGURE 12.1 SEM cross sections through the SiGe and SiGe:C HBTs used in ST SiGe BiCMOS technologies: (a) BiCMOS-6G, (b) and (c) BiCMOS-7 and -7RF, (d) BiCMOS-9. (From M. Laurens, B. Martinet, O. Kermarrec, Y. Campidelli, F. Dele´glise, D. Dutartre, G. Troillard, D. Gloria, J. Bonnouvrier, R. Beerkens, V. Rousset, F. Leverd, A. Chantre, and A. Monroy. Proceedings IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Toulouse, 2003, pp. 147–150. With permission.)

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

12-4

66870_C012 Final Proof

page 4

18.10.2007 1:36pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

lithography level. An extrinsic base implant is then performed self-aligned to the polysilicon emitter block (i.e., not to the emitter), followed by dopant activation and salicidation. This single-polysilicon QSA structure is very simple and ideally meets the performance needs of BiCMOS-6G (45/60 GHz fT/fmax). However, several limitations have been foreseen when considering the significantly higher performances (70/90 GHz fT/fmax) targeted for the second generation technology, BiCMOS-7: (i) narrow emitter windows (below 0.3 mm) are difficult to obtain using this process, which penalizes base resistance-related parameters (e.g., fmax, NFmin) and power consumption; (ii) good silicidation of the poly/mono-SiGe/Si boundary region at the edge of the active area is difficult, which penalizes the base access resistance; (iii) point defects injected at the emitter periphery during extrinsic base implantation cause enhanced boron diffusion and base widening [3], which negatively impacts the forward transit time (fT). The double-polysilicon QSA structure developed for BiCMOS-7 successfully addresses all these limitations* [9]. As shown in Figure 12.1b and c, shallow/deep trench isolation (STI/DTI) is used in this technology, which reduces parasitic capacitances and provides a flat topography after SiGe base epitaxy. A conventional double-polysilicon structure is constructed above the base, resulting in the following advantages regarding items (i) to (iii) above: (i) internal spacers reduce the effective emitter width from the emitter window opening, enabling narrow emitters (WE ¼ 0.25 mm) without specific lithography requirements; (ii) extrinsic base silicidation is greatly improved by the availability of a true polysilicon base layer (on top of the poly-SiGe extension of the base), and by the flat topography of the structure at the edges of the base active area; (iii) the extrinsic-to-intrinsic base contact region is formed by the out-diffusion of boron from the base polysilicon layer, avoiding base widening effects related to high-dose implants through the SiGe layer. In order to prevent overetching into the thin epitaxial base during emitter window opening, a polysilicon/oxide pedestal is patterned on the SiGe base prior to base polysilicon deposition, as visible in Figure 12.1c. As a result, emitter and base regions are not self-aligned in this structure either. However, it has been found that a proper overlay strategy with present-day steppers allows enough process margin for the emitter window enclosure by this etch-stop layer, while easily meeting BiCMOS-7 performance targets. A closer look at Figure 12.1c also reveals a significant difference in the crystalline structure of the emitter, when compared with the first-generation transistor. Indeed, due to the larger topography of the structure at the emitter deposition step, in-situ arsenic-doped polysilicon is used in BiCMOS-7 to avoid emitter perimeter depletion and plug effects. This material is deposited in a commercial singlewafer CVD reactor. Load locks and a very clean ambient eliminate any unwanted oxide layer at the poly-Si–Si interface, resulting in monocrystalline structure on the active transistor region and in polycrystalline structure on the surrounding isolation regions at the end of the process (Figure 12.2). These so-called monoemitters have many advantages over conventional polyemitters [10,11]: (i) very shallow and uniform E/B junction depths are obtained; (ii) manufacturability issues related to the control and reproducibility of the interfacial oxide layer are suppressed; (ii) emitter resistance and low frequency noise are significantly reduced; (iii) base current is increased, which translates into an improved emitter-to-collector breakdown voltage, BVCEO. It should be pointed out that this monocrystalline emitter process was first described in Ref. [12], and is now becoming a standard in the SiGe BiCMOS technology industry. Extension to a SiGe emitter process has also been proposed recently [13]. The range of performances achievable with the double-polysilicon QSA HBT structure has been dramatically extended by introducing SiGe:C base technology [14]. The device used in BiCMOS-7RF, which addresses RF [15] and power amplifier [16] applications, is structurally and geometrically identical to the BiCMOS-7 transistor shown in Figure 12.1b and c. Here, carbon doping of SiGe is * It should be pointed out that the latter two effects (ii) and (iii) are minimized in more recent technologies using shallow trench isolation (STI) instead of LOCOS (this reduces the topography of the structure at the edges of the base active area), and carbon-doping of the SiGe base (which suppresses to a large extent transient enhanced diffusion effects caused by the extrinsic base implant).

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C012 Final Proof

page 5

18.10.2007 1:36pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

12-5

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: ST

Poly

Epi

SiGe base 60 nm

FIGURE 12.2 TEM cross section showing the monocrystalline structure of the emitter in ST BiCMOS-7 technology (similar emitter structure is used in BiCMOS-7RF and -9).

leveraged to improve high-frequency noise figures by enabling much larger integrated base doping concentration. In contrast, the SiGe:C process developed for BiCMOS-9 aims at producing devices with ultrathin bases, in order to comply with the very high cutoff frequencies (160 GHz fT and fmax) required for broadband communications applications [17]. As shown in Figure 12.1d, the transistor structure has been scaled vertically and laterally while moving to 0.13 mm technology node. Vertical scaling was imposed by CMOS compatibility constraints, as discussed in Section 12.4. Horizontal scaling, with final emitter widths of
0.17 mm, minimizes the intrinsic component of the base resistance, as well as parasitic elements such as collector resistance and collector/base (C/B) capacitance, which is needed to reach frequency performance targets. Moreover, a reduced emitter stripe width is mandatory to accommodate the increased current density at peak fT in this technology (see Figure 12.9).

12.3

Doping and Impurity Profiles

Transistor doping and impurity profiles have also greatly evolved throughout these developments. The main features of these profiles and the motivations for these evolutions are discussed in this section, with the help of the schematic drawings shown in Figure 12.3. BiCMOS-6G and -7, which use a pure SiGe base (i.e., without carbon doping), rely on a ‘‘conventional’’ E/B dopant distribution, where the arsenic profile intercepts the boron profile close to its maximum value (Figure 12.3a). The doping level there is typically limited to
5  1018 cm3 to avoid tunneling currents and excessive E/B junction capacitance. A two-step germanium profile is used in the base, with larger concentration on the collector side than on the emitter side. This profile serves several purposes and is designed as follows: (i) the Ge content of the lower step sets (to a large extent) the current gain of the transistor; (ii) the flat Ge profile at the E/B junction stabilizes the current gain against fluctuations in the junction depth and improves the reverse Early voltage (as compared to a graded Ge profile); (iii) the larger Ge concentration on the collector side reduces boron diffusion and base widening during processing; (iv) the Ge step in the base creates a pseudoelectric field, which reduces base transit time and improves fT; and (v) the difference in the Ge content between C/B and E/B

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C012 Final Proof

12-6

page 6

18.10.2007 1:36pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

SiGe HBT

Ge B

SiGe:C HBT Ge

As

Concentration

Concentration

As

B

P

P

(a)

Depth

(b)

Depth

FIGURE 12.3 Schematic evolution of transistor doping and impurity profiles through ST SiGe BiCMOS technologies: (a) BiCMOS-6G and -7, (b) BiCMOS-7RF (dashed lines), and BiCMOS-9 (solid lines).

junctions increases the forward Early voltage of the transistor. It shoud be pointed out that the whole profile has been scaled down while moving from BiCMOS-6G to -7, in order to comply with the frequency performance increase (final basewidth WB is
50 nm in the latter process). This has been highly facilitated by the introduction of the monoemitter process discussed above. The collector doping, set by a masked implantation prior to SiGe base deposition, has also been adjusted (i.e., increased). No change has been brought to the collector epitaxy thickness. Doping and Ge profiles used in BiCMOS-9 and 7RF SiGe:C technologies are significantly different from the above discussed profiles (Figure 12.3b). Their main features can be summarized as follows: (i) a bell-shaped boron distribution with peak doping concentration significantly above 1019 cm3 is used in the base, which is made possible by the strong reduction of boron diffusion in SiGe:C [14]; (ii) there is no overlap between arsenic and boron profiles, which keeps E/B junction capacitance low despite the heavy base doping level; (iii) the Ge content is graded across the base on the emitter side, in order to compensate the retarding electric field associated with the retrograde boron profile; (iv) a flat Ge profile is used on the collector side, where an accelerating field is created by the boron distribution itself. Such trapezoidal Ge profile has been found optimum to avoid layer stability issues and high injection induced barrier effects in high-voltage transistors, which can been encountered with triangular Ge profiles. As shown in Figure 12.3b, different optimizations of this generic SiGe:C HBT profile are used in BiCMOS-9 and -7RF. BiCMOS-9 favors a short forward transit time to reach the high fT target. This is obtained using a very thin base (WB
25 nm), a high collector doping, and a thin collector epitaxy. Despite the narrow base, pinched base resistance remains low (RpB
3.6kV/sq.) thanks to the heavy boron doping, enabling simultaneously high fT and fmax in this technology. In contrast, noise figure and analog characteristics are given prior attention in BiCMOS-7RF. To this end, the boron spike width (and the whole SiGe:C stack) has been enlarged, leading to very low base resistance (RpB
1 kV/sq). Also, larger spacing is used between arsenic and boron profiles (through the thickness of the silicon-capping layer), which reduces E/B junction capacitance and improves low current characteristics. The collector structure in this technology is similar to BiCMOS-7. As detailed in Refs. [15,17], the carbon concentration in both SiGe:C technologies has been carefully optimized to effectively suppress boron diffusion during processing, while avoiding E/B and neutral base recombination effects observed at excessively large carbon contents.

12.4

BiCMOS Integration Issues

One major challenge of BiCMOS integration engineers is to design a process flow in such a way that bipolar transistors can be added without disturbing CMOS devices, in order to retain full compatibility

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C012 Final Proof

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: ST

page 7

18.10.2007 1:36pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

12-7

with existing logic libraries. This has become increasingly difficult, with the downscaling of CMOS gate lengths and the upscaling of bipolar cutoff frequencies. BiCMOS integration issues are briefly reviewed in this section, with special emphasis on ST’s most challenging technology in this respect, i.e., BiCMOS-9. Generally speaking, the integration of a high-speed HBT within an advanced CMOS technology raises several types of concerns: (i) Thermal cycle issues. The process flow must be designed to avoid substantial CMOS dopant motion due to the addition of the HBT fabrication steps. The hydrogen pre-bake used in RTCVD to clean the base active area prior to SiGe epitaxy is particularly critical in this regard. Symmetrically, high-temperature CMOS processing must be placed prior to the HBT formation to minimize base broadening. It should be pointed out that the use of SiGe:C is very helpful, due to the blocking effect of carbon on the diffusion of boron. Arsenic emitter doping (as opposed to phosphorous) is also favorable, since it is compatible with the final activation anneal of the CMOS process, that the HBT is usually exposed to. (ii) Structural integration issues. The fabrication of the HBT in the presence of CMOS gate topography requires careful choice of integration sequence. Numerous films are deposited during the HBT formation, as illustrated on Figure 12.4 which shows the accumulation of some of these films over closely spaced 0.13-mm gates in BiCMOS-9. Subsequent etch steps must isotropically remove these films without leaving unwanted spacers. Another difficulty encountered in the development of BiCMOS-9 is related to the thin photoresists used for critical lithography steps, such as gate patterning. The topography of the adjacent bipolar areas must then be low enough to ensure that sufficient resist be left there to avoid damaging the HBTs while processing CMOS gates. (iii) Back-end compatibility issues. Thin premetal dielectric layers are used in advanced CMOS technologies to reduce the contact hole aspect ratio. This raises concerns in a BiCMOS process, where bipolar transistors are usually higher than CMOS devices, and justifies the significant vertical scaling applied to the double-polysilicon QSA HBT structure while moving to 0.13-mm technology node (see Figure 12.1c and d). Electromigration issues must also be paid attention in high-speed SiGe BiCMOS technologies, where large current densities (JC) can be attained at peak fT. In BiCMOS-9 where JC
7.5 mA/mm2, full compatibility with the back-end rules of the core CMOS process has been maintained by developing a specific transistor layout, with two rows of contacts (and vias) on emitter and collector regions (see Figure 12.1d). A generic process flow for ST SiGe BiCMOS technologies is shown in Figure 12.5. In all processes, the fabrication starts with buried layer formation on a p-substrate, followed by collector epitaxy. The DTI module is then inserted (except in BiCMOS-6G). Next, the shallow trench module (or LOCOS for BiCMOS-6G) of the CMOS core process is implemented, and the collector reachthrough is formed. At

FIGURE 12.4 SEM cross section showing closely spaced 0.13-mm CMOS gates covered by SiGe:C HBT films in ST BiCMOS-9 technology.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C012 Final Proof

12-8

page 8

18.10.2007 1:36pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

CMOS backbone

Bipolar steps

Shallow trench isolation

Buried layer and collector epitaxy Deep trench isolation Collector reachthrough

Well implants Gate oxide process Poly gate

Extension & S/D implants Activation anneal Salicidation and contacts Metal interconnect

SIC implant Base epitaxy Emitter−base structure

FIGURE 12.5 Schematic integration flow for ST SiGe BiCMOS technologies, showing insertion of bipolar modules into the CMOS core process.

