SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE

• US 20160365294A1
• Filed: 04/13/2016
• Published: 12/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Renesas Electronics Corporation
• Original Assignee: Renesas Electronics Corporation
• Inventors: MORl, Kazuhisa
• Granted Patent: US 10,192,795 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 22/30 Structural arrangements specially adapted for testing or measuring during manufacture or treatment, or specially adapted for reliability measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/05553 being rectangular
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/45015 being circular
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/45124 Aluminium (Al) as principal constituent
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/45144 Gold (Au) as principal constituent
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/45147 Copper (Cu) as principal constituent
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48463 the connecting portion on the bonding area of the semiconductor or solid-state body being a ball bond
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/4911 the connectors being bonded to at least one common bonding area, e.g. daisy chain
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/34 Arrangements for cooling, heating, ventilating or temperature compensation ; Temperature sensing arrangements thermal treatment apparatus H01L21/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/05 of an individual bonding area
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/45 of an individual wire connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/48 of an individual wire connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/49 of a plurality of wire connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/0629 in combination with diodes, or resistors, or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/0649 Dielectric regions, e.g. SiO2 regions, air gaps
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7397 and a gate structure lying on a slanted or vertical surface or formed in a groove, e.g. trench gate IGBT
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7813 with trench gate electrode, e.g. UMOS transistors trench gate electrodes per se H01L29/4236
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7815 with voltage or current sensing structure, e.g. emulator section, overcurrent sensing cell
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/8611 Planar PN junction diodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00014 the subject-matter covered by the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group, being disclosed without further technical details
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/13055 : Insulated gate bipolar transistor [IGBT]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/13091 : Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor [MOSFET]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/20755 : larger or equal to 50 microns less than 60 microns
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/2076 : equal to or larger than 100 microns

Abstract

A semiconductor device including a power transistor is prevented from being broken. A cathode of a temperature sensing diode and a source of a power MOSFET are electrically coupled to each other so as to have the same potential. Such a characteristic point allows the temperature sensing diode to be disposed in a power MOSFET formation region without considering withstand voltage. This means that there is no need to provide an isolating structure that maintains a withstand voltage between the power MOSFET and the temperature sensing diode. Consequently, the power MOSFET and the temperature sensing diode can be closely disposed.

Claims

1. A semiconductor device, comprising:

a power transistor that passes a current from a high-potential terminal to a low-potential terminal; and

a temperature sensing diode that senses a variation in temperature due to heating of the power transistor,

wherein the low-potential terminal of the power transistor and a cathode of the temperature sensing diode are electrically coupled to each other so as to have the same potential.

2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the power transistor configures a high-side switch.

3. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the power transistor configures a low-side switch.

4. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein an anode of the temperature sensing diode is electrically coupled to a constant current source.

5. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the temperature sensing diode is configured of a plurality of unit diodes coupled in series.

6. The semiconductor device according to claim 1,

wherein the semiconductor device includes a plurality of low-potential interconnections electrically coupled to the low-potential terminal,

wherein the low-potential interconnections extend in a first direction while being in parallel with one another,

wherein the temperature sensing diode is disposed at a position sandwiched by a first low-potential interconnection and a second low-potential interconnection among the low-potential interconnections in a plan view,

wherein a cathode of the temperature sensing diode is electrically coupled to a low-potential interconnection for cathode coupling sandwiched by the first low-potential interconnection and the second low-potential interconnection in a plan view, and

wherein the low-potential interconnection for cathode coupling extends in the first direction.

7. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the power transistor includes:

a plurality of trenches;

a gate insulating film provided over an inner wall of each of the trenches; and

agate electrode provided via the gate insulating film while filling each of the trenches.

8. The semiconductor device according to claim 7,

wherein the trenches extend in a first direction while being in parallel with one another, and

wherein the temperature sensing diode is disposed at a position sandwiched by a first trench and a second trench among the trenches in a plan view.

9. The semiconductor device according to claim 8,

wherein the semiconductor device includes a first cutoff trench and a second cutoff trench that extend in a second direction intersecting with the first direction while being in parallel with each other, and

wherein the temperature sensing diode is provided in a region enclosed by the first and second trenches and the first and second cutoff trenches in a plan view.

10. The semiconductor device according to claim 9, wherein the semiconductor device includes:

a semiconductor substrate;

an epitaxial layer having a first conductivity type provided over the semiconductor substrate; and

a base layer having a second conductivity type opposite to the first conductivity type provided over the epitaxial layer,

wherein each of the first and second cutoff trenches runs up to the epitaxial layer through the base layer.

11. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor device includes:

a semiconductor substrate;

an epitaxial layer having a first conductivity type provided over the semiconductor substrate;

a base layer having a second conductivity type opposite to the first conductivity type provided over the epitaxial layer;

a well having the first conductivity type provided in the base layer;

a cathode region having the first conductivity type contained in the well; and

an anode having the second conductivity type contained in the well and disposed separately from the cathode region.

12. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the temperature sensing diode is disposed in a hot-spot region having a highest temperature in a power transistor formation region in which the power transistor is provided.

13. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the temperature sensing diode is disposed in the center of a power transistor formation region in which the power transistor is provided in a plan view.

14. The semiconductor device according to claim 1,

wherein the power transistor is a power MOSFET, and

wherein the low-potential terminal of the power transistor is a source terminal of the power MOSFET.

15. The semiconductor device according to claim 1,

wherein the power transistor is an insulated gate bipolar transistor, and

wherein the low-potential terminal of the power transistor is an emitter terminal of the insulated gate bipolar transistor.