Device and circuit performance of SiGe HBTs in 130nm BiCMOS process with f_T/f_MAX of 250/330GHz

Abstract

A high performance (HP) SiGe HBT in IBM's 130nm SiGe BiCMOS8XP technology demonstrating peak fT/fMAX of 250/330GHz is reported for mm-wave and high performance RF/analog applications. The HBT has been developed as an optional device within the existing IBM 130nm SiGe BiCMOS8HP technology which includes a full suite of 130nm RFCMOS FETs, passives and mm-wave distributive passive devices. CML ring oscillators fabricated using HP HBTs in 8XP demonstrate 16% lower delay per stage than 8HP. A VCO design in 8XP has 40% lower phase noise at 36GHz compared to an identical design in 8HP. LNA and PA designs in 8XP show 6dB and 3dB higher gain respectively at 94GHz.