Semiconductor Component With Field Stop Layer and Insulating Trenches
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Solution Overview
Problem
Semiconductor devices manufactured from compound semiconductor substrates face issues such as high leakage currents and high manufacturing costs due to donor interfaces between layers, which affect performance and manufacturability.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor component is manufactured with a field stop layer and trenches filled with insulating material, which inhibits leakage paths along the interfaces of III-N semiconductor materials, improving high voltage isolation and reducing manufacturing costs by allowing thinner layer formation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If compound semiconductor substrates are used to improve device performance, then breakdown voltage and switching characteristics are improved, but leakage current increases due to donor interfaces between layers
Solution Approach 1:
An electric field stop layer is introduced as an intermediary between the semiconductor substrate and the III-N semiconductor layers. This layer acts as a mediator to terminate electric field lines at the interface, preventing leakage current paths while maintaining the high breakdown voltage characteristics of compound semiconductors.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful donor interface effect is extracted and isolated by placing the electric field stop layer at the interface. This separates the problematic interface region from the active device regions, allowing the III-N semiconductor layers to maintain their performance while the stop layer handles the leakage prevention function.
2Reliability
If multiple layers of compound semiconductor material are formed to improve device performance, then device functionality is enhanced, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The electric field stop layer is formed with specific material composition and thickness parameters optimized to provide effective field termination. By carefully controlling these parameters, the layer achieves leakage prevention with minimal impact on device performance while reducing the need for additional complex processing steps.
3Reliability
If thicker layers are formed to reduce leakage current, then high voltage isolation is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly increasing the thickness of all III-N semiconductor layers, the electric field stop layer is strategically positioned only at the substrate interface where leakage current originates. This localized approach provides high voltage isolation where needed while keeping other layers thin to maintain manufacturing efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
In accordance with an embodiment, a semiconductor component includes a plurality of layers of compound semiconductor material over a body of semiconductor material and first and second filled trenches extending into the plurality of layers of compound semiconductor material. The first trench has first and second sidewalls and a floor and a first dielectric liner over the first and second sidewalls and the second trench has first and second sidewalls and a floor and second dielectric liner over the first and second sidewalls of the second trench.