Trends in the emitter-base bias dependence of the average base transit time through abrupt heterojunction bipolar transistors

Abstract

The average base transit time is computed using a current impulse response technique for three typical abrupt Npn heterojunction bipolar transistors as a function of the emitter-base bias, VBE. This technique is based on a hybrid model of carrier transport incorporating a quantum-mechanical analysis of carrier injection at the emitter-base junction and a Monte Carlo analysis of base transport. For typical AlGaAs/GaAs and InP/InGaAs structures, the base transit time first increases with VBE, reaches a maximum, and then decreases towards a value close to the one predicted using a semi-Maxwellian injection of carriers into the base at an energy equal to the emitter-base conduction band spike. For a typical InAlAs/InGaAs structure, the average base transit time is found to decrease with an increase in VBE. For all structures, we show that there is a correlation between the bias dependence of the average base transit time and the bias dependence of the average number of collisions per carrier (calculated for carriers transmitted across the base).