High voltage insulated gate bipolar transistors with minority carrier diverter

• US 8,629,509 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2009
• Issued: 01/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CREE Incorporated (Wolfspeed, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CREE Incorporated (Wolfspeed, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ryu, Sei-Hyung, Zhang, Qingchun
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, Yu
• Application Number:
  US12/556,870
• Publication Number:
  US 20100301335A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,587 Days
• Field of Search: 257/192, 257/197, 257/198, 257/373, 257/376, 257/378, 257/77, 257/262, 257/E29.197
• US Class Current: 257/378
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/8213 the substrate being a semiconductor, using SiC technology H01L21/8258 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/0705 comprising components of the field effect type
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/0834 Anode regions of thyristors or gated bipolar-mode devices, e.g. supplementary regions surrounding anode regions
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/0839 Cathode regions of thyristors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/1095 Body region, i.e. base region, of DMOS transistors or IGBTs cell layout H01L29/0696
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/1608 Silicon carbide
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/165 in different semiconductor regions , e.g. heterojunctions
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7395 Vertical transistors, e.g. vertical IGBT

Abstract

High power insulated gate bipolar junction transistors are provided that include a wide band gap semiconductor bipolar junction transistor (“BJT”) and a wide band gap semiconductor MOSFET that is configured to provide a current to the base of the BJT. These devices further include a minority carrier diversion semiconductor layer on the base of the BJT and coupled to the emitter of the BJT, the minority carrier diversion semiconductor layer having a conductivity type opposite the conductivity type of the base of the BJT and forming a heterojunction with the base of the BJT.

Claims

1. A high power insulated gate bipolar junction transistor (“

IGBT”

), comprising;

a wide band gap semiconductor bipolar junction transistor (“

BJT”

) having a collector, an emitter and a base;

a MOSFET having a gate, a source region, a drain region and a channel region extending between the source region and the drain region, wherein the source region, the drain region and the channel region comprise a first wide band gap semiconductor material, and wherein the MOSFET is configured to provide a current to the base of the BJT; and

a minority carrier diversion semiconductor layer between the base of the BJT and the gate of the MOSFET configured to divert a portion of the minority carrier current flow through the IGBT, the minority carrier diversion semiconductor layer having a conductivity type opposite the conductivity type of the base of the BJT and forming a heterojunction with the base of the BJT.

2. The high power IGBT of claim 1, wherein the wide band gap semiconductor BJT comprises a BJT having a silicon carbide base, a silicon carbide collector and a silicon carbide emitter, and wherein the MOSFET comprises a silicon carbide MOSFET.

3. The high power IGBT of claim 2, wherein the minority carrier diversion semiconductor layer comprises a doped polysilicon layer.

4. The high power IGBT of claim 3, wherein the IGBT includes:

an n-type injection layer;

a p-type layer on the n-type injection layer;

an n-well in an upper portion of the p-type layer;

a heavily-doped p-type layer in an upper region of the n-well; and

a gate dielectric layer between the gate and the n-well.

5. The high power IGBT of claim 4, wherein the p-type layer on the n-type injection layer comprises a p-type base layer that has a doping concentration that is less than a doping concentration of the heavily-doped p-type layer, and a p-type drift layer on the p-type base layer having a doping concentration that is less than the doping concentration of the p-type base layer.

6. The high power IGBT of claim 5, wherein the doped polysilicon layer is between the gate dielectric layer and the p-type drift layer.

7. The high power IGBT of claim 6, wherein a first channel region of the n-well that is on a first side of the heavily-doped p-type layer and that is under the gate electrode is doped at a concentration that is substantially the same as a second region of the n-well that is on the opposite side of the heavily-doped p-type layer.

8. The high power IGBT of claim 6, wherein a top surface of the doped polysilicon layer is even with or below a top surface of the n-well.

9. The high power IGBT of claim 4, wherein a thickness of a middle portion of the gate dielectric layer that is on the doped polysilicon layer is greater than a thickness of an end portion of the gate insulation layer that is on the n-well.

10. The high power IGBT of claim 4, further comprising an electrical connection between the heavily-doped p-type layer and the minority carrier diversion semiconductor layer.

11. The high power IGBT of claim 2, wherein the minority carrier diversion semiconductor layer is not a wide band gap semiconductor layer.

12. The high power IGBT of claim 1, wherein the a channel of the MOSFET comprises a silicon carbide channel.

13. The high power IGBT of claim 1, wherein the collector of the BJT has a first conductivity type and is disposed in a well region that has a second conductivity type, wherein the minority carrier diversion semiconductor layer has a second conductivity type, and wherein a semiconductor region having the first conductivity type is disposed between the well region and the minority carrier diversion semiconductor layer.

