Silicon-germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS technology platforms have proven invaluable for implementing a wide variety of digital, RF, and mixed-signal applications in extreme environments such as space, where maintaining high levels of performance in the presence of low temperatures and background radiation is paramount. This work will focus on the investigation of the total-dose radiation tolerance of a third generation complementary SiGe:C BiCMOS technology platform. Tolerance will be quantified under proton and X-ray radiation sources for both the npn and pnp HBT, as well as for an operational amplifier built with these devices. Furthermore, a technique known as junction isolation radiation hardening will be proposed and tested with the goal of improving the SEE sensitivity of the npn in this platform by reducing the charge collected by the subcollector in the event of a direct ion strike. To the author's knowledge, this work presents the first design and measurement results for this form of RHBD.

This thesis evaluates the suitability of silicon-germanium technology for electronic systems intended for extreme environments, such as ambient temperatures outside of military specification (-55 degC to 125 degC) range and intense exposures to ionizing radiation. Silicon-germanium devices and circuits were characterized at cryogenic and high-temperatures (up to 300 degC) and exposed to ionizing radiation, providing empirical evidence that silicon-germanium is an excellent platform for terrestrial and space-based electronic applications.

Using bandgap engineering, silicon-germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS technology effectively combines III-V transistor performance with the cost and integration advantages associated with CMOS manufacturing. The suitability of SiGe technology for cryogenic and radiation-intense environments is well known, yet SiGe has been generally overlooked for applications involving extreme high temperature operation. This work is an investigation into the potential capabilities of SiGe technology for operation up to 300°C, including the development of packaging and testing procedures to enable the necessary measurements. At the device level, SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs), field-effect transistors (FETs), and resistors are verified to maintain acceptable functionality across the temperature range, laying the foundation for high temperature circuit design. This work also includes the characterization of existing bandgap references circuits, redesign for high temperature operation, validation, and further optimization recommendations. In addition, the performance of temperature sensor, operational amplifier, and output buffer circuits under extreme high temperature conditions is presented. To the author's knowledge, this work represents the first demonstration of functional circuits from a SiGe technology platform in ambient temperatures up to 300°C; furthermore, the optimized bandgap reference presented in this work is believed to show the best performance recorded across a 500°C range in a bulk-silicon technology platform.

This thesis investigates the effects of low temperatures on Silicon Germanium (SiGe) Hterojunction Bipolar Transistors (HBT) BiCMOS technology. A comprehensive set of dc measurements were taken on first, second, third and fourth generation IBM SiGe technology over a range of temperatures (room temperature to 43K for first generation, and room temperature to 15K for the rest). This work is unique in the sense that this sort of comprehensive study of dc characteristics on four SiGe HBT technology generations over a wide range of temperatures has never been done before to the best of the authors knowledge.