FIGURE 12.6 Saturation current vs. threshold voltage for 1.2 V low leakage nMOS and pMOS transistors in 0.13 mm pure CMOS and BiCMOS-9 technologies. (From M. Laurens, B. Martinet, O. Kermarrec, Y. Campidelli, F. Dele´glise, D. Dutartre, G. Troillard, D. Gloria, J. Bonnouvrier, R. Beerkens, V. Rousset, F. Leverd, A. Chantre, and A. Monroy. Proceedings IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Toulouse, 2003, pp. 147–150. With permission.)

this stage, the CMOS flow resumes with the formation of wells, gate oxides, and polysilicon gates. Deviations then exist regarding the fabrication of the emitter–base structure of the HBT. In BiCMOS6G, 7, and 7RF, where the main concern was the integrity of the pMOS transistor, the whole E/B module is inserted between extension and source/drain implants, in order to avoid boron penetration through the gate oxide. The situation is more complex in the case of BiCMOS-9, where both CMOS and bipolar devices have become very touchy. A novel integration scheme has been developed for this technology [17], in which E/B fabrication steps are split into two parts, in such a way that all integration issues discussed in concerns (i) and (ii) are solved. Finally, all fabrication sequences are completed by the activation anneal of dopants, salicidation, contact formation, and metallization. Figure 12.6 compares 0.13-mm pure CMOS and BiCMOS-9 technologies regarding the saturation current and the threshold voltage of nMOS and pMOS transistors. The results demonstrate the successful integration of the high-speed SiGe:C HBT with the newly developed BiCMOS integration scheme.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C012 Final Proof

page 9

18.10.2007 1:36pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

12-9

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: ST

12.5

High-Frequency Characteristics

Figure 12.7 and Figure 12.8 summarize high-frequency figures-of-merit fT vs. BVCEO and fmax vs. fT for the low-voltage SiGe HBT in the various technologies discussed above, and for a high-voltage device obtained in BiCMOS-7RF and -9 by altering the collector doping profile. Shown values of fT and fmax are

200

BC6G BC7 150

BC7RF

fT (GHz)

BC9 180

270

BC7RF-HV

100

BC9-HV

50 f T ⫻ BVCEO (GHz-V) 0 0

2

8

6

4 B V CEO (V)

FIGURE 12.7 fT vs. BVCEO data for high-speed and high-voltage SiGe HBTs in ST SiGe BiCMOS technologies. Solid lines represent process design contours with constant fTBVCEO product.

200 fmax > fT 150

fmax (GHz)

fmax < fT BC6G

100

BC7 BC7RF 50

BC9 BC7RF-HV BC9-HV

0 0

50

100

150

200

f T(GHz)

FIGURE 12.8

fmax vs. fT data for high-speed and high-voltage SiGe HBTs in ST SiGe BiCMOS technologies.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C012 Final Proof

12-10

page 10 18.10.2007

1:36pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

200 BC9 BC6G

150 f T (GHz)

BC7 BC7RF 100

50

0 0.01

0.1

1 JC

10

100

(mA/µm2)

FIGURE 12.9 Comparison of fT vs. JC characteristics for SiGe and SiGe:C HBTs in ST SiGe BiCMOS technologies (high-speed devices only).

derived from s-parameter measurements up to 110 GHz. Details on the procedure used to extract fmax from unilateral power gain data may be found in Ref. [17]. The fT vs. BVCEO plot in Figure 12.7 shows the classical trade-off between operation speed and breakdown voltage, with fT  BVCEO products close to 180 GHz-V for most devices, except in BiCMOS-9 where this product rises up 270 GHz-V for the high-speed SiGe:C HBT. Figure 12.8 shows that fmax/fT ratios larger than unity have been maintained throughout the roadmap, which indicates that process enhancements used to increase fT have not been detrimental to fmax. This holds true for the high-speed HBT in BiCMOS-9, where fT
fmax
160 GHz. This remarkable (and somewhat unexpected) result demonstrates that the combination of the robust double-polysilicon QSA HBT structure with a thin and heavily doped SiGe:C base can provide outstanding frequency performances. The various SiGe technology generations are further compared in Figure 12.9 and Figure 12.10, which plot the dependencies of fT and fmax on collector current density JC. Here again, a classical trend of increasing current density with peak fT value is observed: from 45 to 160 GHz, approximately eightfold increase in JC at peak fT is obtained. This reflects the delayed onset of Kirk effect at increasing collectordoping concentrations. The benefits of SiGe:C base technology and geometrical scaling for RF and broadband applications are highlighted by the following observations: (i) RF applications. Comparing BiCMOS-7RF and -7 characteristics in Figure 12.7 to Figure 12.10, one notices a large increase in fmax (from 90 to 120 GHz), despite a 10-GHz decrease in fT linked to a small BVCEO adjust. This results from the drastic reduction of base resistance (pinched base resistance decreases from
6.5 to
1kV/sq) achieved with heavy SiGe:C base doping. As shown in Figure 12.11, this translates into excellent HF noise characteristics: NFmin at 2 GHz is lower than 0.4 dB in BiCMOS-7RF, which is twice smaller than in the first RF SiGe process, BiCMOS-6G. Comparing further BiCMOS-6G and -7RF performances in Figure 12.10, it is found that fmax has been increased by a factor of
2 for similar current per unit transistor length (i.e., similar JC  WE). This large performance improvement is explained by the combination of the heavily doped SiGe:C base and the reduced emitter width in BiCMOS7RF. As discussed in Ref. [16], the high-voltage SiGe:C HBT also benefits from these features, enabling the integration of power amplifiers with RF functions using this technology. (ii) Broadband applications. Similarly, the introduction of carbon-doped SiGe and the downscaling of emitter widths from 0.25 to 0.17 mm account for the large fmax performance jump (þ60 GHz) between BiCMOS-7 and -9 HBTs (Figure 12.10). In this case, the process has

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C012 Final Proof

page 11 18.10.2007

1:36pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

12-11

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: ST

1.2

NF min(dB)

1.0

200 BC9 BC6 G

f max (GHz)

150

BC7 BC7RF

AE = 6⫻(0.25⫻9.85) µm2 f = 2 GHz VBC = 0 V VBC = −1 V

0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2

100

0 0

50

0.005

0.01

0.015

0.02

IC (A)

0 0.01

0.1

1

10

100

JC (mA/µm2)

FIGURE 12.10 Comparison of fmax vs. JC characteristics for SiGe and SiGe:C HBTs in ST SiGe BiCMOS technologies (high-speed devices only).

FIGURE 12.11 Noise figure vs. collector current at 2 GHz for BiCMOS-7RF SiGe:C HBT. (From H. Baudry, B. Szelag, F. Dele´glise, M. Laurens, J. Mourier, F. Saguin, G. Troillard, A. Chantre, and A. Monroy. IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Toulouse, 2003, pp. 207–210. With permission.)

been designed to provide similar fT enhancement simultaneously. As shown in Figure 12.9, the SiGe:C HBT in BiCMOS-9 has about twice the fT of the BiCMOS-7 device at its peak current density of
4 mA/mm2. Alternatively, this approximately twofold higher frequency can be traded for an approximately fivefold reduction in power consumption at the same frequency for applications not requiring the ultimate performance. It should be pointed out that, in addition to these remarkable frequency performances, excellent yield results and process reproducibility have been demonstrated for this technology, as detailed in Ref. [17].

12.6

Outlook for the Future

In this chapter, the main features of ST 0.35, 0.25, and 0.13 mm SiGe BiCMOS technologies have been reviewed, with emphasis on SiGe HBT structures, profiles, and high frequency characteristics. Further details on these processes, including other available active and passive components, may be found in the literature [8,15–17]. Circuit applications of these technologies for the mobile communications market are described in Chapter 16 (see Circuits and Applications Using Silicon Heterostructure Devices) of this book. As far as optical communications applications are concerned, available circuit results indicate that the 160 GHz fT/fmax BiCMOS-9 device is able to address the 40 Gb/s market [18,19]. For more demanding applications, such as 77 GHz automotive radar, higher frequency performances will be required, e.g., >230 GHz fT/fmax. From the past experience in BiCMOS-9 technology optimization, we estimate that the doublepolysilicon QSA HBT architecture can be extended over 200 GHz fT, but that aggressive design rules would be needed to reach 230 GHz fmax. Consequently, decision has been made to investigate a FSA HBT structure for 90-nm SiGe BiCMOS generation. As mentioned already, FSA HBT structures using nonselective base epitaxy are not straightforward. They require specific process modules, such as CMP or countermask lithography, which are not easy to implement and to integrate into a BiCMOS flow. For this and other reasons discussed in Refs. [20,21], the approach used at ST is based on the selective epitaxial base (FSA-SEG) concept, which has the other advantage to be mask-compatible with the QSA-NSEG approach.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C012 Final Proof

12-12

FIGURE 12.12

page 12 18.10.2007

1:36pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

SEM cross section through a FSA-selective SiGe:C base HBT fabricated using BiCMOS-9 reticles.

400

55 K

f max fT, fmax (GHz)

300

fT 300 K

200

100

0 0.1

AE = 0.17⫻3.6 µm2 VC B = 0.5 V 1

10

100

JC (mA/µm2)

FIGURE 12.13 High-frequency characteristics at 300 and 55 K of a FSA-selective SiGe:C base HBT fabricated using BiCMOS-9 reticles.

Figure 12.12 shows an SEM cross section through a FSA-SEG SiGe:C HBT fabricated using BiCMOS-9 reticles. The main difficulty with the selective epitaxy of SiGe:C is the higher growth temperature compared to nonselective epitaxy, which is detrimental to the carbon incorporation on substitutional sites. However, by proper optimization of the carbon and Ge profiles, this difficulty can be solved, and good process manufacturability and world class device performances (
230 and
350 GHz fT/fmax at room and cryogenic temperatures, respectively) have been demonstrated, such as shown in Figure 12.13. It should be pointed out that these performances have been obtained for a device using an arsenic-doped monoemitter and sustaining a high thermal budget, which will facilitate its later integration with 90-nm CMOS.

Acknowledgments The authors are indebted to the many people at ST Microelectronics Crolles involved in the various aspects of this work. In particular, they wish to thank the members of the epitaxy teams of D. Dutartre (C. Fellous, F. Dele´glise, and L. Rubaldo) and D. Bensahel (Y. Campidelli and O. Kermarrec), and of the former CVD group of J.L. Regolini at France Telecom CNET Laboratories, for their contributions to making SiGe BiCMOS technology at ST a success story. The continuous support of B. Sautreuil and M. Roche is also gratefully acknowledged.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C012 Final Proof

