HBT low-noise performance in a 0.18 μm SiGe BiCMOS technology

Abstract

Noise figure and gain are critical parameters in the design of any product featuring a high-frequency receiver. We present here for the first time noise and gain characterization of HBTs fabricated in a development version of IBM's new 90 GHz, 0.18 μm-generation SiGe BiCMOS process with copper interconnects. At 2 GHz, we report a noise figure of less than 0.4 dB and an associated gain of 14 dB, a significant (0.3-0.5 dB) improvement over prior SiGe and GaAs state of the art in a commercial process. At 10 GHz, we observe a noise figure of 1.45 dB, an approximately 0.7 dB improvement over previous offerings. This performance makes the 0.18 μm SiGe BiCMOS technology attractive for RF, analog, and mixed-signal circuit design.