S-MMICs: Sub-mm-Wave Transistors and Integrated Circuits

Abstract

Transistor and power amplifier IC technology was developed under UCSB tbr the DARPA SWIFT program. SWIFT seeks to develop sub-mm-wave transistors and ICs to support 340 GHz-band imaging and radar systems. By program end, HBT power-gain cutoff frequencies were increased to 880 GHz, simultaneous with a 5 V breakdown voltage. HBT layer structure designs and process flows, and initial 340 GHz power amplifier designs developed at UCSB were transferred to Teledyne Scientific. Teledyne Scientific then fabricated both transistors and ICs under the financial support of a separate DARPA program; results at TSC include a 2 mW power amplifier at 340 GHz. Device technology development at UCSB included a number of significant accomplishments supporting the future development of sub-mm-wave transistors and integrated circuits, including all-dry-etched processes for reliable formation of ~128 nm feature size transistor emitters and ultra low resistivity contacts for the emitter and base contacts. These several features are critical in enabling transistor bandwidths to extend to the low THz regime.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2008
Accession Number
ADA489869

Entities

People

  • Alfred Hung

Organizations

  • University of California, Santa Barbara

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accumulators
  • Amplifiers
  • Base Metal
  • Current Density
  • Department Of Defense
  • Frequency
  • Integrated Circuits
  • Law
  • Low Noise
  • Low Noise Amplifiers
  • Power Amplifiers
  • Power Gain
  • Radar
  • Resistance
  • Scaling Laws
  • Semiconductors
  • Standards

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Economics
  • Integrated Circuit Design and Technology.
  • Nanoscale Plasmonic Nanotechnology