SBIR-STTR Award

Millimeter-wave circuit design requires accurate models to optimize performance, to minimize the number of preliminary designs, and to allow design centering for uniformity and high yield reducing cost and improving reliability. Existing bipolar circuit models fail at prediction of high frequency, non-linear, and switching behaviors. These models are not specified by the physical structure of the device and so are difficult to integrate with process simulators. Numerical device simulators are unable to yield results in reasonable execution times for high frequency waveforms and for large circuits. We propose to commercialize the Morris/Trew (MT) model for the bipolar transistor and heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) that: - Uses the physical material and structure for its parameters. - Provides accurate results with a minimum number of parameters. - Treats charge propagation explicitly through device (non-quasi-static) to provide large-signal accuracy to 100 GHz. - Consists of regional modules with analytic solutions. - Provides for strongly non-linear operation with few approximations. - Predicts the behavior of HBTs over temperature. This model will be linkable using compiled model facilities to commercial simulators. This will provide state-of-art modeling capability to the widest possible user community. Anticipated

Benefits:
The MT model will yield more accurate simulators at high frequencies and for strongly nonlinear circuits. The rapid execution will increase designer productivity and speed products to market. Optimization of device performance in the circuit environment will provide performance and yield improvements with fewer design interactions. All of these will contribute to the commercial viability of HBT technology for wireless communication and high-speed digital circuits.