Silicon carbide semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same

• US 7,399,676 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2005
• Issued: 07/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Takeuchi, Yuichi, Kumar, Malhan Rajesh
• Primary Examiner(s): LINDSAY JR, WALTER LEE
• Application Number:
  US11/268,612
• Publication Number:
  US 20060097267A1
• Time in Patent Office: 980 Days
• Field of Search: 438/268, 438/243, 438/569, 257/E21.182, 257/E21.065, 257/E21.115, 257/E21.054, 257/E21.055, 257/E21.129, 257/E21.102
• US Class Current: 438/268
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/0661 specially adapted for altering the breakdown voltage by removing semiconductor material at, or in the neighbourhood of, a reverse biased junction, e.g. by bevelling, moat etching, depletion etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/1608 Silicon carbide
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/66068 the devices being controllable only by the electric current supplied or the electric potential applied, to an electrode which does not carry the current to be rectified, amplified or switched, e.g. three-terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7811 with an edge termination structure guard regions per se H01L29/0619; field plates per se H01L29/402
• 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 29/7828 without inversion channel, e.g. vertical ACCUFETs, normally-on vertical MISFETs

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a silicon carbide semiconductor device includes the steps of: preparing a semiconductor substrate including a silicon carbide substrate and first to third semiconductor layers; forming a trench in a cell region of the semiconductor substrate; forming a fourth semiconductor layer in the trench; forming an oxide film in the trench such that a part of the fourth semiconductor layer on a sidewall of the trench is thermally oxidized; forming a gate electrode on the oxide film in the trench; forming a first electrode electrically connecting to the third semiconductor layer; and forming a first electrode electrically connecting to the silicon carbide substrate.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a silicon carbide semiconductor device comprising the steps of:

preparing a semiconductor substrate including a silicon carbide substrate and first to third semiconductor layers, wherein the first semiconductor layer made of silicon carbide and having the first conductive type and an impurity concentration lower than that of the silicon carbide substrate, the second semiconductor layer made of silicon carbide and having the second conductive type, and the third semiconductor layer made of silicon carbide and having the first conductive type are formed on the silicon carbide substrate having a first conductive type or a second conductive type in this order;

forming a trench in a cell region of the semiconductor substrate so that the trench penetrates the second and the third semiconductor layers and reaches the first semiconductor layer;

forming a fourth semiconductor layer having the first conductive type in the trench by an epitaxial growth method;

forming an oxide film in the trench in such a manner that a part of the fourth semiconductor layer disposed on a sidewall of the trench is thermally oxidized, wherein the oxide film includes a part for functioning as a gate oxide film;

forming a gate electrode on a surface of the oxide film in the trench;

forming a first electrode electrically connecting to the third semiconductor layer; and

forming a second electrode electrically connecting to the silicon carbide substrate.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein

the sidewall of the trench has a surface orientation of (1-100) or (11-20), and

a part of the fourth semiconductor layer disposed on a bottom of the trench has a thickness larger than that of a part of the fourth semiconductor layer disposed on the sidewall of the trench.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein

the thickness of the part of the fourth semiconductor layer disposed on the bottom of the trench is three times larger than that of the part of the fourth semiconductor layer disposed on the sidewall of the trench.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein

in the step of forming the oxide film, a part of the fourth semiconductor layer disposed on a lower side of a bottom of the trench remains without thermal oxidation so that the part of the fourth semiconductor layer provides a low resistance layer.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein

the fourth semiconductor layer has an impurity concentration of a first conductive type impurity is in a range between 1×

10¹⁷ cm<sup>−

3</sup> and 1×

10¹⁹ cm<sup>−

3</sup>.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

forming a fifth semiconductor layer having the first conductive type on an inner wall of the trench by an epitaxial growth method, wherein

the fifth semiconductor layer functions as a channel layer,

in the step of forming the fourth semiconductor layer, the fourth semiconductor layer is formed on the fifth semiconductor layer, and

an impurity concentration of the first conductive type impurity in the fourth semiconductor layer is higher than that in the fifth semiconductor layer.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein

the semiconductor substrate further includes a periphery area,

in the step of forming the trench, a concavity is formed in the periphery area to penetrate the second and the third semiconductor layers and to reach the first semiconductor layer,

in the step of forming the fifth semiconductor layer, the fifth semiconductor layer is formed in the concavity,

in the step of forming the fourth semiconductor layer, the fourth semiconductor layer is formed on a surface of the fifth semiconductor layer in the concavity, and

the method further comprising the step of:

forming a second conductive type region in such a manner that the cell region is covered with a mask, and a second conductive type impurity is introduced by an ion implantation method into a part of the fourth and the fifth semiconductor layers disposed in the concavity on a cell region side.