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: ST

page 13 18.10.2007

1:36pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

12-13

References 1. D. Dutartre, G. Bre´mond, A. Souifi, and T. Benyattou. Excitonic photoluminescence from Si-capped strained Si1–xGex layers. Phys. Rev. B 44:11525–11527, 1991. 2. H. Boussetta, G. Giroult-Matlakowski, B. Le Tron, D. Dutartre, P. Warren, M.J. Bouzid, and A. Chantre. Identification of peripheral base currents in Si or SiGe epitaxial-base single-polysilicon self-aligned bipolar transistors. Proceedings 24th European Solid-State Device Research Conference, Edinburgh, 1994, pp. 63–66. 3. S. Denorme, H. Boussetta, A. Chantre, G. Vincent, and M. Mouis. Demonstration of enhanced base diffusion due to extrinsic base implantations in submicron, polysilicon-emitter, epitaxial base bipolar transistors. Proceedings 25th European Solid-State Device Research Conference, The Hague, 1995, pp. 513–516. 4. B. Le Tron, M.D.R. Hashim, P. Ashburn, M. Mouis, A. Chantre, and G. Vincent. Determination of bandgap narrowing and parasitic energy barriers in SiGe HBTs integrated in a bipolar technology. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 44:715–722, 1997. 5. E. de Berranger, S. Bodnar, A. Chantre, J. Kirtsch, A. Monroy, M. Laurens, A. Granier, J.L. Regolini, and M. Mouis. Performance improvement in a 200 mm BiCMOS technology by Si/SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor integration. Proceedings 26th European Solid-State Device Research Conference, Bologna, 1996, pp. 433–436. 6. A. Chantre, M. Marty, J.L. Regolini, M. Mouis, J. de Pontcharra, D. Dutartre, C. Morin, D. Gloria, S. Jouan, R. Pantel, M. Laurens, and A. Monroy. A high performance low complexity SiGe HBT for BiCMOS integration. Proceedings IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Minneapolis, 1998, pp. 93–96. 7. D. Dutartre. Silicon epitaxy: new applications. In Semiconductors and Semimetals, vol. 72. Academic Press, New York, 2001, pp. 397–457. 8. A. Monroy, M. Laurens, M. Marty, D. Dutartre, D. Gloria, J.L. Carbonero, A. Perrotin, M. Roche, and A. Chantre. BiCMOS6G: a high performance 0.35 mm SiGe BiCMOS technology for wireless applications. Proceedings IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Minneapolis, 1999, pp. 121–124. 9. H. Baudry, B. Martinet, C. Fellous, O. Kermarrec, Y. Campidelli, M. Laurens, M. Marty, J. Mourier, G. Troillard, A. Monroy, D. Dutartre, D. Bensahel, G. Vincent, and A. Chantre. High performance 0.25 mm SiGe and SiGe:C HBTs using non selective epitaxy. Proceedings IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Minneapolis, 2001, pp. 52–55. 10. S. Jouan, R. Planche, M. Marty, D. Dutartre, J.A. Chroboczek, P. Llinares, H. Baudry, J. de Pontcharra, J.L. Regolini, G. Vincent, and A. Chantre. In-situ arsenic doped single-crystal emitters for low 1/f noise SiGe HBTs. Proceedings of the 29th European Solid-State Device Research Conference, Leuven, 1999, pp. 336–339. 11. S. Jouan, R. Planche, H. Baudry, P. Ribot, J.A. Chroboczek, D. Dutartre, D. Gloria, M. Laurens, P. Llinare`s, M. Marty, A. Monroy, C. Morin, R. Pantel, A. Perrotin, J. de Pontcharra, J.L. Regolini, G. Vincent, and A. Chantre. A high speed low 1/f noise SiGe HBT technology using epitaxially aligned polysilicon emitters. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 46:1525–1531, 1999. 12. S. Niel, O. Rozeau, L. Ailloud, C. Hernandez, P. Llinare`s, M. Guillermet, J. Kirtsch, A. Monroy, J. de Pontcharra, G. Auvert, B. Blanchard, M. Mouis, G. Vincent, and A. Chantre. A 54 GHz fmax implanted base 0.35 mm single-polysilicon bipolar technology. Technical Digest IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, Washington DC, 1997, pp. 807–810. 13. B. Martinet, F. Romagna, O. Kermarrec, Y. Campidelli, F. Saguin, H. Baudry, M. Marty, D. Dutartre, and A. Chantre. An investigation of the static and dynamic characteristics of high speed SiGe:C HBTs using a poly-SiGe emitter. Proceedings IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Minneapolis, 2002, pp. 147–150. 14. B. Martinet, H. Baudry, O. Kermarrec, Y. Campidelli, M. Laurens, M. Marty, T. Schwartzmann, A. Monroy, D. Bensahel, and A. Chantre. 100 GHz SiGe:C HBTs using non selective base

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

12-14

15.

16.

17.

18. 19.

20.

21.

66870_C012 Final Proof

page 14 18.10.2007

1:36pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

epitaxy. Proceedings 31st European Solid-State Device Research Conference, Nuremberg, 2001, pp. 97–100. H. Baudry, B. Szelag, F. Dele´glise, M. Laurens, J. Mourier, F. Saguin, G. Troillard, A. Chantre, and A. Monroy. BiCMOS7RF: a highly manufacturable 0.25 mm BiCMOS RF-applications-dedicated technology using nonselective SiGe:C epitaxy. Proceedings IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Toulouse, 2003, pp. 207–210. D. Muller, A. Giry, C. Arnaud, C. Arricastres, R. Sommet, B. Szelag, A. Monroy, and D. Pache. LDMOSFET and SiGe:C HBT integrated in a 0.25 mm BiCMOS technology for RF-PA applications. Proceedings IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Montreal, 2004, pp. 168–171. M. Laurens, B. Martinet, O. Kermarrec, Y. Campidelli, F. Dele´glise, D. Dutartre, G. Troillard, D. Gloria, J. Bonnouvrier, R. Beerkens, V. Rousset, F. Leverd, A. Chantre, and A. Monroy. A 150 GHz fT/fmax 0.13 mm SiGe:C BiCMOS technology. Proceedings IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Toulouse, 2003, pp. 147–150. T.O. Dickson, R. Beerkens, and S.P. Voinigescu. A 2.5-V, 40-Gb/s decision circuit using SiGe BiCMOS logic. Proceedings Symposium on VLSI Circuits, Honolulu, 2004, pp. 206–209. S.P.Voinigescu, T.O. Dickson, R. Beerkens, and P. Westergaard. A comparison of Si CMOS, SiGe BiCMOS, and InP HBTs technologies for high-speed and millimeter-wave ICs. Proceedings Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems, Atlanta, 2004, pp. 111–114. P. Chevalier, C. Fellous, B. Martinet, F. Leverd, F. Saguin, D. Dutartre, and A. Chantre. 180 GHz fT and fmax self-aligned SiGeC HBT using selective epitaxial growth of the base. Proceedings European Solid-State Device Research Conference, Estoril, 2003, pp. 299–302. P. Chevalier, C. Fellous, L. Rubaldo, D. Dutartre, M. Laurens, T. Jagueneau, F. Leverd, S. Bord, C. Richard, D. Lenoble, J. Bonnouvrier, M. Marty, A. Perrotin, D. Gloria, F. Saguin, B. Barbalat, N. Ze´rounian, F. Aniel, and A. Chantre. 230 GHz self-aligned SiGeC HBT for 90 nm BiCMOS technology. Proceedings IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, Montreal, 2004, pp. 225–228.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C013 Final Proof

page 1

18.10.2007 1:30pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

13 Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Texas Instruments Integration of a Complementary-SiGe BiCMOS Process for High-Speed Precision Analog Applications 13.1 13.2

Badih El-Kareh, Scott Balster, P. Steinmann, and Hiroshi Yasuda Texas Instruments

13.1

Introduction..................................................................... 13-1 Process Integration.......................................................... 13-2 Starting Material . Buried Layers, Collector Epitaxy . Lateral Isolation . Collector Sinkers, CMOS Wells . Base Modules . Emitter Modules . CMOS Module . Capacitors . Resistors

13.3

Components and their Characteristics.......................... 13-6 Bipolars . CMOS . Capacitors . Resistors Thermal Resistance

13.4 13.5

.

Circuit Application........................................................ 13-10 Summary ........................................................................ 13-10

Introduction

Extensive work has been published on RF SiGe [1–15] and SiGe:C [16–18,22] npn transistors with impressive cutoff frequencies in the range 40–350 GHz. There are, however, very little data available on SiGe and SiGe:C pnp transistors [19–21]. The design of complementary npn and pnp transistors of high and comparable performance is important to linear analog circuits with symmetrical architectures. In addition, there is a tradeoff between gain (b), transistor breakdown (BVCEO), early voltage (VA), cutoff frequency (fT), and noise that must be met for every application. Finally, there are limitations to the thermal budget that must be considered when integrating SiGe-bipolar, CMOS, and passive components. These considerations were taken into account during the development of a novel, full dielectrically isolated modular complementary-SiGe BiCMOS process that is now in manufacturing for ultrahighspeed precision analog circuits [23]. The availability of SiGe and a controlled emitter interface oxide (IFO) provide added flexibility during the tradeoff. This chapter describes the integration of bipolar, 13-1

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C013 Final Proof

13-2

page 2

18.10.2007 1:30pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

CMOS, and passive process modules; their interactions; and integration issues. Active and passive components and their key parameters are then discussed. The chapter concludes with a summary of results obtained on a typical voltage feedback operational amplifier.

13.2

Process Integration

This section describes the integration of bipolar, CMOS, and passive process modules and their interactions. Table 13.1 summarizes key processing steps. A schematic cross-section of the completed bipolar transistors is shown in Figure 13.1 for illustration.

Starting Material The starting material is commercially available silicon on insulator (SOI) wafers with 1.25-mm top silicon and 0.1 to 0.4-mm buried-oxide (BOX) on high-resistivity p-type support wafers. The choice of buried oxide (BOX) thickness is a tradeoff between thermal resistance, maximum applied voltage, parasitic capacitance between collector and support wafer, and cost. For high-voltage applications, the BOX thickness is typically 0.4 mm. It is thinned down to 0.1–0.2 mm wherever applicable to reduce thermal resistance and self-heating, particularly during operation at maximum power. Reducing the BOX thickness, however, increases parasitic capacitance. For a typical p-type support wafer, this increase is particularly significant in pnp structures because of the accumulating applied voltage and workfunction difference between collector and support wafer. Increasing its resistivity to >100 Ohm-cm reduces the impact of thinner BOX on parasitic capacitance and also improves the quality factor of passive components. The latter is especially important in RF applications.

Buried Layers, Collector Epitaxy The n- and p-buried layers (NBL and PBL) are patterned, implanted, and diffused into the top silicon film. The implant and anneal conditions are critical to maintaining low collector resistances while minimizing defect density, surface roughness, and autodoping during epitaxy. An epitaxial film is then deposited. Its minimum thickness is primarily limited by the buried-layer updiffusion, the selectively implanted collector (SIC) and base profiles, and their impact on transistor breakdown. Tighter control of the epitaxial film allows reduction of its nominal thickness, improving fT (mainly the npn fT) while maintaining the minimum transistor breakdown of 5.5 V. For some

TABLE 13.1

Key Process Modules

Starting material, SOI wafer Buried layer implants and anneal Collector epitaxy Isolation. Deep- and shallow-trench patterning and fill Collector sinker implants CMOS well implants npn base module pnp base module Precision polysilicon resistor patterning and implant npn emitter module pnp emitter module Patterning of CMOS gate, base, polysilicon resistors, polysilicon capacitor plates Source/drain implant and anneal MIM capacitor module Metal-1 and Metal-2 modules Thin-film resistor module Metal-3 and Metal-4 modules

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C013 Final Proof

page 3

18.10.2007 1:30pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

13-3

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Texas Instruments

17 16

14

5

9

13

3

11 2

4

12

15

5

7

5 4

8

10

3 1

5

6

5 4

Buried oxide PNP

NPN Support wafer

FIGURE 13.1 Schematic cross-section of npn and pnp transistors. 1: n-buried layer; 2: p-buried layer; 3: collector epitaxy; 4: deep trench; 5: STI; 6: npn sinker; 7: pnp sinker; 8: npn base; 9: pnp base; 10: npn SIC; 11: pnp SIC; 12: NEMIT POLY; 13: PEMIT POLY; 14: CoSi2; 15: BPSG; 16: contact; 17: first metal (second to fourth metal not shown).

applications, boron is implanted in an intermediate region under the base of the pnp. This allows tailoring the collector profile independently of epitaxial thickness, reducing the collector resistance and improving fT while maintaining low-impact ionization at the collector–base junction.

Lateral Isolation Oxide-filled, deep, and shallow trenches fully encapsulate components. This isolation technique minimizes parasitic capacitances, eliminates latch-up, increases packing density, and allows for separate CMOS body-bias and extensions to high-voltage applications. Deep trenches are first patterned and etched into silicon through a triple oxide–nitride-oxide (ONO) stack of suitable film thickness. After partially filling deep trenches, shallow trenches are patterned, straddling deep trenches, and etched into silicon. A thin oxide liner is grown in both trenches followed by conventional oxide-fill and chemical– mechanical polishing (CMP). The process is optimized to minimize stress [24], and provide a quasiplanar surface for subsequent processing steps.

Collector Sinkers, CMOS Wells Collector sinkers are patterned and implanted to reduce collector resistance. Several factors are considered when defining the sinker dose and energy: the collector resistance, the limited thermal budget, and the sinker surface concentration. The latter is an important factor when constructing a ‘‘highdensity’’ capacitor over an n-type sinker with polysilicon as the second plate and the gate-oxide film as the dielectric. As the surface concentration increases, the oxidation rate increases, reducing the capacitance per unit area. An increase in surface concentration also degrades the dielectric integrity. An advantage of full dielectric isolation over junction isolation is the capability of independently isolating the bottom plate of the polysilicon–oxide–silicon capacitor. After growing 11.5-nm CMOS gate oxide, an intrinsic polysilicon film is deposited that constitutes the first part of the CMOS polysilicon gate. The second part is deposited during the npn base formation.

Base Modules The bipolar base modules begin after the deposition of the CMOS intrinsic gate-polysilicon. The npn base is first patterned by removing the gate-polysilicon and gate oxide from the base region. The SiGe

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

13-4

66870_C013 Final Proof

page 4

18.10.2007 1:30pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

npn base is grown epitaxially in the patterned windows and as a polysilicon film over the first intrinsic polysilicon-gate. The film can be in-situ doped or implanted. The base-polysilicon and first gatepolysilicon form the final CMOS gate, capacitor plates, and one of the polysilicon precision resistors. While low in concentration, the presence of Ge in the CMOS gate slightly modifies its bandgap, and hence workfunction [25]. For a specified threshold voltage, a minor re-adjustment in channel profile may become necessary when the npn base Ge concentration is modified. Patterning the pnp base is critical. The npn base polysilicon/epitaxy is first covered with a thin film that will serve as an etch stop in a subsequent step. The pnp base region is patterned through the stack, and a SiGe pnp base epitaxy/polysilicon deposited. Similarly to the npn, the film can be in-situ doped or implanted. A tight control of emitter patterning and film undercut allows the reduction of base dose and energy, and hence of base width, increasing fT without impacting emitter–base leakage. The Ge profile is tailored to maximize VA. The positions of the SiGe/Si transitions strongly impact bipolar parameters. In this process, the pnp early voltage (VA) is dominated by the ratio of Ge concentration at the collector– base junction to that at the emitter–base junction [26,27]. This limits the flexibility of increasing the Ge concentration at the emitter–base junction to increase gain without seriously impacting VA.

