Investigating the impact of X-Ray irradiation on Silicon-Germanium Hetero junction Bipolar Transistors (HBTs)

In this thesis, the impact of X-ray irradiation on Si-Ge Hetero Junction Bipolar Transistor (HBT) technology is investigated. For this purpose, Q-Band amplifier chips using SG13G3Cu transistors technology, manufactured by the Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics (IHP), were used. To quantify the irradiation-induced damage, the following figures of merit were examined: the forward Gummel characteristics (I-V curve), the Early voltage/output resistance, and the power consumption of the chip. The chips were irradiated with X-ray doses ranging from 25 kGy to 200 kGy. The results demonstrate a robust tolerance to ionizing irradiation up to and beyond a Total Ionizing Dose (TID) of 200 kGy.