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This paper investigates the impact of proton irradiation on the 1/f noise in ultra-high-voltage chemical-vapor deposition SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors. The relative degradation of 1/f noise shows a strong dependence on device geometry. Both the geometry dependence and the bias dependence of 1/f noise change significantly after exposure to 2 x [10.sup.13] p/[cm.sup.2] protons. An expression describing the 1/f noise is derived and used to explain the experimental observations. Index Terms--1/f noise, proton irradiation, SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT).

The effects of 63-MeV proton irradiation on SiGe: C heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) are reported for the first time. The dc characteristics and neutral base recombination of these SiGe: C HBTs are investigated for proton fluences up to 5 x [10.sup.13] p/[cm.sup.2]. A comparison is made with SiGe HBTs fabricated in the same technology. Despite the fact that these SiGe: C HBTs degrade significantly during proton exposure, there is no indication that the carbon doping has any significant impact on the radiation response. Index Terms--Neutral base recombination, proton irradiation, SiGe: C heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBTs).