Semiconductor Buffer Region Doping with Hydrogen Peak Activation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current semiconductor devices face challenges in achieving optimal doping concentration distributions and activation levels, particularly in buffer regions, which affect carrier mobility and lifetime, due to limitations in existing manufacturing processes and materials used.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of hydrogen implantation to create specific doping concentration peaks and the use of thermal annealing to enhance dopant activation, alongside selective laser annealing for specific regions, allows for improved carrier mobility and lifetime recovery, even in regions difficult to activate with conventional methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional doping methods are used in buffer regions, then manufacturing process is simple, but doping concentration distribution and activation level are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the doping process into multiple distinct stages: initial doping to form buffer regions, ion implantation to create doping concentration peaks, and selective laser annealing for activation. This segmentation allows each step to be optimized independently, achieving precise doping concentration distribution while managing process complexity through systematic breakdown of the manufacturing sequence.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing ion implantation and selective laser annealing on buffer regions before final device formation. This preliminary doping and activation creates optimized electrical properties in advance, allowing subsequent processing steps to build upon already-enhanced regions, thereby improving overall device performance without compromising manufacturing efficiency.
2Reliability
If thermal annealing is applied to enhance dopant activation, then activation level improves, but manufacturing time and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality through selective laser annealing that targets specific buffer regions requiring activation rather than uniform thermal annealing of the entire wafer. This localized approach concentrates energy where needed, achieving high dopant activation levels in critical areas while minimizing overall processing time and energy consumption by leaving already-activated regions untouched.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces conventional thermal field annealing with focused laser beam annealing. This substitution uses optical energy delivery to achieve rapid, localized heating and cooling cycles that activate dopants more efficiently than traditional furnace methods, reducing both manufacturing cycle time and energy consumption while maintaining high activation levels.
3Manufacturing precision
If ion implantation is used to create doping concentration peaks, then carrier mobility improves, but process complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by systematically varying ion implantation parameters (ion type, energy, dose, angle) across different processing steps to create the desired doping concentration peak profiles. By precisely controlling these parameters, the process achieves optimized carrier mobility in buffer regions while integrating seamlessly into existing manufacturing workflows, thereby maintaining ease of manufacture despite the advanced nature of ion implantation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables enhanced electrical properties by recovering reduced mobility and lifetime in semiconductor devices, improving performance and reliability by optimizing doping concentration distributions and activation levels.
Implementation Method 1
ion-implanted hydrogen for forming a hydrogen concentration peak
Implementation Method 2
The semiconductor substrate 10 is annealed
Implementation Method 3
selective laser annealing for specific regions
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a semiconductor device comprising: a drift region in a semiconductor substrate having a front surface and a back surface; and a buffer region in the back surface side of the semiconductor substrate relative to the drift region in a depth direction of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the buffer region has a group of concentration peaks including one or more concentration peaks of a doping concentration, the group of concentration peaks includes a first concentration peak provided closest, among the one or more concentration peaks, to the back surface of the semiconductor substrate, the semiconductor substrate includes a first hydrogen peak which is a peak of an atomic density of hydrogen, provided in a same depth position as that of the first concentration peak or in the back surface side of the semiconductor substrate relative to a depth position of the first concentration peak.