Experiments and Comparisons of Power to Failure for SiGe-Based Low-Noise Amplifiers Under High-Power Microwave Pulses

This study demonstrates comparisons of power to failure for SiGe-based low-noise amplifiers by injecting high-power microwave pulses. A general equation was derived to calculate power to failure, which depends on pulse width and its duty cycle. Two types of silicon-germanium (SiGe) transistors were modeled, and their temperature distributions were simulated. The pulse thermal resistance, thermal capacitance, and breakdown temperature were calculated and determined. Results show that the power to failure of the two transistors depend on the number of slots, pulse thermal resistance, thermal capacitance, and breakdown temperature, although these transistors exhibit nearly similar structures. In addition, calculated and measured results show close correlations. A summary for calculating the power to failure of a type of SiGe transistor is provided.