Doped Semiconductor Field Plate for High-Voltage Transistors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional metal field plates in high-voltage transistors, such as HEMTs and MOSFETs, suffer from localized electric field concentration at corners, leading to reduced effectiveness as applied voltage increases, which limits breakdown voltage and increases on-resistance, and are complex and costly to manufacture.
Innovation Solution
The use of field plates made from doped semiconductor materials with limited charge density, creating a depletion region that uniformly distributes electric fields along the surface, preventing concentration at corners and enhancing breakdown voltage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If metal field plates are used to manipulate electric field distribution, then breakdown voltage increases, but on-resistance increases
Solution Approach 1:
By changing the field plate material from metal to doped semiconductor, the electrical resistance parameter is reduced. The doped semiconductor provides both field manipulation capability and lower resistance, simultaneously improving breakdown voltage while reducing on-resistance.
2Reliability
If conventional metal field plates are used, then electric field distribution is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the field plate function with the existing semiconductor structure by using doped semiconductor material that can be integrated into the standard semiconductor fabrication process. This eliminates the need for separate metal field plate deposition and patterning steps, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining electric field distribution control.
Solution Approach 2:
Changing the field plate material to doped semiconductor allows the use of standard semiconductor doping processes instead of metal deposition and patterning. This parameter change simplifies the manufacturing process by utilizing existing semiconductor fabrication capabilities.
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 effectively increases breakdown voltage while reducing on-resistance and manufacturing complexity by uniformly distributing electric fields, improving device reliability and performance for high-voltage applications.
Implementation Method 1
The use of field plates made from doped semiconductor materials with limited charge density, creating a depletion region that uniformly distributes electric fields along the surface
Data Source
AI summary
A high voltage semiconductor structure with a field plate comprising a depletable material that increases the breakdown voltage of the semiconductor structure. A depletion region forms within the depletable field plate which redistributes the electric field and preventing electric charges from concentrating at the corners of the field plate. The thickness, doping concentration, doping uniformity, and geometric shape of the field plates may be adjusted to optimize the effect of the charge redistribution.