Emitter Modules The key feature of the emitter modules is the npn and pnp interface oxide (IFO) formed at the base surface immediately below the emitter polysilicon. The emitter modules start with a stack of grown/ deposited insulators into which emitter windows are patterned over the base. The thickness and composition of the stack is a tradeoff between patterning control and emitter–base overlap capacitance. The npn emitter openings are first patterned, leaving only a thin oxide film that serves as a screen oxide during the selectively implanted collector (SIC) with the photoresist in place. The SIC profile is tailored to maximize fT while satisfying requirements on impact ionization. A similar process is repeated for pnp emitters and SIC. The most critical step is the emitter surface preparation and interface oxide formation. After removing the thin screen oxide, a controlled IFO is grown over emitters. The interface oxide considerably reduces tunneling of carriers injected from the base into the emitter, resulting in a larger increase in gain and reduction in transistor breakdown voltage. An increase in interface oxide also increases flicker noise. Optimizing the interface oxide thickness offers the flexibility of increasing the gain without degrading the early voltage while minimizing the impact on noise, breakdown, and fT. After depositing a 200-nm polysilicon film over the entire surface, the npn emitters are implanted with arsenic, followed by an anneal step, and the pnp emitters with boron or BF2. The emitter polysilicon is patterned over both transistors.

CMOS Module The CMOS gate-polysilicon, npn base, pnp base, zero-TCR polysilicon resistor, and capacitor plates are patterned simultaneously with focus on controlling the CMOS polysilicon gate-length (LPOLY). A lightly doped drain (LDD) is implanted in NMOS, primarily to ensure adequate channel hot-electron reliability. A nitride film is then deposited, patterned, and directionally etched to form polysilicon-gate sidewall spacers, and also to block silicidation when patterned over selected regions, such as polysilicon resistors. This is followed by conventional masking and implant steps to dope source, drain, gate, and well contacts. The source/drain implants are also introduced into the bipolar base contact regions. Controlling the proximity of base contacts to the corresponding emitters is a critical tradeoff between extrinsic base resistance, VA and transistor breakdown. At close proximity, interactions between dopants can seriously impact the emitter and base profiles in the active region, as also predicted by simulations [28]. The structures are then subjected to a final high-temperature rapid-thermal anneal (RTA). This final anneal is the only high-temperature cycle that the pnp emitter is subjected to.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C013 Final Proof

page 5

18.10.2007 1:30pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

13-5

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Texas Instruments

Capacitors Precision, MIM A schematic cross-section of the metal–insulator–metal (MIM) capacitor is shown in Figure 13.2. The capacitor dielectric is oxide (0.7 fF/mm2) or nitride (2 fF/mm2), depending on application. The dielectric is deposited on silicided polysilicon that acts as the bottom capacitor plate, and then covered by a titanium nitride film that, after patterning, serves as the top capacitor plate. Both plates exhibit metallic behavior. The deposition conditions of oxide dielectric and its interfaces with TiN and CoSi2 are optimized to reduce the trap density within the dielectric and its interfaces, reducing transient shifts in capacitance, an effect that is also known as ‘‘dielectric absorption’’ [29]. Stacked Capacitor A high-density capacitor is formed by stacking the MIM capacitor described in the previous section on a capacitor formed between polysilicon and sinker, whereby the gate oxide acts as the dielectric (Figure 13.3). While the voltage coefficient of such a stack is very high compared to that of the MIM capacitor, the capacitance density is increased to near 4.5 fF/mm2 without adding process complexity. Another advantage of the structure is the full isolation of the bottom plate (sinker, well, and buried layer), reducing the parasitic capacitance. When optimizing the sinker profile, it is important to consider the enhanced oxidation rate and oxide integrity as the sinker surface concentration is increased. With this

Capacitor dielectric

TiN, top capacitor plate

Cobalt silicide

Polysilicon

STI

BOX

Support wafer

FIGURE 13.2

Illustration of a precision TiN–oxide–polycide capacitor.

Metal

Contact

Gate oxide

Deposited oxide or nitride

TiN (plate 1)

CMOS gate poly (common plate)

STI

STI

N- or P-sinker (plate 2)

DT

DT NBL or PBL Box

Support wafer

FIGURE 13.3

STI

Schematic cross-section of the stacked capacitor.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C013 Final Proof

13-6

page 6

18.10.2007 1:30pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

Oxide

Contacting pad Metal 2 NiCrAl thin flim

VIAI

Metal 1 Silicide

BPSG

Contact

FIGURE 13.4

Illustration of thin-film resistor placement. The TFR can also be placed on a planarized surface.

respect, a p-type sinker typically exhibits less enhanced oxidation rate than an n-type sinker, however, at the cost of increased series resistance.

Resistors Three types of precision resistors with sheet resistance ranging from 50 to 320 Ohm/square are available: Polysilicon resistors that are defined during emitter polysilicon patterning, a ‘‘medium-sheet’’ polysilicon resistor tailored to near-zero TCR, and a trimmable thin-film resistor (TFR). Polysilicon Resistors Precision resistors are formed by selectively blocking silicidation of polysilicon. The CMOS polysilicon gate is tailored by selective implantation to 100 Ohm/square and near-zero TCR. The npn and pnp emitter polysilicon films are also utilized to define resistors of near 300 Ohm/square sheet resistance. Silicidation is blocked by patterning the ‘‘sidewall nitride,’’ leaving a patterned nitride film over resistor areas after the directional sidewall etch. Thin-Film Resistor A precision thin-film resistor (TFR) of near 50 Ohm/square is integrated during metallization. The metal modules are standard back-end of the line processes. A laser-trimmable TFR is formed in two masking steps by first depositing an interlevel oxide film, depositing and patterning a thin NiCrAl film, and then patterning contacting pads to the TFR, as shown in Figure 13.4.

13.3

Components and their Characteristics

The components are optimized for 5 V applications. Their key characteristics are summarized in this section.

Bipolars Bipolar transistors are optimized for 5 V, low base resistance, and high b*VA products while maximizing fT. Key bipolar parameters are given in Table 13.2. npn and pnp fT plots are shown in Figure 13.5 and Figure 13.6. The main contributor to the increase in fT is the reduced base width. Decreasing the IFO thickness considerably suppresses noise, as shown in Figure 13.7 where a reduction in flicker noise by approximately one order of magnitude can be seen [30,31].

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C013 Final Proof

page 7

18.10.2007 1:30pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

13-7

Industry Examples at the State-of-the-Art: Texas Instruments TABLE 13.2

Nominal npn and pnp Characteristics, AE ¼ 0.4
0.8 mm2 (258C)

Parameter

Unit

npn

pnp

b VA fTmax (VCE ¼ 5 V) fmax (VCE ¼ 3 V) NFmin BVCEO BVCBO BVEBO

V GHz GHz dB V V V

200 95 27 90 0.7 6.0 13 3.5

140 200 27 60 0.9 6.0 13 3.0

30 25

npn 2

fT (GHz)

20

4

3

Vce = 5 V

1

15 10 5 0 100 JC

FIGURE 13.5 process.

10,000

1000 (µA/µm2)

npn fT for Vce ¼ 1 to 5 V. AE ¼ 0.4
0.8 mm2. Dotted lines: Ref. [23]; solid lines: optimized

30 pnp

Vce = 5 V

25

3

4

2 fT (GHz)

20

1

15 10 5 0 100

1000

10,000

Jc (µA/µm2)

FIGURE 13.6 process.

pnp fT for Vce ¼ 1 to 5 V. AE ¼ 0.4
0.8 mm2. Dotted lines: Ref. [23]; solid lines: optimized

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C013 Final Proof

13-8

page 8

18.10.2007 1:30pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

CMOS Table 13.3 summarizes the CMOS parameters. The values are shown for 5 and 3.3 V with reduced channel length. The CMOS performance meets or exceeds stand-alone 5 V CMOS processes, indicating that performance was not significantly sacrificed during integration into a BiCMOS flow.

Capacitors The MIM capacitor is formed between TiN and polysilicon-silicide, both exhibiting metallic characteristics. Key capacitor parameters are given in Table 13.4. One important property of precision capacitors is the transient drift caused by traps within the dielectric and at its interfaces. This effect manifests itself as a partial recovery of voltage across the capacitor when the terminals are instantaneously shortened. This drift causes errors in analog applications that are based on charging and discharging capacitors, such as sample-and-hold circuits [29]. Silicon dioxide exhibits lower VCC and dielectric absorption (voltage recovery > 1 and hC ¼ mnB n2iB =mnC n2iC >> 1, respectively, due to the much larger bandgap in those regions. As a consequence of this bandgap, the hole charges Q pE and Q pC are very small and do not significantly impact the dynamic transistor behavior, regardless of the respective doping profile. However, according to (A.3.28) these charges can have a significant impact on the transfer current due to the large weighting factors hE and hC. The respective terms hE QpE and hC QpC in (A.3.28) actually cause the ‘‘saturation’’ of the IC(VBE) characteristics at high injection observed in Figure A.3.2b. In HBTs with a box Ge profile, Equation A.3.28 can be simplified to [5] exp (VB0 E0 =VT )
exp (VB0 C0 =VT ) JT ¼ q2 VT mnB n2iB

pE þ (hC
1)Q
pC , Qp þ (hE
1)Q

(A:3:30)

which contains the total hole charge as a lumped variable and correction factors in the denominator. In
pC is described directly by a compact expression rather than separately by Ref. [8], the product (hC
1)Q the weighting factor and charge component.

Trapezoidal Profile in the (Metallurgical) Base Region Consider the Ge profile in Figure A.3.1b. For the sake of simplicity it is assumed that the Ge mole fraction mGe and the respective bandgap voltage increase over the width of the neutral base (x0 2 [xe0,xc0]) only, but stay constant across the space–charge regions. Choosing the Si-base without Ge contents as reference material, the bandgap voltage differences DVGp ¼ DVG(x0 ¼ xe0) and DVGx ¼ DVG(x0 ¼ xc0), respectively, can be defined. Hence, the intrinsic carrier density within the neutral base with the width wB0 ¼ xc0
xe0 can be written as

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_A003 Final Proof page 11 5.11.2007 12:05pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

A.3-11

Integral Charge-Control Relations


 DVGp þ aG (x 0
xe0 ) n2i ¼ n2iB,Si exp VT

(A:3:31)

with the slope factor aG ¼ (DVGx
DVGp)/wB0. Neglecting the (much smaller) dependence of the mobility on field and Ge contents, and applying the above relation to (A.3.16) with p0 ¼ NB yields for the bias-independent term xðC

q 0

mnr n2ir p0 dx 0 ffi q mn n2i

xðc0 xe0


 DVGp þ aG (x 0
xe0 ) NB dx 0 exp
VT

(A:3:32)

which gives after evaluating the r.h.s. integral xðC

q 0

mnr n2ir mn n2i

p0 dx 0 ffi

VT aG

h    i DV Gx exp
VTGp
exp
DV VT wB0


p0 ¼ h
g,B0 Q
p0 Q

(A:3:33)


p0 ¼ qNB wB0 . As can be seen, the average weighting factor depends exponentially on the bandgap with Q voltages at the beginning and the end of the neutral base. For the bias-dependent portion in (A.3.16), one can write at low current densities xðC

q

2 6 hg Dpdx ffi q4

xðe0 xe

0

exp

N  B  dx 0 þ DVGp VT

xðc xc0

xðjC

3

N n  B  dx 0 þ   dx 0 7 5 ~xe0 ) DVGp þaG (x 0 n DVGx ~ exp n exp VT VT x

(A:3:34)

jE

The first two terms represent the depletion components that are only to be evaluated between the SCR boundary (i.e., xe, xc) at the given bias point and the respective equilibrium SCR boundaries (i.e., xe0, xc0); it also has been assumed that the bandgap (i.e., Ge mole) change within (xe0
xe) and (xc0
xc) is still
jC ¼ qNB (xc
xc0 ). For the case
jE ¼ qNB (xe0
xe ) and Q negligible. The resulting depletion charges are Q that the electric field in the base due to Ge grading causes the electrons to travel with saturation drift velocity vs , i.e. n ¼ JT/(qvs) does not depend on x0 , the resulting base minority charge is then Q nB ¼ JT wB/vs. With these charge expressions, one obtains after evaluating all terms on the r.h.s. of (A.3.34) xðC

q 0



 DVGp
DVGx

nB , QjE þ exp
QjC þ h
g,B0 Q hg Dpdx ffi exp
VT VT

(A:3:35)

where the last term follows the same evaluation as (A.3.32). The final step is to insert the components in (A.3.33) and (A.3.35) back into (A.3.15) and to normalize the denominator to the base weighting factor, hgB0 given by Equation A.3.33. The resulting expression then reads mnB,Si n2iB,Si exp (VB0 E0 =VT )
exp (VB0 C0 =VT ) JT ¼ q2 VT



jE þ hjC Q
jC þ Q
nB :
p0 þ hjE Q hi hw hg ,B0 Q |fflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflffl{zfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflffl} c10