8. A method for manufacturing a silicon carbide semiconductor device comprising the steps of:

preparing a semiconductor substrate including a silicon carbide substrate and first to third semiconductor layers, wherein the first semiconductor layer made of silicon carbide and having the first conductive type and an impurity concentration lower than that of the silicon carbide substrate, the second semiconductor layer made of silicon carbide and having the second conductive type, and the third semiconductor layer made of silicon carbide and having the first conductive type are formed on the silicon carbide substrate having a first conductive type or a second conductive type in this order;

forming a trench in a cell region of the semiconductor substrate so that the trench penetrates the second and the third semiconductor layers and reaches the first semiconductor layer;

forming a fourth semiconductor layer having the first conductive type in the trench by an epitaxial growth method, wherein a part of the fourth semiconductor layer disposed on a sidewall of the trench has a thickness substantially equal to a thickness of a part of the fourth semiconductor layer disposed on a bottom of the trench;

forming a low resistance layer in such a manner that a first conductive type impurity is introduced from an upper side of the semiconductor substrate by an ion implantation method so that the first conductive type impurity is doped through the fourth semiconductor layer on the bottom of the trench;

forming an oxide film in the trench in such a manner that a part of the fourth semiconductor layer disposed on the sidewall of the trench is thermally oxidized, wherein the oxide film includes a part for functioning as a gate oxide film;

forming a gate electrode on a surface of the oxide film in the trench;

forming a first electrode electrically connecting to the third semiconductor layer; and

forming a second electrode electrically connecting to the silicon carbide substrate.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein

in the step of forming the oxide film, the low resistance layer disposed under the fourth semiconductor layer on the bottom of the trench remains without thermal oxidation.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein

the fourth semiconductor layer has an impurity concentration of the first conductive type impurity is in a range between 1×

10¹⁷ cm<sup>−

3</sup> and 1×

10¹⁹ cm<sup>−

3</sup>.

11. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of:

forming a fifth semiconductor layer having the first conductive type on an inner wall of the trench by an epitaxial growth method, wherein

the fifth semiconductor layer functions as a channel layer,

in the step of forming the fourth semiconductor layer, the fourth semiconductor layer is formed on the fifth semiconductor layer, and

an impurity concentration of the first conductive type impurity in the fourth semiconductor layer is higher than that in the fifth semiconductor layer.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein

the semiconductor substrate further includes a periphery area,

in the step of forming the trench, a concavity is formed in the periphery area to penetrate the second and the third semiconductor layers and to reach the first semiconductor layer,

in the step of forming the fifth semiconductor layer, the fifth semiconductor layer is formed in the concavity,

in the step of forming the fourth semiconductor layer, the fourth semiconductor layer is formed on a surface of the fifth semiconductor layer in the concavity, and

the method further comprising the step of:

forming a second conductive type region in such a manner that the cell region is covered with a mask, and a second conductive type impurity is introduced by an ion implantation method into a part of the fourth and the fifth semiconductor layers disposed in the concavity on a cell region side.

13. A method for manufacturing a silicon carbide semiconductor device comprising the steps of:

preparing a semiconductor substrate including a silicon carbide substrate and first to third semiconductor layers, wherein the first semiconductor layer made of silicon carbide and having the first conductive type and an impurity concentration lower than that of the silicon carbide substrate, the second semiconductor layer made of silicon carbide and having the second conductive type, and the third semiconductor layer made of silicon carbide and having the first conductive type are formed on the silicon carbide substrate having a first conductive type or a second conductive type in this order;

forming a trench in a cell region of the semiconductor substrate so that the trench penetrates the second and the third semiconductor layers and reaches the first semiconductor layer;

forming an ion implantation region on an inner wall including a sidewall of the trench in such a manner that a first conductive type impurity, a second conductive type impurity, a silicon atom or a carbon atom is implanted slantwise on the semiconductor substrate;

forming an oxide film in the trench in such a manner that a part of the ion implantation region disposed on the sidewall of the trench is thermally oxidized, wherein the oxide film includes a part for functioning as a gate oxide film;

forming a gate electrode on a surface of the oxide film in the trench;

forming a first electrode electrically connecting to the third semiconductor layer; and

forming a second electrode electrically connecting to the silicon carbide substrate.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of:

forming a first conductive type region disposed on the bottom of the trench in such a manner that the first conductive type impurity is implanted from an upper side of the semiconductor substrate, wherein

the first conductive type region is deeper than the ion implantation region, and

in the step of forming the oxide film, a part of the first conductive type region disposed on a lower side of the bottom of the trench remains without thermal oxidation so that the part of the first conductive type region provides a low resistance layer.

15. The method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of:

forming a fourth semiconductor layer having the first conductive type on an inner wall of the trench by an epitaxial growth method, wherein

the fourth semiconductor layer functions as a channel layer, and

in the step of forming the ion implantation layer, the first conductive type impurity, the second conductive type impurity, the silicon atom or the carbon atom is implanted into the fourth semiconductor layer so that the ion implantation layer is provided.

16. The method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of:

forming a fourth semiconductor layer having the first conductive type in such a manner that a first conductive type impurity is implanted on an inner wall of the trench, wherein

the fourth semiconductor layer functions as a channel layer, and

in the step of forming the ion implantation layer, the first conductive type impurity, the second conductive type impurity, the silicon atom or the carbon atom is implanted into the fourth semiconductor layer so that the ion implantation layer is provided.