We report the process flow and technological features of Infineons' 75 GHz bipolar technology, which is characterized by a double-poly self-aligned transistor structure and a SiGe base, grown by selective epitaxy. The dependence of the epitaxial deposition on growth conditions and the influence of layout on the growth process is discussed, especially for different kinds of reticles: bipolar-ICs, BICMOS-ICs and discrete semiconductors. Finally, our monitoring concept for the control of the selective SiGe epitaxy is presented and compared with alternative methods of process control.

SiGe HBTs with doping level inversion, that is, a higher dopant concentration in the base than in the emitter, are realized based on the double-polysilicon self-aligned transistor scheme by means of selective epitaxy performed in a production CVD reactor. The effects of the Ge profile in the base on the transistor performance are explored. The fabricated HBT with a 12-27% graded Ge profile demonstrates a maximum cutoff frequency of 88 GHz, a maximum oscillation frequency of 65 GHz, and an ECL gate delay time of 13.8 ps.

We studied the selective epitaxy of GaAs grown by a technique called pulsed-jet epitaxy. Pulsed-jet epitaxy is a kind of atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) based on low-pressure metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE). We compared growth behavior and layers grown by ALE and MOVPE. During ALE we supplied trimethylgallium (TMGa) and arsine (AsH3) alternately; however, during MOVPE we supplied TMGa and AsH3 simultaneously. At a growth temperature of 500, we obtained a better growth selectivity using ALE than using MOVPE. The lateral thickness profile of the ALE-grown GaAs layer at the edge of SiO2 mask was uniform. In contrast, the MOVPE growth rate was enhanced near the mask edge. Using ALE, we selectively grew GaAs epilayers even at mask openings with submicron widths. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the ALE selectively grown structures had an uniform thickness profile, though the facets surrounding the structures depended on the orientation of mask stripes. After MOVPE, however, the (001) surface of the deposited layer was not flat because of the additional lateral diffusion of the growth species from the gas phase and/or the mask surface and some crystal facets. The experimental results show that, using ALE, we can control the shape of selectively grown structures. Selective epitaxy by ALE is a promising technique for fabricating low-dimensional quantum effect devices.

Selective epitaxial growth technology has been extended to the base formation of a transistor on the basis of the SATURN (Self-Alignment Technology Utilizing Reserved Nitride) process, a high-speed bipolar LSI processing technology. The formation of a self-aligned base contact, coupled with SIC (Selective Ion-implanted Collector) fabricated by lowenergy ion implantation, has not only narrowed the transistor active regions but has drastically reduced the base width. A final base width of 800 and a maximum cut-off frequency of 31 GHz were achieved.