Junction termination for SiC Schottky diode

• US 5,914,500 A
• Filed: 03/20/1997
• Issued: 06/22/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: CREE Incorporated (Wolfspeed, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ABB Research Ltd. (ABB Limited)
• Inventors: Bakowski, Mietek, Gustafsson, Ulf
• Primary Examiner(s): Ngo , Ngan V.
• Application Number:
  US08/821,159
• Time in Patent Office: 824 Days
• Field of Search: 257/77, 257/472, 257/473, 257/475, 257/483, 257/485
• US Class Current: 257/77
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/0615 by the doping profile or the shape or the arrangement of the PN junction, or with supplementary regions, e.g. junction termination extension [JTE] LDD or drain offset regions H01L29/7833
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/0657 characterised by the shape of the body
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/1608 Silicon carbide
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/6606 the devices being controllable only by variation of the electric current supplied or the electric potential applied, to one or more of the electrodes carrying the current to be rectified, amplified, oscillated or switched, e.g. two-terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/872 Schottky diodes

Abstract

A semiconductor diode structure with a Schottky junction, wherein a metal contact and a silicon carbide semiconductor layer of a first conducting type form the junction and wherein the edge of the junction exhibits a junction termination divided into a transition belt (TB) having gradually increasing total charge or effective sheet charge density closest to the metal contact and a Junction Termination Extension (JTE) outside the transition belt, the JTE having a charge profile with a stepwise or uniformly deceasing total charge or effective sheet charge density from an initial value to a zero or almost zero total charge at the outermost edge of the termination following a radial direction from the center part of the JTE towards the outermost edge of the termination. The purpose of the transition belt is to reduce the electric field concentration at the edge of the metal contact of the Schottky diode, while the purpose of the junction termination extension is to control the electric field at the periphery of the diode.

Claims

1. A semiconductor device comprising a first conducting type layer and a metal contact layer forming a Schottky junction, the first conducting type later being made of silicon carbide (SiC), and wherein said junction is provided with an edge termination comprising a transition belt (TB) surrounded by a Junction Termination Extension (JTE), said transition belt having increasing charge level outwardly from the junction and said JTE having stepwise or continuously decreasing charge level outwardly.

2. A semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein said transition belt (TB) comprises a second conducting type layer of SiC applied on top of said first conducting type layer adjacent the metal contact, said second conducting type layer having a tapered wall facing the metal contact and covered by the metal contact.

3. A semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein said transition belt (TB) comprises TB-zones of said second conducting type SiC material implanted into said first conducting type layer, said zones facing the surface of said first conducting type layer and laterally surrounding said metal contact, the doping concentration of said TB-zones being of such values that the charge level of the transition belt increases laterally outwardly.

4. A semiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein said Junction Termination Extension (JTE) comprises JTE-zones of second conducting type SiC material implanted into said first conducting type layer, said JTE-zones facing the surface of said first layer and laterally surrounding said transition belt (TB), the doping concentration of said JTE-zones being of such values that the charge level of the transition belt decreases laterally outwardly.

5. A semiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein said Junction Termination Extension (JTE) comprises a layer of second conducting type SiC material on top of said first layer, laterally surrounding said transition belt (TB), facing the surface of the semiconductor and wherein said JTE has decreasing thickness outwardly, the charge level of said JTE thus decreasing laterally outwardly.

6. A semiconductor device according to claim 5, wherein said Junction Termination Extension (JTE) comprises JTE-zones formed as at least one step of decreasing thickness outwardly, the charge level of said JTE thus decreasing stepwise laterally outwardly.

7. A semiconductor device according to claim 4 wherein the relative charge level of the steps or zones of the JTE is described by the relations:

a) a four zone JTE;

Q₁ ;

Q₂ ;

Q₃ ;

Q₄ =100;

(50-100);

(25-75);

(0-50)

b) a three zone JTE;

Q₁ ;

Q₂ ;

Q₃ =100;

(30-100;

(0-60)

c) a two zone JTE;

Q₁ ;

Q₂ -100;

(25-75)

d) a one zone JTE;

Q₁ =(25-75)Q₀,

wherein Q₀ =100 is the relative charge density contained within the space charge region of the described pn junction with full voltage, for which it is designed, applied to it, and Q₁ being the charge density of the outermost TB zone.

8. A semiconductor device according to claim 3, wherein relative charge level of the zones of the TB is described by the relations:

a) a four zone JTE;

Q₁ ;

Q₂ ;

Q₃ ;

Q₄ =100;

(50-100);

(25-75);

(0-50)

b) a three zone JTE;

Q₁ ;

Q₂ ;

Q₃ =100;

(30-100;

(0-60)

c) a two zone JTE;

Q₁ ;

Q₂ -100;

(25-75)

d) a one zone JTE;

Q₁ =(25-75)Q₀,

where Q₀ =100 is the relative charge density contained within the space charge region of the described pn junction with full voltage, for which it is designed, applied to it, and Q₁ being the charge density of the outermost TB zone.

9. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising a first conducting type layer and a metal contact layer forming a Schottky junction, wherein the first conducting type layer is made of Silicon Carbide (SiC), said method including the steps of:

providing the surface of said first conducting type layer outside the edge of the Schottky junction with an edge termination by forming a transition belt (TB) having outwardly increasing charge level and forming a Junction Termination Extension (JTE) surrounding said transition belt (TB), said JTE having stepwise or continuously decreasing charge level.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein said transition belt (TB) is formed by means of LOCOS technique to have an inwardly tapered wall.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein said metal layer is formed to cover said tapered wall.

12. A method according to claim 10, wherein said JTE is formed by implantation of ions to form zones of a second conducting type at the surface of said first conducting type layer.

13. A method according to claim 10, wherein said JTE zones are implanted by means of a stepwise masking and implantation process to establish JTE zones of decreasing charge level outwardly from the junction.

14. A method according to claim 10, wherein the implant used to form JTE zones of p-conducting type is aluminum, boron or gallium, while the implant used to form JTE zones of n-conducting type is nitrogen.

15. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising a first conducting type layer and a metal contact layer forming a Schottky junction, wherein the first conducting type layer is made of silicon carbide (SiC), the method comprising the steps of:

epitaxially growing a second layer of a second conducting type SiC material on top of said first layer,

etching a trench with tapered walls down to said first layer in a center of said second layer,

applying a Schottky contact in said trench, and

forming said second layer to have outwardly decreasing thickness.

16. A method according to claim 15, comprising the step of etching said second layer in steps to have one or a plurality of steps, with each outward step having decreasing thickness.

17. A method according to claim 15, comprising the step of laterally growing said second layer, said growth being controlled to form said second layer with continuously decreasing thickness.