Modeling of high-current damage in SiGe HBTs under pulsed stress

Abstract

High-current pulsed stress measurements are performed on SiGe HBTs to characterize the damage behavior and create a comprehensive physics-based TCAD damage model for Auger-induced hot-carrier damage. The Auger hot-carrier generation is decoupled from classical mixed-mode damage and annealing on the output plane by using pulsed stress conditions to modulate the self-heating within the device under stress. The physics of high-current degradation is analyzed, and a temperature dependent degradation model is presented. This model is the first of its kind in both the CMOS and bipolar communities and solves a significant portion of the puzzle for predictive modeling of SiGe HBT safe-operating-area (SOA) and reliability.