A novel trench termination design for 100-V TMBS diode application

In this letter, a novel trench termination structure that can inhibit the reverse leakage current substantially and reduce the process cost is introduced. For trench type power devices, such as trench MOS barrier Schottky (TMBS) diodes, this new termination structure can be processed simultaneously with the active region without any additional mask. Simulation and experimental results show that TMBS diodes with this new termination structure can achieve a reverse blocking voltage of 100 V with a leakage current density as low as 8.4×10^-4 A/cm²     

Advanced High-Voltage 4H-SiC Schottky Rectifiers

This paper presents advanced 4H-SiC high-voltage Schottky rectifiers with improved performance when compared to conventional 4H-SiC Schottky rectifiers. Two types of 4H-SiC junction barrier Schottky (JBS) rectifiers have been explored. These rectifiers offer Schottky-like ON-state and fast switching characteristics, while their OFF-state characteristics have a low leakage current similar to that of the PiN junction rectifier. Planar 4H-SiC JBS rectifiers, with more than 1-kV blocking capability and orders of magnitude lower reverse leakage current than that of conventional SiC Schottky rectifiers, have been demonstrated. In addition, a novel device structure, called lateral channel JBS rectifier, was designed and experimentally demonstrated in 4H-SiC with up to 1.5-kV blocking capability and pinlike reverse characteristics.      

High current bulk GaN Schottky rectifiers

GaN Schottky rectifiers employing guard-ring and SiO₂ edge termination show almost ideal forward current characteristics, with ideality factor 1.08 and specific on-state resistance as low as 2.6×10⁻³ Ω cm². A maximum forward current of 1.72 A at 6.28 V was achieved under pulsed (10% duty cycle) conditions. The reverse breakdown voltage was inversely dependent on rectifier area. The presence of defects in the GaN still dominates the reverse leakage, with both field emission and thermionic field emission contributions present. The parallel-plane breakdown voltage is never reached, even with the use of multiple edge termination methods, but the results show the promise of GaN rectifiers for power conditioning and electric utility applications.     

High voltage GaN Schottky rectifiers

Mesa and planar GaN Schottky diode rectifiers with reverse breakdown voltages (V_RB) up to 550 and >2000 V, respectively, have been fabricated. The on-state resistance, R_ON , was 6 mΩ·cm² and 0.8 Ω cm² , respectively, producing figure-of-merit values for (V_RB )²/R_ON in the range 5-48 MW·cm^-2 . At low biases the reverse leakage current was proportional to the size of the rectifying contact perimeter, while at high biases the current was proportional to the area of this contact. These results suggest that at low reverse biases, the leakage is dominated by the surface component, while at higher biases the bulk component dominates. On-state voltages were 3.5 V for the 550 V diodes and ⩾15 for the 2 kV diodes. Reverse recovery times were <0.2 μs for devices switched from a forward current density of ~500 A·cm^-2 to a reverse bias of 100 V     

A new 4H-SiC lateral merged double Schottky (LMDS) rectifier withexcellent forward and reverse characteristics

The novel characteristics of a new Schottky rectifier structure, known as the lateral merged double Schottky (LMDS) rectifier, on 4H-SiC are explored theoretically and compared with those of the compatible conventional 4H-SiC Schottky rectifiers. The anode of the proposed lateral device utilizes the trenches filled with a high barrier Schottky (HBS) metal to pinch off a low barrier Schottky (LBS) contact during reverse bids. Numerical simulation of any such SiC structure is complicated by the fact that the thermionic emission theory predicts the reverse leakage current to be orders of magnitude smaller than the measured data. We, therefore, first propose a simple empirical model for barrier height lowering to accurately estimate the reverse leakage current in a SiC Schottky contact. The accuracy of the empirical model is verified by comparing the simulated reverse leakage current with the reported experimental results on different SiC Schottky structures. Using the proposed empirical model, the two-dimensional (2-D) numerical simulations reveal that the new LMDS rectifier demonstrates about three orders of magnitude reduction in the reverse leakage current and two times higher reverse breakdown voltage when compared to the conventional lateral low barrier Schottky (LLBS) rectifier while keeping the forward voltage drop comparable to that of the conventional LLBS rectifier     

