GaN Barrier Layer Structure for Stable High-Voltage Operation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing semiconductor devices face challenges in achieving stable electric characteristics and reliability, particularly in high-voltage and high-current applications, with materials like silicon wafers exhibiting unstable characteristics at high temperatures and SiC and GaN devices being costly or inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor device design incorporating a channel layer, barrier layer, gate electrode, and interlayer insulating layer with specific compositions and structures, including a lower protection layer with controlled nitrogen content, to enhance stability and reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If silicon wafers are used for semiconductor devices, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but electric characteristics become unstable at high temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a composite structure consisting of a GaN-based channel layer, AlGaN barrier layer, and silicon substrate. This composite material approach combines the high-temperature stability of GaN with the manufacturing advantages of silicon substrates, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing cost and high-temperature reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the aluminum composition ratio in the AlGaN barrier layer and controls the thickness parameters of various layers to achieve stable electric characteristics at high temperatures while maintaining compatibility with silicon substrate manufacturing processes.
2Reliability
If AlGaN barrier layer is added to improve breakdown voltage, then device reliability improves, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an AlGaN barrier layer specifically in the region where high breakdown voltage is required, while maintaining a simpler structure in other areas. This localized enhancement of material properties achieves high reliability without unnecessarily complicating the entire device structure.
3Reliability
If nitrogen content in lower protection layer is increased to improve insulation, then electric characteristics improve, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies a nitrogen content range of 5-20 at% in the lower protection layer, optimizing the nitrogen concentration to achieve sufficient insulation performance while avoiding excessively tight manufacturing tolerances that would be difficult to control in practice.
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device includes a channel layer, a barrier layer positioned above the channel layer and including a material having a different energy band gap from an energy band gap of the channel layer, a gate electrode positioned above the barrier layer, a gate semiconductor layer positioned between the barrier layer and the gate electrode, a first source electrode positioned on a first side of the gate electrode, and a first drain electrode positioned on a second, opposite side of the gate electrode, the first source electrode and the first drain electrode each connected to the channel layer, a lower protection layer covering the barrier layer and the gate electrode, a first field dispersion plate connected to the first source electrode and positioned above the lower protection layer, and a first interlayer insulating layer positioned above the first field dispersion plate and the lower protection layer and including a first element of a first content (at %) in relation to the entire first interlayer insulating layer. The lower protection layer includes the first element of which a second content (at %) in relation to the entire lower protection layer is less than the first content (at %).