(A:3:36)

which has the same form as (A.3.28), but for low current densities and with known analytical expressions of the weighting factors from the above analysis:   DV exp
VTGp v exp (v) , hjE ¼ ¼
exp (v)
1 hg,B0

  Gx exp
DV VT v hjC ¼ : ¼
exp (v)
1 hg,B0

(A:3:37)

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_A003 Final Proof page 12 5.11.2007 12:05pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

A.3-12

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

with v ¼ [DVGX
DVGP]/VT as normalized bandgap difference between beginning and end of the base region (cf. Figure A.3.1b). The dependence of the weighting factors as a function of v is shown in Figure A.3.5 for a practically relevant range. From the above results, the forward Early voltage at low injection, can be calculated: VEf ¼


p
p0 exp (v)
1 Q Q : 

v hjC CjCi CjCi

(A:3:38)

According to (A.3.37), a 20% difference in Ge across the base region corresponds to an about 40 times increase in Early voltage, which is a significant enhancement factor over a Si-BJT or a SiGe HBT with a Ge box profile (v ¼ 0). In addition to the strong variation in ni, the mobility varies within the transistor as a function of both doping and bias (via the electric field). The variation caused by the latter is most pronounced in the BC junction and collector region. In general, mn and ni possess an opposite dependence on doping, leading to a partial compensation within hg. However, the influence of ni still remains much stronger than that of mn. As a consequence, the weighting function hg always deviates strongly from 1 and has to be considered for all processes.

A.3.5

Further Extensions

All of the considerations so far apply to a 1D transistor structure and quasistatic operation. Extensions in both directions have been investigated and proposed. A solution of the time-dependent continuity equation led to the transient ICCR (TICC) [10], in which the ‘‘in-phase’’ component gives the same expression as the ICCR for the for q.s. transfer current, while the ‘‘out-of-phase’’ solution yields a physical definition of the charging currents flowing through the E and C contact. Hence, the out-ofphase solution defines a physics-based capacitance matrix associated with the E and C terminals, that includes the case of non-quasistatic operation. Extensions of the TICC towards including recombination and non-1D effects were presented in, for example, Ref. [11]. The application of the TICC results in a compact model, however, is quite challenging due to the bias-dependent weighting functions in the integrals defining the charging components.

6 5

hjE, hjC

4 hjE 3 2 1 hjC 0

0

1

2

3 v

4

5

6

FIGURE A.3.5 Weighting factors of the depletion charges according to Equation A.3.37 as a function of the normalized bandgap difference v ¼ (DVGx
DVGp)/VT .

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_A003 Final Proof page 13 5.11.2007 12:05pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

A.3-13

Integral Charge-Control Relations

As shown in Ref. [7], it is possible to extend the GICCR to two- and three-dimensional transistor structures. The respective derivation is beyond the scope of this chapter, but the result shall be briefly discussed. For instance, the resulting 2D-GICCR reads h i Bcon ) exp (VB0 E0 =VT )
exp (VB0 C0 =VT 2(yBconbþb þ 2bbBcon E E , (A:3:39) IT ¼ c10 Qp0,T þ DQp,T where the constant c10 depends on an enlarged (effective) emitter width bE ¼ bE0 þ 2

ð yBcon bE0 =2


 wn (x ¼ 0,y) dy: exp
VT

(A:3:40)

bE0 is the emitter window width, yBcon is the edge of the base contact or polysilicon next to the emitter, and bBcon is the base contact or polysilicon width on mon-silicon. DQp,T is defined as in (A.3.29), but now includes, among others, the impact of electron current crowding. This also applies to Qp0,T, which introduces a bias-dependent geometry dependence at higher current densities. In practice, Qp0,T can be approximated by a constant value to first order.

A.3.6

Summary

A set of integral charge-control relations has been derived and put in perspective to the (classical) literature. It was shown that a ‘‘master’’ equation exists, from which integral charge-control relations of different complexity and accuracy can be derived. The most general form, that is suitable for accurately describing the transfer current in a compact model for HBTs and BJTs, is the GICCR, which includes bandgap differences in the various device regions and also contains the weakest assumptions among the known theories for the transfer current. The GICCR is a powerful tool to analytically derive the relationship between transfer current, stored charges, and physical as well as structural parameters of a transistor. The GICCR can be very accurate, provided that the respective weigthing factors as a function of device structure and the hole charge as a function of bias are accurately modeled. Notice that the latter is a prerequisite for the description of high-speed applications in any way. Also, since the hole charge has to be continuously differentiable with respect to bias, the transfer current is also automatically continuously differentiable over all bias regions and, hence, is modeled via a single-piece formulation. This is a very desirable feature of the (G)ICCR for compact models. Applying the ‘‘master’’ equation to compact modeling requires partitioning of the hole charge and analytical approximations for its various components. These measures as well as the determination of charge model parameters and appropriate weighting factor values introduce additional inaccuracies with respect to the results shown here, which are unavoidable though for any compact model equation.

Acknowledgment The author would like to thank H. Tran for performing simulations and model calculations.

References 1. J.L. Moll and J.M. Ross, The dependence of transistor parameters on the distribution of base layer resistivity, Proc. IRE, 44, 1956, S72–S78. 2. H.N. Ghosh, F.H. De La Moneda, and N.R. Dono, Computer-aided transistor design, characterization, and optimization, Proc. IEEE, 55, 1967, 1897–1912. 3. H.K. Gummel, A charge-control relation for bipolar transistors’’, Bell System Technical J., 49, 1970, S115–S120.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

A.3-14

66870_A003 Final Proof page 14 5.11.2007 12:05pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

4. H. Kroemer, Two-Integral equations pertaining to the electron transport through a bipolar transistor with nonuniform energy gap in the base region, Solid-State Electron., 28, 1985, 1101–1103. 5. M. Schroter, M. Friedrich, and H.-M. Rein, A generalized integral charge-control relation and its application to compact models for silicon based HBTs, IEEE Trans. Electron Dev., 40, 1993, 2036– 2046. 6. H.-M. Rein, H. Stu¨bing, and M. Schroter, Verification of the integral charge-control relation for high-speed bipolar transistors at high current densities, IEEE Trans. Electron Dev., 32, 1985, 1070– 1076. 7. M. Schroter, A compact physical large-signal model for high-speed bipolar transistors with special regard to high current densities and two-dimensional effects, PhD thesis (in German), RuhrUniversity Bochum, Bochum, Germany, 1988. 8. M. Friedrich and H.-M. Rein, Analytical current–voltage relations for compact SiGe HBT models, IEEE Trans. Electron Dev., Vol. ED-46, 2001, 1384–1401. 9. J.J. Ebers and J.L. Moll, Large-signal behavior of junction transistors, Proc. IRE, 42, 1761–1772, 1954. 10. H. Klose and A. Wieder, The transient integral charge–control relation—a novel formulation of the currents in a bipolar transistor, IEEE Trans. Electron Dev., ED-34, 1090–1099, 1987. 11. J.S. Hamel and C.R. Selvakumar, The general transient charge–control relation: a new charge– control relation for semiconductor devices, IEEE Trans. Electron Dev., ED-38, 1467–1476, 1991.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_A004 Final Proof

page 1

16.10.2007 7:06pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

A.4 Sample SiGe HBT Compact Model Parameters

Ramana M. Malladi IBM Microelectronics

This appendix contains a sample set of compact model parameters for a representative 0.32
16.8 mm2 first-generation npn SiGe HBT with a peak fT of 50 GHz, for each of the three dominant higher-order SiGe compact models available in the public domain and in leading circuit simulators: HICUM, MEXTRAM, and VBIC. Each model was carefully calibrated to a comprehensive set of measured dc and ac data.

A.4-1

Name c10 qp0 ich hjei hjci mcf hfe hfc ibeis mbei ibeps mbep ireis mrei ireps mrep ibcis mbci ibcxs mbcx ibets abet favl qavl rbi0 rbx fdqr0 fgeo fqi fcrbi re rcx iscs

Group

Transfer current

Base–emitter currents

Base–collector currents

Base–emitter tunnelling current

Base–collector avalanche current

Series resistances — base, emitter, and collector

Emitter

Collector

Substrate transistor

TABLE A.4.1 HICUM (v 2.1) SiGe HBT Model Parameters

CS diode saturation current

Extrinsic collector series resistance

Emitter series resistance

Internal base resistance at zero bias Extrinsic base resistance Correction factor for modulation by BE and BC SCR Geometry factor for current crowding Ratio of internal to total minority charge Ratio of shunt capacitance (parallel to Rbi) to total internal capacitance

Avalanche current factor Exponent for avalanche current

4
1021 A

23 V

3V

20 V 6V 0.2 0.67 1.0 0

19.3 V1 150
1015 C

page 2

1
1021 A 36

66870_A004 Final Proof

BE tunneling saturation current BE tunneling factor

A

A

A

A

1.5
1018 A 1.02 2
1019 A 2

7
1020 1.005 7
1022 1 1
1017 2 1
1020 2

8.5
1031 A2 S 1.4
1013 C 10 A 2 0.1 1 1 0.2

Value

A.4-2

Internal BC saturation current Internal BC saturation current ideality factor External BC saturation current External BC saturation current ideality factor

Internal BE sauration current Internal BE non-ideality factor Peripheral BE saturation current Peripheral BE non-ideality factor Internal BE saturation current (recombination) Internal BE non-ideality factor (recombination) Peripheral BE saturation current (recombination) Peripheral BE non-ideality factor (recombination)

Constant for ICCR (= Is.qp0) Zero-bias hole charge in the base High-current correction to account for 2D and 3D effects BE depletion charge weighting factor for HBTs BC depletion charge weighting factor for HBTs Forward nonideality factor for transfer current for HBTs Emitter minority charge weighting factor for HBTs Collector minority charge weighting factor for HBTs

Parameter Description

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology 16.10.2007 7:06pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

rsu csu rth cth cjei0 vdei zei aljei cjep0 vdep zep aljep ceox cjci0 vdci zci vptci cjcx0 vdcx zcx vptcx ccox fbc cjs0 vds zs vpts t0 dt0h tbvl tef0 gtfe

Substrate network

Self-heating

Base–emitter junction capacitance

Base–collector junction capacitance

Collector–substrate junction capacitance

Diffusion capacitances/transit times—low currents

High currents

msc itss msf msr tsf

(Continued)

40
1015 sec 1.0

Sample SiGe HBT Compact Model Parameters

Neutral emitter storage time Exponent for current dependence of neutral emitter storage time

2.6
1012 sec 0.9
1012 sec 0.7
1012 sec Low current forward transit time at Vcb ¼ 0 V Time constant for base and BC space charge layer width modulation Time constant for modeling carrier jam at low Vce

page 3

40
1015 F 0.6 V 0.3 1
1010 V

7
1015 F 0.7 V 0.3 2.5 V 30
1015 F 0.73 V 0.4 100 V 2.5
1015 F 0.8

35
1015 F 1.0 V 0.32 2.0 5
1015 F 1.0 V 0.32 2.2 18
1015 F

700 K/W 350 pJ/K

50 V (layout dependent) 3
1018 F

1 2.5
1019 A 1 1 2
1012 sec

66870_A004 Final Proof

Zero-bias CS depletion capacitance CS built-in voltage CS grading coefficient Punch-through voltage of CS junction

Internal zero-bias BC depletion capacitance Internal BC built-in voltage Internal BC grading coefficient Punch-through voltage of internal BC junction External zero-bias BC depletion capacitance External BC built-in voltage External BC grading coefficient Punch-through voltage of external BC junction BC overlap capacitance Partitioning factor for cjcx and ccox over rbx

Internal zero-bias BE depletion capacitance Internal BE built-in voltage Internal BE grading coefficient Maximum internal depletion capacitance divided by cjei0 Peripheral zero-bias BE depletion capacitance Peripheral BE built-in voltage Peripheral BE grading coefficient Maximum peripheral depletion capacitance divided by cjep0 Emitter oxide (overlap) capacitance

Thermal resistance Thermal capacitance

Substrate resistance Substrate capacitance

CS diode non-ideality factor Transfer saturation current of substrate transistor Forward non-ideality factor of substrate transfer current Reverse non-ideality factor of substrate transfer current Transit time (forward operation)—substrate

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology 16.10.2007 7:06pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

