Transistor Modeling

Integrated circuits are designed relying on simulation software and cannot be tuned after being fabricated. The accuracy of the simulation software is therefore crucial for successful MMIC design. Transistor models are most decisive for simulation accuracy, as they are the mathematical description of the electrical and thermal transistor behavior. Since the FBH’s core research field is semiconductor technology, transistor modeling is a continuous challenge.

Models are developed for all processes of the FBH foundry, for InP-transfer substrate HBT as well as for GaN-HEMT devices. Since different applications require different models, we characterize small-signal, noise, and large-signal performance of our devices. Advanced transistors frequently cannot be described through previously published models or even models available in commercial circuit simulators. Examples for the outcome of our research are the FBH-HBT model that is currently used for the InP-HBTs, models for white and 1/f noise of HBT as well as a nonlinear noise model for GaN HEMTs, and a model for packaged transistors.