Heterojunction field effect transistor having gate threshold voltage capability

• US 4,866,491 A
• Filed: 01/04/1989
• Issued: 09/12/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Solomon, Paul M., Theis, Thomas N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mintel, William
• Application Number:
  US07/294,979
• Time in Patent Office: 251 Days
• Field of Search: 357/23.1, 357/23.15, 357/22 A, 357/22 MD, 357/16, 357/56, 357/58
• US Class Current: 257/192
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/432 Heterojunction gate for field effect devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7786 with direct single heterostructure, i.e. with wide bandgap layer formed on top of active layer, e.g. direct single heterostructure MIS-like HEMT
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7787 with wide bandgap charge-carrier supplying layer, e.g. direct single heterostructure MODFET

Abstract

A field effect transistor comprising a semiconductor channel region; an undoped semiconductor material region adjacent the channel region; a second semiconductor material region separated from the channel region; and a region of semiconductor material adjacent the second region and having a narrower band gap than the band gap of the region adjacent the channel region; and ohmic contact means to the region having the narrower band gap.

Claims

1. A monocrystalline semiconductor heterojunction field effect transistor having a selectively controlled gate threshold voltage comprising:

a substrate having doped source and drain regions with a doping level of ≧

10¹⁸ atoms/cm³, and a semiconductor channel region located between said source and drain regions;

a gate insulator comprising a first undoped semiconductor material region adjacent said channel region and having a wide band gap;

a threshold voltage controlling layer comprising a second region of semiconductor material with a narrower band gap than said first undoped semiconductor region and being different from said first undoped semiconductor material region and being separated from said channel region by said gate insulator and being doped with about 10¹⁷ to about 10¹⁹ atoms/cm³ and being a gate region;

a third region of semiconductor material being doped with at least 2×

10¹⁸ atoms/cm³ and being adjacent said threshold voltage controlling voltage layer and having a narrower band gap than the band gap of said threshold voltage controlling layer and being a gate region; and

ohmic contact means to said third region.

2. The transistor of claim 1 wherein said semiconductor channel region includes a III-V material.

3. The transistor of claim 2 wherein said III-V material is gallium arsenide.

4. The transistor of claim 1 wherein said first undoped semiconductor material is of undoped gallium aluminum arsenide.

5. The transistor of claim 4 wherein said second region is doped gallium aluminum arsenide.

6. The transistor of claim 1 wherein the first undoped semiconductor material and the second region of semiconductor material contains the same metallic elements in different relative amounts.

7. The transistor of claim 6 wherein said first undoped semiconductor material is represented by the formula:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">Al.sub.x Ga.sub.1-x As

wherein x is about 0.3 to about 0.6, and said second region is represented by the formula;

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">Al.sub.y Ga.sub.1-y As

wherein y is about 0 to about 0.3, and wherein y is less than x.

8. The transistor of claim 7 wherein said channel region and said third region are of gallium arsenide.

9. The transistor of claim 1 wherein said threshold voltage controlling layer is about 10 to about 30 nanometers thick and said gate insulator is about 15 to about 100 nanometers thick.

10. The transistor of claim 9 wherein said third region is about 10 to about 500 nanometers thick.

11. A monocrystalline semiconductor heterojunction field effect transistor having a selectively controlled gate threshold voltage comprising:

a substrate having doped source and drain regions with a doping level of ≧

10¹⁸ atoms/cm³, and a semiconductor channel region located between said source and drain regions;

a gate insulator comprising a first undoped semiconductor material region adjacent said channel region and having a wide band gap;

a threshold voltage controlling layer comprising a second undoped region of semiconductor material with a narrower band gap than said first undoped semiconductor region and being different from said first undoped semiconductor material region and being separated from said channel region by said gate insulator and being an insulator;

a third region of semiconductor material being doped with at least 2×

10¹⁸ atoms/cm³ and being adjacent said threshold voltage controlling layer and having a narrower band gap than the band gap of said threshold voltage controlling layer and being a gate region; and

ohmic contact means to said third region.

12. The transistor of claim 11 wherein said semiconductor channel region includes a III-V material.

13. The transistor of claim 12 wherein said III-V material is gallium arsenide.

14. The transistor of claim 11 wherein said first undoped semiconductor material is of undoped gallium aluminum arsenide.

15. The transistor of claim 11 wherein the first undoped semiconductor material and the second region of semiconductor material contains the same metallic elements in different relative amounts.

16. The transistor of claim 15 wherein said first undoped semiconductor material is represented by the formula:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">al.sub.x Ga.sub.1-y As

wherein y is about 0 to about 0.3, and wherein y is less than x.

17. The transistor of claim 16 wherein said channel region and said third region are of gallium arsenide.

18. The transistor of claim 11 wherein said threshold voltage controlling layer is about 10 to 30 nanometers thick and said gate insulator is about 15 to about 100 nanometers thick.

19. The transistor of claim 18 wherein said third region is about 10 to about 500 nanometers thick.