Hall Sensor Structure Overlap Region Transient Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Hall sensor structures face challenges in achieving stable and sensitive measurements immediately after switching on, particularly at low n-well doping levels, and often require threshold voltage implantation, which affects switch-on behavior.
Innovation Solution
A Hall sensor structure with a semiconductor body and a well region of a second conductivity type, featuring at least three first semiconductor contact regions and one second semiconductor contact region that overlap, providing minority charge carriers and improving transient properties, thereby suppressing measurement drift and achieving high sensitivity without threshold voltage implantation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If threshold voltage implantation is performed in the n-well region, then the Hall sensor achieves stable operation, but the switch-on behavior deteriorates and sensitivity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the threshold voltage implantation step from the manufacturing process. By removing this implantation step, the patent achieves both stable operation and improved switch-on behavior without the adverse effects of threshold voltage modification in the n-well region.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary doping of the n-well region with a specific doping concentration (10^15 to 10^16 atoms/cm³) during the well formation step, before any contact region processing. This preliminary doping action establishes the correct electrical characteristics upfront, eliminating the need for subsequent threshold voltage implantation and ensuring both stability and good switch-on behavior.
2Manufacturing precision
If n-well doping concentration is increased, then threshold voltage control is improved, but sensitivity of the Hall sensor decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the doping concentration parameter of the n-well region to a specific range (10^15 to 10^16 atoms/cm³), which is lower than conventional values. This parameter change optimizes the balance between threshold voltage control and Hall sensor sensitivity, achieving both manufacturing precision and measurement precision simultaneously.
3Productivity
If the Hall sensor is switched on immediately after manufacturing, then productivity is improved, but measurement drift occurs due to insufficient minority charge carriers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary doping of the n-well and contact regions during manufacturing to pre-establish the minority charge carrier population. This preliminary action ensures that when the sensor is switched on immediately after manufacturing, sufficient minority charge carriers are already present, preventing measurement drift and enabling immediate stable operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the doping concentration parameters of the n-well and contact regions to optimize the generation and availability of minority charge carriers. By adjusting these doping parameters, the sensor achieves stable measurements immediately upon switching on, eliminating the need for prolonged warm-up periods and improving productivity.
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
The overlap region ensures stable and time-independent operation with improved switch-on behavior and high sensitivity, even at low n-well doping levels, while avoiding threshold voltage implantation, resulting in a highly sensitive Hall sensor with enhanced performance.
Implementation Method 1
A Hall sensor structure with five n+ semiconductor contacts within an n-well formed in a p-substrate
Data Source
AI summary
A Hall sensor structure comprising a semiconductor body of a first conductivity type, a well region of a second conductivity type extending from a top side of the semiconductor body into the semiconductor body, at least three first semiconductor contact regions of the second conductivity type, each extending from a top side of the well region into the well region, at least one second semiconductor contact region of a second conductivity type, wherein the first semiconductor contact regions are spaced apart from one another and from an edge of the well region, a metallic connection contact layer is arranged on each first semiconductor contact region, the at least one second semiconductor contact region extends along the top side of the semiconductor body at least partially around the well region.