14. A high power insulated gate bipolar junction transistor (“

IGBT”

), comprising;

a wide band gap semiconductor bipolar junction transistor (“

BJT”

) having a collector, an emitter and a base;

a MOSFET that is configured to provide a current to the base of the BJT; and

a minority carrier diversion semiconductor layer between the base of the BJT and a gate of the MOSFET that is configured to divert a portion of the minority carrier current flow through the IGBT, the minority carrier diversion semiconductor layer having a conductivity type opposite the conductivity type of the base of the BJT and forming a heterojunction with the base of the BJT,

wherein the wide band gap semiconductor BJT comprises a silicon carbide BJT,

wherein the MOSFET comprises a silicon carbide MOSFET,

wherein the minority carrier diversion semiconductor layer comprises a doped polysilicon layer,

wherein the IGBT includes an n-type injection layer, a p-type layer on the n-type injection layer, an n-well in an upper portion of the p-type layer, a heavily-doped p-type layer in an upper region of the n-well, a gate dielectric layer on the n-well and the heavily-doped p-type layer, and a gate electrode on the gate dielectric layer,

wherein the p-type layer on the n-type injection layer comprises a p-type base layer that has a doping concentration that is less than a doping concentration of the heavily-doped p-type layer, and a p-type drift layer on the p-type base layer having a doping concentration that is less than the doping concentration of the p-type base layer,

wherein the doped polysilicon layer is between the gate dielectric layer and the p-type drift layer, and

wherein a top surface of the doped polysilicon layer is farther above the n-type injection layer than is a top surface of the n-well.

15. A high power p-channel silicon carbide insulated gate bipolar junction transistor (“

IGBT”

), comprising;

an n-type silicon carbide injection layer;

a p-type silicon carbide base layer on the n-type silicon carbide injection layer;

a p-type silicon carbide drift layer on the p-type silicon carbide base layer opposite the n-type silicon carbide injection layer;

a silicon carbide n-well in an upper portion of the p-type silicon carbide drift layer;

a p-type silicon carbide emitter region in the silicon carbide n-well and directly contacting the silicon carbide n-well;

an n-type silicon layer on the p-type silicon carbide drift layer opposite the p-type silicon carbide base layer;

a gate insulation layer on the silicon carbide n-well and the n-type silicon layer; and

a gate electrode on the gate insulation layer opposite the silicon carbide n-well and the n-type silicon layer.

16. A high power p-channel silicon carbide insulated gate bipolar junction transistor (“

IGBT”

), comprising;

an n-type silicon carbide injection layer;

a p-type silicon carbide base layer on the n-type silicon carbide injection layer;

a p-type silicon carbide drift layer on the p-type silicon carbide base layer opposite the n-type silicon carbide injection layer;

a silicon carbide n-well in an upper portion of the p-type silicon carbide drift layer;

an n-type silicon layer on the p-type silicon carbide drift layer opposite the p-type silicon carbide base layer;

a gate insulation layer on the silicon carbide n-well and the n-type silicon layer;

a gate electrode on the gate insulation layer opposite the silicon carbide n-well and the n-type silicon layer; and

a p-type silicon carbide emitter layer in an upper surface of the silicon carbide n-well,

wherein the n-type silicon layer is electrically connected to the p-type silicon carbide emitter layer.

17. The high power p-channel silicon carbide IGBT of claim 16, wherein the silicon layer comprises a minority carrier diverter that forms a heterojunction with the p-type silicon carbide drift layer.

18. The high power p-channel silicon carbide IGBT of claim 17, further comprising an n-type silicon carbide substrate on the n-type silicon carbide injection layer opposite the p-type silicon carbide base layer, wherein a top surface of the silicon layer is farther above the n-type silicon carbide substrate than is a top surface of the silicon carbide n-well.

19. The high power p-channel silicon carbide IGBT of claim 17, wherein a top surface of the silicon layer is even with or below a top surface of the silicon carbide n-well.

20. A high power insulated gate bipolar junction transistor (“

IGBT”

) that includes a silicon carbide bipolar junction transistor (“

BJT”

) and a MOSFET, the IGBT comprising;

a plurality of silicon carbide layers that include first and second silicon carbide well regions; and

a doped semiconductor layer that forms a p-n heterojunction with a first of the plurality of silicon carbide layers, the doped semiconductor layer disposed between the first and second silicon carbide well regions;

wherein the silicon carbide BJT is located within the plurality of silicon carbide layers;

wherein a source region and a drain region of the MOSFET are located within the plurality of silicon carbide layers, and a gate electrode of the MOSFET is on the doped semiconductor layer; and

wherein the doped semiconductor layer is configured to provide a minority carrier current path between the first and second well regions.

21. The high power IGBT of claim 20, wherein the doped semiconductor layer comprises a doped silicon layer.

22. The high power IGBT of claim 21, wherein the doped silicon layer comprises a doped polysilicon minority carrier diverter.

23. The high power IGBT of claim 22, wherein a top surface of the doped polysilicon layer is farther above an n-type substrate of the IGBT than is a top surface of a collector region of the BJT.

24. The high power IGBT of claim 22, wherein a top surface of the doped polysilicon layer is even with or below a top surface of the collector region of the BJT.

25. The high power IGBT of claim 20, wherein the doped semiconductor layer is between a base of the BJT and the gate electrode of the MOSFET.