High-Voltage Guard Ring Segmentation for Analog-Digital Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing semiconductor technologies face challenges in achieving effective electrical isolation between digital and analog circuits, particularly when operating analog circuits at high voltages, due to limitations in design rules that allow for significant carrier migration and dielectric breakdown, leading to issues like parasitic bipolar junction transistors and latchup.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a semiconductor device with enhanced guard rings using multiple minimum gap sizes in both horizontal and vertical directions, allowing for greater electrical isolation by separating segments with different voltage values, ensuring that differences in voltage levels do not exceed specific reference values, thereby facilitating the use of high voltage analog circuits while reducing carrier migration and dielectric breakdown.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If guard rings are placed between digital and analog sections to reduce noise, then electrical isolation is improved, but carrier migration and dielectric breakdown still occur under high voltage conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different minimum gap sizes in different regions of the guard ring structure. Specifically, a first minimum gap size is used in a first region and a second minimum gap size is used in a second region, where the gap sizes are differentiated based on the voltage conditions in each region. This local differentiation allows the guard ring to provide enhanced electrical isolation where needed while managing carrier migration in high voltage analog sections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameter of the guard ring by implementing multiple minimum gap sizes instead of a uniform gap. This parameter change enables the guard ring to adapt to different voltage conditions (standard voltage vs. high voltage) and provides superior electrical isolation performance while reducing carrier migration and dielectric breakdown under high voltage operation.
2Reliability
If design rules are tightened to reduce carrier migration, then electrical isolation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the guard ring structure into different regions with different gap requirements. By dividing the guard ring into a first region and a second region with different minimum gap sizes, the design simplifies the overall rule set compared to implementing a single uniform gap throughout, while still achieving superior electrical isolation performance.
3Ease of manufacture
If uniform minimum gap sizes are used throughout the guard ring, then manufacturing is simplified, but electrical isolation effectiveness decreases under high voltage conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by using different minimum gap sizes in different regions of the guard ring. The first minimum gap size is applied in the first region and the second minimum gap size is applied in the second region, optimizing electrical isolation for high voltage conditions while maintaining manufacturability through a systematic approach to gap differentiation.
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device includes a digital section, an analog active section, and an analog guard ring section between the analog active section and the digital section. The semiconductor device includes M_1st segments. The M_1st segments include a first M_1st segment extending in a first direction; and a second M_1st segment extending in the first direction, wherein the second M_1st segment is collinear with the first M_1st segment, and a first gap is between the first M_1st segment and the second M_1st segment. The semiconductor device includes active regions in a substrate. The active regions include first and second active regions extending in the first direction, the first active region being adjacent to the second active region, and the first and second active regions are separated by a second gap greater than or equal to the first gap.