A.4-3

Flicker noise factor Flicker noise exponent factor Noise factor for internal base resistance Measurement temperature Bandgap voltage Temperature coefficient of current gain Temperature coefficient of favl Temperature coefficient of qavl Temperature coefficient for mobility in epi-collector (i.e., for collector resitance) Relative temperature coefficient of saturation drift velocity Relative temperature coefficient of vces Temperature coefficient for mobility in internal base (i.e., for internal base resistance) Temperature coefficient for mobility in extrinsic base (i.e., for extrinsic base resistance) Temperature coefficient for mobility in extrinsic collector (i.e., for extrinsic collector resistance) Temperature coefficient for emitter resistance First-order temperature coefficient of t0 Second-order temperature coefficient of t0

kf af krbi tnom vgb alb alfav alqav zetaci alvs alces zetarbi zetarbx zetarcx zetare alt0 kt0

Noise parameters

Temperature effect parameters

Factor for additional delay time of minority charge Factor for additional delay time of transfer current

Saturation time constant at high current densities Smoothing factor for current dependence of base and collector transit time Factor for partitioning this into base and collector portion Internal C-E saturation voltage Internal collector resistance at low electric field Voltage separating ohmic (low field) and saturation velocity (high field) regime Collector punch-through voltage Storage time for inverse operation

thcs alhc fthc vces rci0 vlim vpt tr alqf alit

Parameter Description

Name

Non-quasistatic effects

Group

TABLE A.4.1 HICUM (v 2.1) SiGe HBT Model Parameters (Continued)

25 C 1.17 V 6
103 5
105 K1 2
104 K1 1.6 1
103 K1 0.4
103 K1 0.6 0.2 0.2 0 1
103 K1 1
105 K2

22
106 2.5 1

0.125 0.45

25
1012 sec 0.53 0.6 0.1 V 20 V 0.7 V 15 V 20
1012 sec

Value

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology 66870_A004 Final Proof

A.4-4

page 4 16.10.2007 7:06pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

Name is ik bf ibf mlf xibi bri ibr vlr xext ver vef wavl vavl sfh re rbc rbv rcc rcv scrcv ihc axi cje vde pe xcje cbeo cjc vdc pc xp

Group

Forward and reverse currents

Early voltage

Weak avalanche

Resistances and quasisaturation

Base–emitter junction capacitance

Base–collector junction capacitance

TABLE A.4.2 MEXTRAM 504 SiGe HBT Model Parameters

Zero–bias collector–base depletion capacitance Collector–base diffusion voltage Colector–base grading coefficient Constant part of cjc

Sample SiGe HBT Compact Model Parameters (Continued)

7
1015 F 0.75 V 0.28 1
103

page 5

42
1015 F 0.9 V 0.23 0 18
1015 F

3.0 V 6V 20 V 17 V 52 V 54 V 3.56
103 A 0.21

2.44
107 M 0.63 V 1.7

4.8 V 65 V

5
1018 A 4.5
102 A 95 2
1017 A 1.545 0 3.77 1.7
1015 A 1
102 V 0.19

Value

66870_A004 Final Proof

Zero-bias emitter–base depletion capacitance Emitter–base diffusion voltage Emitter–base grading coefficient Fraction of the emitter–base depletion capacitance that belongs to the side-wall Emitter–base overlap capacitance

Emitter resistance Constant part of the base resistance Zer-bias value of the bias-dependent base resistance Constant part of the collector resistance Resistance of the un-modulated epilayer Space charge resistance of the epilayer Critical current for velocity saturation in the epilayer Smoothness parameter for the onset of quasi-saturation

Epilayer thickness used in weak-avalanche model Voltage determining curvature of avalanche current Current spreading factor of avalanche model (when exavl ¼ 1)

Reverse Early voltage Forward Early voltage

Transistor main saturation current Knee current for high-injection effects in the base Ideal forward current gain Saturation-current of the non-ideal forward base current Non-ideality factor of the non-ideal forward base current Sidewall component of ideal base current Ideal reverse current gain Saturation current of the non-ideal reverse base current Cross-over voltage of the non-ideal reverse base current Partitioning factor for the extrinsic region

Parameter Description

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology 16.10.2007 7:06pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

A.4-5

Bandgap difference over the base Pre-factor of the recombination part of ideal base current Temperature coefficient of the zero-bias base charge Temperature coefficient of the resistivity of the emitter Temperature coefficient of the resistivity of the base Temperature coefficient of the resistivity of the epilayer Temperature coefficient of the resistivity of the extrinsic base Temperature coefficient of the resistivity of the buried layer Temperature coefficient for Iss and Iks (for a closed buried layer, as¼ac and for an open buried layer, as¼aepi) Bandgap voltage difference for forward current gain Bandgap voltage difference for reverse current gain Bandgap voltage of the base Bandgap voltage of the collector Bandgap voltage: recombination of the emitter–base junction Bandgap voltage difference of emitter stored charge Exponent of the flicker noise Flicker-noise coefficient of the ideal base current Flicker noise coefficient of the non-ideal base current Base-substrate saturation current Base-substrate high-injection knee current Thermal resistance Thermal capacitance

deg xrec aqbo ae ab aepi aex ac as dvgbf dvgbr vgb vgc vgj dvgte af kf kfn iss iks rth cth

HBT parameters

Temperature coeffcients

1/f Noise

Substrate transistor

Self-heating network

Diffusion capacitances/transit times

Zero-bias collector–substrate depletion capacitance Collector–substrate diffusion voltage Collector–substrate grading coefficient Bandgap voltage of the substrate Non-ideality factor for the emitter stored charge Minimum transit time of stored emitter charge Transit time of stored base charge Transit time of stored epilayer charge Transit time of reverse extrinsic stored base charge

Coefficient for the current modulation of the collector–base depletion capacitance Fraction of the collector–base depletion capacitance under the emitter Collector–base overlap capacitance

mc xcjc cbco cjs vds ps vgs mtau taue taub tepi taur

Parameter Description

Name

Collector–substrate junction capacitance

Group

TABLE A.4.2 MEXTRAM 504 SiGe HBT Model Parameters (Continued)

700 K/W 350 pJ/K

A.4-6

page 6

2.5
1019 A 50 A

66870_A004 Final Proof

2.5 22
106 20
1012

0.34 0 1.22 1.88 8.7
107 1 0.76 3.75
102 V 4.38
102 V 1.15 V 1.18 V 1.15V 0.236 V

0.03 eV 0

45
1015 F 0.6 V 0.3 1.17 V 0.388 52
1015 sec 1.44
1012 sec 14.4
1012 sec 20
1012 sec

0.5 8.7
102 2.5
1015 F

Value

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology 16.10.2007 7:06pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

Name is ibei iben ibci ibcn isp ibcip ibcnp ibeip ibenp nf nei nen nr nci ncn nfp ncip ncnp ikf ikr ikp avc1 avc2 rbi rbx rbp re rcx rs rth cth

Group

Saturation currents and ideality factors

Knee currents

Avalanche breakdown

Series resistances

Self-heating

TABLE A.4.3 VBIC SiGe HBT Model Parameters

Thermal resistance Thermal capacitance

Intrinsic base resistance Extrinsic base resistance Parasitic base resistance Emitter resistance Extrinsic collector resistance Substrate resistance

Sample SiGe HBT Compact Model Parameters (Continued)

700 K/W 350 pJ/W

20 V 6V 1V 3V 23 V 50 V

19.2 23.6 V

page 7

Base–collector weak avalanche parameter 1 Base–collector weak avalanche parameter 2

4.5
102 A 4.8
103 A 10 A

1
1040 A 2.52
1018 A 1
1028 A 1.0003 1.026 2.5 1 1.02 1.00 1.00 1.00 2

4.85
1018 A 7
1020 A 1
1015 A 1.5
1018 A 1
1034 A 3
1019 A

Value

66870_A004 Final Proof

Forward knee current Reverse knee current Parasitic knee current

Transport saturation current (collector) Ideal base–emitter saturation current Nonideal base–emitter saturation current Ideal base–collector saturation current Nonideal base–collector saturation current Parasitic transport saturation current Ideal parasitic base–collector saturation current Nonideal parasitic base–collector saturation current Ideal parasitic base–emitter saturation current Nonideal parasitic base–emitter saturation current Forward emission coefficient Ideal base–emitter emission coefficient Nonideal base–emitter emission coefficient Reverse emission coefficient Ideal base–collector emission coefficient Nonideal base–collector emission coefficient Parasitic forwad emission coefficent Ideal parasitic base–collector emission coefficient Nonideal parasitic base–collector emission coefficient

Parameter Description

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology 16.10.2007 7:06pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

A.4-7

Name rci vo gamm hrcf qco vef ver cje me pe cbeo fc aje cjc mc pc cbco cjep ajc cjcp ms ps ccso ajs tf itf vtf qtf td ea eaie eaic eais eanc

Group

Quasi-saturation parameters

Early effect parameters

Base–emitter junction capacitance

Base–collector junction capacitance

Collector–substrate junction capacitance

Transit times and their bias dependence

Temperature effect parameters

TABLE A.4.3 VBIC SiGe HBT Model Parameters (Continued)

Activation energy Activation energy Activation energy Activation energy Activation energy

for is for ibei for ibci and ibeip for ibcip for ibcn/ibenp

1.17 V 1.17 V 1.17 V 1.17 V 1.17 V

2
1012 sec 0.32 23.7 0 0.7
1012 sec

page 8

Forward transit time Coefficient of tf dependence of ic Coefficient of tf dependence of Vbc Variation of tf with base-width modulation Forward excess-phase delay time

A.4-8

40
1015 F 0.3 0.6 V 3e18 F 0.9

7
1015 F 0.3 0.7 V 2.5
1015 F 30
1015 F 0.1

42 fF 1.0 0.3 V 18
1015 F 0.93 0.1

65 V 5.5 V

40 V 1
1010 V 5
1013 V 1
1013 1.4
1015

Value

66870_A004 Final Proof

Substrate–collector zero bias capacitance Substrate–collector grading coefficient Substrate–collector built-in potential Fixed collector–substrate capacitance Substrate–collector capacitance switching parameter

Base–collector intrinsic zero-bias capacitance Base–collector grading coefficient Base–collector built-in potential Extrinsic base–collector overlap capacitance Base–collector extrinsic zero bias capacitance Base–collector capacitance switching parameter

Base–emitter zero-bias capacitance Base–emitter grading coefficient Base–emitter built-in potential Extrinsic base–emitter overlap capacitance Forward bias depletion capacitance limit Base–emitter capacitance switching parameter

Forward Early voltage Reverse Early voltage

Intrinsic collector resistance Epi drift saturation voltage Epi doping parameter High-current RC factor Epi-charge parameter

Parameter Description

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology 16.10.2007 7:06pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

eane eans xii xin xis xre xrb xrc xrs xvo tavc Activation energy for iben Activation energy for ibcnp Temperature coefficient for ibei, ibci, ibeip, and ibcip Temperature coefficient for iben, ibcn, ibenp, and ibcnp Temperature coefficient for is Temperature coefficient for re Temperature coefficient for rbi Temperature coefficient for rc Temperature coefficient for rs Temperature coefficient for vo Temperature coefficient for avc2 1.17 V 1.17 V 2.0 2.0 1.9 0 0 0 0 0 250
106 V

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology 66870_A004 Final Proof

Sample SiGe HBT Compact Model Parameters

page 9 16.10.2007 7:06pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

A.4-9

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

A.4-10

66870_A004 Final Proof page 10 16.10.2007 7:06pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

References 1. HICUM bipolar transistor model: http://www.iee.et.tu-dresden.de/iee/eb/comp_mod.html. 2. Mextram bipolar transistor model: http://www.semiconductors.phillips.com/acrobat/other/phillipsmodels/NLUR2000811_7.pdf. 3. VBIC bipolar transistor model: http://www.designers-guide.org/VBIC/references.html.

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C015 Final Proof

page 1

23.10.2007 12:26pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Index A Active mixer, 10-12 Advanced CMOS process, lithography node integration of HBTs, 4-11 Advanced HBT structures and scaling limits, 4-11–4-14 Arsenic-doped monocrystalline emitters contact in, 10-2–10-3 epitaxially grown, 14-10–14-11 Asynchronous cross-point switch, 14-7 Automotive radar, high-frequency oscillators, 11-17–11-18 Avalanche multiplication factor (M-1), collector–base junction, 5-10

B Bandgap engineering, 1-3–1-4, 2-2–2-4, 4-1, 5-9, 5-36 Base-after-gate method (BAG), 7-1–7-2 Base-collector breakdown voltage, npn transistors, 10-9 Base-collector capacitance(CCB), 4-4, 4-8, 4-12, 5-6 Base-collector voltage, and transit frequency, 10-7 Base-emitter voltage parametric distribution, 7-13 Base sheet resistance, boron-doped base, 10-8 Base transit time, A.2-4 BEOL cumulative yield, 7-16 BiCMOS-6G E/B module insertion, 12-8 SiGe base, E/B dopant distribution in, 12-5–12-6 single-polysilicon QSA structure in, 12-2, 12-4 BiCMOS-7 boron spike width and base resistance, 12-6 high-frequency figures-of-merit and collector doping profile, 12-9–12-10 noise figure vs. collector current for, 12-11 RF applications of, 12-10 SiGe, carbon doping of, 12-4–12-5 SiGe:C process for, aim of, 12-5 single-polysilicon and double polysilicon QSA structure for, 12-4 transistor doping and impurity profiles for, 12-6

BiCMOS-9 monocrystalline structure of emitter in, 12-5 SiGe:C process for, 12-5 transistor doping and impurity profiles for, 12-6 BiCMOS process integration, 4-5–4-7 base-after-gate (BAG) method, 7-1–7-2 bipolar module, 7-2–7-3 CMOS protect layer, 7-3 emitter-base junction, 7-3 flows, base-before gate (BbG), 4-8, 4-9 intergration sequence in SiGe, 8-3 issues pMOS transistor integrity, 12-8 thermal cycle and structural integration issues, 12-6 metallization, 7-4 process flows, 8HP and 8WL, 7-2–7-4 VTsat vs. Idsat scatter plots, 7-12–7-13 BiCMOS-7RF base resistance reduction, 12-10 carbon doping of SiGe in, 12-4–12-5 high-frequency figures-of-merit of, 12-9 noise figure vs. collector current for, 12-11 transistor doping and impurity profiles in, 12-6 BiCMOS SiGe:C HBT process with lithographic steps, 11-12 Bipolar complementary metal oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS) technology, 1-2, 4-1 HBT parameters, 11-10 SiGe:C HBTs, 11-1 transit frequency (fT) and maximum oscillation frequency (fmax), 11-10 Bipolar fabrication process, 9-6–9-7 Bipolar structure non-self-aligned epitaxial base transistor epitaxial base bipolar structure, 4-4, 4-5–4-9 SEM of, 4-5 process, 4-2 self-aligned epitaxial base transistor, 4-4, 4-7–4-9 Bipolar transistors characteristics, 13-6 integration process, 6-2, 13-2 Boron spike, 10-7 BOX thickness, 13-2, 13-9, 13-10, 13-11 Breakdown voltage (BVCEO), 5-6, 5-11, 5-13

I-1

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C015 Final Proof

I-2 Broadband amplifier, 10-12 Buried oxide, 5-2–5-4, 5-6, 5-11, 5-12 Buried sub-collector, 4-3

C Capacitors, integration, 6-3 CBiCMOS process flow, 10-11 C-doped Si properties, 11-3 Charging current (IC), 4-12 Chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP), 9-1 Chip area and transistor fabrication process, 6-1–6-2 CML ring oscillators gate delay, 10-10 gate delay vs. current for, 10-10–10-11 wafer map, 10-11 CMOS characteristics of, 13-8 compatible manufacturing process, 5-2 compatible SOI, 5-9–5-12 latch-up, 4-3 module, 13-4 processing steps, 7-2 protect layer, 7-3 technology, 4-1, 4-11 yield, 7-16 Code division multiple access (CDMA), 1-6 Collector–base junction capacitance (CCB), 5-2, 5-8, 5-11 Collector capacitance(CSC), 4-3 Collector current for pnp and npn HBTs, 10-10 Collector doping concentration, 8-5 Collector etching, 5-8 Collector resistance (RC), 4-3, 13-3 Collector sheet concentration, 9-7 Collector sinker, 7-7 Common emitter output characteristics, of npn transistors, 10-8 Complementary BiCMOS process flow, 10-11 Complementary bipolar module, ten mask steps, 11-12 Complementary-SiGe BiCMOS process, 13-1 Contact yield, 7-16 Conventional emitter doping (CED) transistors, A.3-3 Coplanar waveguides (CPW), inductors and capacitors, 6-2 Cost performance (CP), 4-2 Current-mode logic ring oscillators, see CML ring oscillators

D Deep-trench isolations (DTIs), 9-3 Depletion region, collector, 5-10, 5-11 Dielectric absorption, 13-5, 13-8 Dielectric layer, 4-5, 4-10 Differential epitaxy, 14-2

page 2

23.10.2007 12:26pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology Diodes, see p-i-n diodes Doped polysilicon sheet resistance, 6-3 Double-polysilicon with epitaxial base, 4-7 QSA structure, 12-4 self-aligned (DPSA) transistor, 4-7, 10-1, 10-2 DPSA HBTs, fabrication of, 10-1 DPSA structure with Pad oxide, 4-8 Drain junction capacitance, 5-1 Dual plateaus with an intermediately Ge-graded slope (DPIG), 9-4, 9-7 Dynamic frequency divider, 10-11–10-12

E E2CL circuit principle, 10-11 ECL-gate delay and self-aligned SEG SiGe HBTs, 9-6 switching current and, 9-5 Eddy currents, 6-7 Emitter-base structure fabrication steps emitter window formation, 10-3 nitride/oxide spacer formation, 10-4–10-5 SiGe base deposition process, 10-3 Emitter current (IE), 5-10 Emitter polysilicon, 13-4 Emitter resistance, 8-3, 8-5 polysilicon emitter transistors, 10-5 transistors with monocrystalline emitter, 10-6 Emitter window formation of, 10-3–10-4 mask width of, 10-5 epi growth, 4-4, 5-13 Epitaxial base layer development, 4-4 Epitaxial film, 13-2 ESD specifications, 4-3 Extrinsic base implants, self-aligning of, 8-3, 8-8

F Fabrication process layout optimization, 6-3 Ferromagnetic thin films, 6-11 FET mobility, 4-11 Flicker noise comparison, IFO thickness, 13-9

G Gate oxide logic FETs, 7-12 Ge effective mass parameters, A.1-2 energy band structure, A.1-1 properties of, A.1-2 Generalized ICCR (GICCR), A.3-2–A.3-6, A.3-13 Gilbert cell, 10-12 Global positioning systems (GPS), 1-6 Global system for mobile communications (GSM), 1-6 Graded SiGe base HBTs, 4-12

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C015 Final Proof

page 3

23.10.2007 12:26pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

I-3

Index Ground shield effect, 6-9 Gummel plot, 5-9 standard HBT, 14-5

collector current and cutoff frequencies, 9-7–9-8 transistor parameters of, 9-9 HV npn HBTs, RF characteristics of, 14-5

H

I

HBT fabricated in SGB25V process cross sections, 11-15 HBT fabrication process, SiGe layer deposition, 11-2 HBT models, Mextram 504 simulations, 14-6–14-7 HBT process, 4-4 HBT structures, SiGe self-aligned and non-self-aligned structures, 4-1 HBT types fabricated in SGB25V process transit frequency vs. collector current, 11-15 Heterojunction transistors, charge control relation, A.3-9–A.3-12 HICUM (v 2.1) SiGe HBT model parameters, A.4-2–A.4-4 High-density MIM capacitors, 7-3 High electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), 1-8 High-frequency characteristics for high-speed and high-voltage SiGe HBTs, 12-9–12-10 operation speed and breakdown voltage, 12-10 High-frequency npn transistor collector doping level, 10-9 High-frequency oscillator, circuit diagram, 11-17 High-frequency SiGe bipolar technologies, 10-1 arsenic-doped monocrystalline emitter contact, 10-2–10-3 boron-doped base layers, 10-2 High-performance benchmarking circuits, 11-16 High-performance BiCMOS process, LC oscillators fabricated in, 11-18 High-performance transmission lines, 14-6 High-quality passive elements, integration of, 7-3 High-resistivity silicon (HRS), substrate conductive loss reduction, 9-11 loss supression, 6-10 maximum quality factor, 6-8, 9-11 High-speed HBT integration issues CMOS dopant motion and etch steps, 12-7 dielectric layers, 12-7 pMOS transistor integrity, 12-8 High-speed monolithic integrated circuits (ICs), 9-1 Homojunction transistors, charge control relation, A.3-6–A.3-9 HP transistor AC performance of, 7-13 base–emitter voltage and emitter current for, 7-13 chain yield and senstivity of, 7-16 collector current, 7-7 frequency performance trend chart for, 7-15 HSHBT and HV-HBT breakdown voltage of, 9-7 collector capacitance, 9-9

Implanted and diffused resistors, RF circuit design, 6-3 Inductors coil design and interturn capacitance, 6-4–6-5, 6-7 eddy currents, 6-7 ground shield, effects of, 6-8 inductor mode and resonator mode, 6-7 optimization of, 6-8–6-9 planar substrate contact effect, 6-5 quality factor of, 6-4, 6-6 spiral inductor design, 6-4 substrate resistivity, 6-7–6-8 In-situ doped emitter, deposition of, 8-3, 8-8 In situ doped polysilicon emitters, 7-6 Integral charge-control relation (ICCR), A.3-2 for hetereojunction transistors, A.3-9–A.3-12 for homojunction transistors, A.3-6–A.3-9 Integrated inductor compact model of, 6-6 inductance and quality factor of, 6-6 maximum quality factor, inductance and resonant frequency of, 6-7 Integration process Buried layers, collector epitaxy, 13-2 collector sinkers, CMOS wells, 13-3 emitter modules, 13-4 lateral isolation, 13-3 metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor, 13-5 starting material, 13-2–13-6 Intellectual property (IP), 4-1 Interconnection, of metal layers, 9-9 Interconnects, parasitic inductances, 6-1 Interdigitated capacitor, 6-3 Internal base sheet resistance (RSBi), 11-3 Intrinsic device structure, 8-3 Ion implantation boron, 9-6–9-7 germanium ions, 9-6–9-7, 9-9–9-10 phosphorus and antimony, 9-3, 9-7 ISM band, 11-16–11-17

J Junction transistor bipolar transistors on SOI substrate, 5-3 SiGe HBT and Si BJT, 4-11

K Kirk effect, 4-12, 4-14, 8-5–8-6 Kroemer’s approach, A.2-4

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C015 Final Proof

page 4

23.10.2007 12:26pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

I-4

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

L

nMOS transistors, saturation current vs. threshold voltage for, 12-8 Nonselective epitaxial growth (NSEG), 10-1, 12-2 npn and pnp transistors characteristics, 13-7 Cross-section of, 13-3 solid lines, 13-7 npn HBT and pnp HBT cross section structure, 10-11 npn Transistors additional devices for, 10-10 base-collector breakdown voltage, 10-9 base resistance and emitter–base capacitance, 10-5 deep trench/shallow trench isolation, 10-2 fabrication sequence of, 10-3–10-5 SIMS doping profile of, 10-6 NPN yield, 7-16 nþ polysilicon emitter, 5-8 nþ reachthrough, 5-2, 5-3, 5-5, 5-7, 5-11, 5-12, 5-13 self-alignment of the LTE window, 5-13

Large-scale ICs (LSIs), 9-1 Lateral heat dissipation, 13-9 Lateral isolation, 13-3 Lateral scaling factor, 5-13 LC-VCOs center frequency of, 14-7 output spectrum of, 14-7 Lightly doped drain (LDD), 13-4 LOCOS effect, 4-10 Low-emitter concentration (LEC) transistors, A.3-3 Low-resistivity substrate (LRS), 9-11 Low-temperature epitaxy (LTE) process, 5-8 Lumped-element broadband amplifier data, 10-12

M Maximum electric field (EMAX), 5-6 MESFET switch, insertion loss and isolation of, 6-11 Metal–insulator–metal (MIM) capacitor, characteristics of, 11-3, 13-5, 13-8 Metal layers masks for, 9-9 multilayered structures, 9-9 Metallization, 8HP and 8WL, 7-4 Metal-oxide-silicon capacitors,capacitance/area of, 6-3 MEXTRAM 504 model parameters, A.4-5–A.4-6 Micromachining, 6-11 Microstrip lines, 4-2 MIM capacitor capacitance of, 6-4 dielectric MIM capacitor, 7-3–7-4 lumped-element model of, 6-3–6-4 metal layers, structure of, 9-9 optimization of, 7-3 quality factor of, 6-4, 9-10 specific capacitance of, 10-10 Moll–Ross collector current density relation, A.2-3 Moll-Ross relation assumptions for, A.2-1 generalized, A.2-2 Monocrystalline silicon emitter, emitter resistivity of, 14-12 Monolithic integrated broadband amplifier, 10-12 III-V monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) technology, 6-3 Moore’s law, 1-8 MOS capacitor, 5-3–5-5 MOS integration process, 13-2 MOS, passive parameter, 11-13 Mutual coupling, transformer, 6-9

N n- and p-buried layers (NBL and PBL), 13-2 Neutral base width, 4-14

O Ohmic losses of inductor coil, 6-5 On-chip antenna, 6-12 On-chip inductors inductance and capacitance values, 6-1 Oscillator spectrum single-ended, 11-18 Overlap capacitance (CCBOL), 4-12, 4-13

