The effect of valence‐band discontinuity at the collector base heterojunction on the current gain and base charge storage is modeled. It is shown that the onset of the Kirk effect is accompanied by a sharp drop in the current gain andftdue to the formation of a potential barrier. The variation of barrier height with collector current density is determined and its effect on current gain and base transit time described. The results discussed here are applicable to Si/SiGe double‐heterojunction bipolar transistors.