Design of Cellular Power Amplifier Using a SifSiGe HBT

A cellular power amplifier using an APCVD(Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition)-grown SiGe base HBT of ETRI has been designed with a linear simulation CAD. The Si/SiGe HBT with an emitter area of 2$\times$8${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$$^2$typically has a cutoff frequency(f$_{T}$) of 7.0 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency(f$_{max}$) of 16.1 GHz with a pad de-embedding A packaged power Si/SiGe HBT with an emitter area of 2$\times$8$\times$80${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$$^2$typically shows a f$_{T}$ of 4.7 GHz and a f$_{max}$ of 7.1 GHz at a collector current (Ic) of 115 mA. The power amplifier exhibits a Forward transmission coefficient(S21) of 13.5 dB, an input and an output reflection coefficients of -42 dB and -45 dB respectively. Up to now the III-V compound semiconductor devices hale dominated microwave applications, however a rapid progress in Si-based technology make the advent of the Si/SiGe HBT which is promising in low to even higher microwave range because of lower cost and relatively higher reproducibility of a Si-based process.ess.ess.