Exploring the limits of Arrhenius-based life testing with heterojunction bipolar transistor technology
01 September 2002
With the introduction of HBTs based on InGaP the device reliability could be dramatically improved. Life tests at junction temperatures of 225degreesC showed no significant device degradation after 1000 hours of test time. In order to obtain significant device degradation within reasonable test times, the applied stress must be increased in a responsible manner in order not to introduce artificial ageing effects. In this paper, life test results on In-GaP HBTs are presented and discussed for junction temperatures attaining 340degreesC. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.