Lateral current confinement determines silicon avalanche transistor operation in short-pulsing mode

The transient in a Si bipolar junction transistor was investigated in high-current short-pulsing (similar to 2 ns) mode both experimentally and numerically. A comparison of measured and simulated waveforms clearly showed that only a small fraction of the perimeter of the emitter-base interface (in the lateral direction) takes part in the switching transient when a capacitor of relatively small value (similar to 80 pF) is discharged across the transistor to obtain a current pulse of a few nanoseconds in duration. A good agreement was found between measurements and simulations in the 2-D numerical model when the effective operating perimeter was used as a parameter in the model. The results allowed reliable analyses of the thermal regime to be performed. Possible reasons for the significant current confinement in short-pulsing mode and relatively homogeneous transistor switching with longer current pulses are discussed, and a mechanism of fast lateral turn-on spread is assumed. One conclusion of practical importance is that a short-pulsing relatively high-current mode could not be realized without current confinement in the lateral direction.