P Parasitic capacitance, 13-2, 13-10 Passive components capacitors, 6-3–6-4 chip integration concerns of, 6-1 diodes and switches, 6-10–6-11 inductors on silicon substrates, 6-4–6-9 integration of, 6-2 micromachining and MEMS, 6-11 on-chip antenna, 6-12 parameters of, 9-10–9-11 resistors, 6-3–6-4 transformers, 6-9–6-10 transmission lines, 6-10 Pattern density-loading effect, 4-8 p-i-n diodes as bias-controlled resistor, 6-11 integration of, 6-11 varactors, 6-10 pMOS transistors, saturation current vs. threshold voltage for, 12-8 pnp and npn HBT arrays, Gummel plots of, 11-12 pnp devices from a pnp-only BiCMOS, 10-10 pnp HBTs, 10-10, 10-12 Poly-buffered-LOCOS (PBL), 4-9 Poly-Si-assisted selfaligned SEG structure

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C015 Final Proof

Q Quality factor, of RF capacitor, 6-3 Quasi-layer-on-layer fabrication of, 9-9 sheet resistance, 9-10 Quasiself-aligned HBT structure extrinsic base material, 12-2 single-polysilicon and double-polysilicon, 12-4 Quasi-TEM propagation modes, 4-2, 4-3 QUBiC4G process cross-point switch, jitter reduction, 12-7 process integration for HBT base layer deposition, 12-3 interconnect layers, 12-4 PMOS source–drain extensions, 12-4 subcollector implants, 12-3 QUBiC1 process, components of, 14-2 QUBiC process family, silicon BiCMOS integrated circuits characteristics of, 14-2 QUBiC4X process emitter structure in, 14-9 on-chip passive components for, 14-9 RF performance, 14-8 QUBiC4X standard HBT, 14-12–14-13

R Rapid-thermal anneal (RTA), 13-4 Rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition (RT-CVD, 8-9 RC time constants, 4-12 Reactive ion etching (RIE), 10-3 Resistors, integration of, 6-3 RF capacitor, figure-of-merit of, 6-3 RF circuit design inductance values, 6-8 junction isolation, 6-2, 6-3 parasitic effects suppression, 6-12 RF CMOS baseline, 11-10–11-11 RF switches, 6-11 Ring oscillator gate delay performance of CML ring oscillators, 10-10 wafer map of, 10-11

23.10.2007 12:26pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

I-5

Index poly-SiGe base contact growth, 9-3 Polysilicon emitter, 7-6 transistors interfacial oxide layer and, 10-5 Polysilicon gate, 13-3 Polysilicon growth, 5-7–5-8 Polysilicon resistors, 11-3, 13-4, 13-5 sheet resistance of, 10-9 shunt capacitance of, 6-3 Potential distributions, 5-3, 5-4, 5-11 pþ polysilicon layer, 5-6, 5-8 Precision resistors, characteristics of, 13-8

page 5

S Sacrificial emitter extrinsic base implants, self-aligning of, 8-3, 8-8 Scaling techniques, lateral and vertical, 7-6–7-7 Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), 9-2 Selective epitaxial growth (SEG), 9-1 Selectively implanted collector breakdown voltages, 8-3 pþ extrinsic base and nþ buried layer, 8-6 Selectively implanted collector region, 9-3–9-4, 9-7 Self-aligned bipolar device, buried layer, 8-3 Self-aligned SEG SiGe HBT base multilayer, selective growth of, 9-2 collector sheet concentration, 9-7 DC characteristics of, 9-4 device structure and intrinsic impurity profile, optimization of, 9-6 fabrication of buried layer (BL), 9-3 CMOS and poly-Si resistor areas, 9-6–9-7 SEG layer, 9-4 I-V performance of, 9-7 SiGe SEG layer width optimization, 9-6 ultrahigh vacuum/chemical vapor deposition (UHV/CVD), 9-2–9-3 Self-aligned SiGe epitaxial base bipolar structure, 4-9 Self-alignment, base and emitter window base resistance, 11-7 Self-resonance, 6-3 SEM micrograph, SiGe HBT on silicon film SOI, 4-5, 4-10, 5-7 SGB25V HBT, passives parameters, 11-13 SGB25V process, flow and feature, 11-14 SGC25A-HBTs fabrication, 11-4 SGC25A process flow and features of, 11-5 HBT leakage currents, 11-4, 11-6 HBT parameters, 11-6 passives parameters of, 11-3, 11-4 SGC25B HBTs transit frequency vs. collector current for, 11-8 time components of, 11-8 SGC25C and CBiCMOS, density defect in, 10-12 SGC25C process with standard HBT module, flow, 11-7 SGC25C standard HBT emitter-base structure, 11-6 parameters of, 11-9 schematic cross sections of, 11-7 transit frequency vs. collector current for, 11-8 transit time components of, 11-8 Shallow-trench isolation (STI), 9-3 Sheet resistance of doped polysilicon, 6-3 in-line sheet resistance, 8-9 Shockley boundary condition, generelized, A.2-2, A.2-3

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C015 Final Proof

page 6

23.10.2007 12:26pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

I-6

Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

Si

Gummel characteristics of, 7-7 high-frequency performance of, 10-7 high-speed performance of, 10-1, 12-11 I–V performance of, 9-4 maximum oscillation frequency vs. collector current for, 10-7–10-8 nonselective epitaxy (NSEG), 12-2 output characteristics, 7-7, 7-9 process modules optimization, 7-5–7-6 technology generations, performance of, 1-9–1-10 transistor characteristics of, 9-5 transit time and parasitic reduction elements, 7-7 yield, 4-4 SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors, structural processing features, 4-2 SiGe ICs applications, 1-7–1-8 SiGe layer components of, 9-3–9-4 Ge profile of, 9-4 SiGe npn transistor common emitter output characteristics of, 10-7–10-8 cut-off frequency vs. collector current for, 10-8 emitter resistance vs. effective emitter width, 10-6 high-volume CMOS infrastructure, reuse of, 8-9 intrinsic device structure, 8-3 lateral scaling of base-collector capacitance, 8-4–8-5 intrinsic base resistance, 8-7 unilateral gain, 8-5 maximum oscillation frequency vs. collector current for, 10-7–10-8 parasitic resistance and capacitance of, 8-3 performance of, 8-3–8-4 planar intrinsic to extrinsic base transition, 8-3 self-aligned, 8-2 transfer characteristics of, 10-7 transistor parameters of, 10-8–10-9 vertical scaling properties of, 8-4–8-5 SiGe SEG layer width optimization, 9-6 SiGe technologies, 11-1, 11-2 SiGe wireless transceiver, 1-8 Silicon-germanium base layer, epitaxial growth of, 5-2 Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology, 4-11, 5-1 Silicon RF integration and BiCMOS processes, 6-2 Silicon substrate eddy currents, effect of, 6-5 high-resistivity silicon (HRS), 6-8 of spiral inductor, 6-4 Silicon wafer, 4-2, 4-3 SIMS doping profile, 10-6 Single-polysilicon QSA structure, 12-4 Single-polysilicon transistors, 11-3 Si-strained layer epitaxy, 1-4 Skin effect, 1-2, 6-6 SOI BiCMOS integration circuit, 5-1, 5-5, 5-6 SOI bipolar transistor, verticle

effective mass parameters, A.1-2 energy band structure, A.1-1 properties of, A.1-2 Si-based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), 1-10 light emitters, 1-10 optoelectronic superchip, 1-10 transistor (s), 1-2, 1-9 SIC, see Selectively implanted collector SiGe alloys, 1-4, 2-1, 5-9, 8-8, 10-2, 12-3 SiGe-based device technology, 11-2 SiGe base deposition process, 10-3, 10-7 SiGe BiCMOS 8HP, 7-1 SiGe BiCMOS process integration sequence of, 8-8, 9-6–9-9 SiGe120, 8-11 technological features of, 12-1–12-2 SiGe BiCMOS (SiGe90) process current densities and parasitics, 8-10 inductor performance, 8-11 SiGe BiCMOS technologies, 7-1 performance curve of, 8-7 SiGe BiCMOS technology, AC performance, 7-15 SiGe buffer layers, 4-11 SiGe:C BiCMOS process, 11-12–11-14 SiGe:C HBTs in BiCMOS Technology high-speed and complementary, 10-9–10-12 peak fT/fmax values, 10-9–10-12 Transit frequency (fT) and maximum oscillation frequency (fmax), 10-9–10-12 SiGe:C HBT technologies, RF performance, 11-1, 11-2, 11-3 SiGe:C npn HBT, Gummel plot and output characteristics of, 14-11 SiGe:C technologies, circuit applications, 11-14 SiGe:C transistors, DC and RF parameters, 11-3 SiGe deposition, blanket scalable transistor geometries, 8-3 SiGe epitaxy process growth, 4-8, 4-14, 5-2 MBE, UHV/CVD and APCVD or RPCVD, 4-4 SiGe epi thickness, in-line measurement of, 8-9–8-10 SiGe fabrication facilities, 1-6 SiGe fabrication process, passive component and device structures, 6-2 SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology generations, 1-5, 1-9–1-10 SiGe HBT-CMOS technology, 5-2 SiGe HBTs breakdown voltage and transit frequency, relationship of, 7-8, 7-11 on CMOS-compatible SOI substrate, 5-6–5-8 collector current density of, 7-7 ECL gate-delay time, 9-5 frequency performance of, 7-6–7-12 fT versus IC curves for, 7-8, 7-10 graded Ge base profile, A.2-4

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C015 Final Proof

page 7

23.10.2007 12:26pm Compositor Name: JGanesan

I-7

Index collector characteristic of, 5-5, 5-12 lithographical and SOI thickness scaling, 5-13 SOI SiGe HBTs, 5-13 characteristics of, 5-8–5-12 DC characteristics of, 5-9 Source junction capacitance, 5-1 Spiral inductor design, 6-4 metal losses in, 6-6 modeling of, 6-8 width and spacing of, 9-10 SRAMs with a bit error count (BEC), wafer yield, 11-16 Stacked capacitor cross-section, 13-5 Stacked coils, 6-9–6-10 Standard HBT, see Standard heterojunction bipolar transistor Standard heterojunction bipolar transistor Collector-emitter breakdown voltage of, 14-11–14-12 Gummel plot of, 14-5 output characteristics for, 14-5–14-6 transition frequency for, 14-12–14-13 Static frequency divider, 10-11–10-12 Strained Si CMOS, 1-2, 1-6, 1-8–1-10, 2-11 Strained Si fabrication facilities, 1-6 ST SiGe BiCMOS technologies broadband applications of, 12-10–12-11 RF applications of, 12-10 SiGe and SiGe:C HBTs in, 12-2–12-3 Substrate resistivity, 4-2 Synchronous optical network (SONET), 1-6

T TaN metal resistor, 10-10 TaN resistor, 10-3 Thermal budget constraints, CMOS devices epi deposition, 8-8 optimization of, 8-9 Thermal resistance estimation, 13-9 Thin epitaxial base overetching prevention, 12-4 Thin-film resistor(TFR), 13-6 Thin NiCrAl resistor (TFR), 13-8 Thin oxide nFET characteristics and thin oxide pFET characteristics, 7-13 THz performance, 4-13–4-14 TiN-oxide-polycide capacitor, 13-5 Ti-salicide layers formation, 9-3–9-4 Transceiver circuits, amplitude shift keying (ASK) modulation, 11-15–11-17 Transformers, integrated spiral coils, 6-9 stacked, bifilar, and nested coil type of, 6-9–6-10 Transient ICCR (TICC), A.3-2 Transistor array, transfer characteristic of, 10-7

Transistor biasing, 5-8–5-9 Transistor fabrication process chip area and, 6-1–6-2 emitter-base fabrication steps, 10-3–10-4 Transistor fabrication, using Infineon’s SiGe technology common emitter output characteristics, 10-8 emitter-base configuration, 10-3–10-5 emitter resistance, 10-5–10-6 fabrication steps, 10-3–10-5 mask width, 10-5 monocrystalline emitter in, 10-6 oxide layer thickness, 10-5 parameters, 10-9 process concept, 10-2 SIMS doping profile, 10-6 TEM cross section, 10-2 transfer characteristics, 10-7 Transistor isolation, 10-2–10-3 Transistor parameters, 10-8–10-9 Transit frequency boron-doped base, 10-8 boron spike thickness, 10-7 and Ge profile of transistor, 10-6 of npn2 and npn3 transistor, 10-9 Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), 10-2 Transmission lines, 6-10 Triple well nFETs, 7-12

U UHV/CVD, see Ultrahigh vacuum/chemical vapor deposition Ultrahigh vacuum/chemical vapor deposition, 9-2–9-3

V Varactors collector base voltage and quality factor of, 9-10–9-11 optimization of, 7-3 VBIC SiGe HBT model parameters, A.4-7–A.4-9 Vertical bipolar transistors, on thin SOI, 5-2, 5-8 Voltage-controlled oscillators Voltage-controlled oscillators, output spectrum of, 14-9 Voltage feedback amplifier, characteristics of, 13-10, 13-11 Voltage pinning, of collector, 5-3, 5-5

W Wafers, minimum gate delay of, 10-11 Wet oxide etch, 10-3–10-4

Cressler/Fabrication of SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

66870_C015 Final Proof

page 8

23.10.2007 12:26pm Compositor Name: JGanesan