Silicon-carbide high-voltage (400 V) Schottky barrier diodes

The authors describe the fabrication and characteristics of the first high-voltage (400-V) silicon-carbide (6H-SiC) Schottky barrier diodes. Measurements of the forward I-V characteristics of these diodes demonstrate a low forward voltage drop of ~1.1 V at an on-state current density of 100 A/cm² for a temperature range of 25 to 200°C. The reverse I-V characteristics of these devices exhibit a sharp breakdown, with breakdown voltages exceeding 400 V at 25°C. In addition, these diodes are shown to have superior reverse recovery characteristics when compared with high-speed silicon P-i-N rectifiers     

Electrical characteristics of 4.5 kV implanted anode 4H-SiC p-i-njunction rectifiers

4500 V 4H-SiC p-i-n junction rectifiers with low on-state voltage drop (3.3-4.2 V), low reverse leakage current (3×10^-6 A/cm²), and fast switching (30-70 ns) have been fabricated and characterized. Forward current-voltage measurements indicate a minimum ideality factor of 1.2 which confirms a recombination process involving multiple energy levels. Reverse leakage current exhibits a square root dependence on voltage below the punchthrough voltage where leakage currents of less than 3×10^-6 A/cm² are measured. Reverse recovery measurements are presented which indicate the presence of recombination at the junction perimeter where a surface recombination velocity of 2-8×10⁵ cm/s is found. These measurements also indicate drift layer bulk carrier lifetimes ranging from 74 ns at room temperature to 580 ns at 250°C     

High voltage 4H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes

Characteristics of 4H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes with breakdown voltages up to 1000 V are reported for the first time. The diodes showed excellent forward I-V characteristics, with a forward voltage drop of 1.06 V at an on-state current density of 100 A/cm². The specific on-resistance for these diodes was found to be low (2×10 ^-3 Ω-cm² at room temperature) and showed a T ^1.6 variation with temperature. Titanium Schottky barrier height was determined to be 0.99 eV independent of the temperature. The breakdown voltage of the diodes was found to decrease with temperature     

Hydrogen “doped” thin film diamond field effect transistors for high power applications

Early predictions that diamond would be a suitable material for high performance, high power devices were not supported by the characteristics of diodes and field effect transistors (FETs) fabricated on boron doped (p-type) thin film material. In this paper commercially accessible polycrystalline thin film diamond has been turned p-type by the incorporation of near surface hydrogen; mobility values as high as 70 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ have been measured for films with a carrier concentration of 5×10¹⁷ cm⁻³. Schottky diodes and metal–semiconductor FETs (MESFETs) have been fabricated using this approach which display unprecedented performance levels; diodes with a rectification ratio >10⁶, leakage currents <1 nA, no indication of reverse bias breakdown at 100 V and an ideality factor of 1.1 have been made. Simple MESFET structures that are capable of switching V_DS values of 100 V with low leakage and current saturation (pinch-off) characteristics have also been fabricated. Predictions based upon experiments performed on these devices suggest that optimised device structures will be capable of operation at power levels up to 20 W mm⁻¹, implying that thin film diamond may after all be an interesting material for power applications.     

一种新型肖特基整流管设计

在研究功率肖特基整流管的基础上,针对反向击穿电压、漏电流、抗浪涌能力的提高,采取加场限环的方法,设计并制造了一种新型结势垒肖特基整流管(Junction barrier Schottky rectifier,JBS)。通过从有源区参数、外延材料、流片工艺、产品电参数、可靠性等方面进行了全面设计。经测试,电参数水平正向电压VF：0.85-0.856V,反向电流IR：4-50.5uA,反向电压VR:307.5-465.2V,抗静电水平从低温退火的6-12KV提高到15KV,经高温直流老化后,可靠性电参数水平满足预期的设计要求。     

The influence of Ge-implantation on the electrical characteristicsof the ultra-shallow junction formed by using silicide as a diffusionsource

The electrical characteristics of ultra-shallow p⁺/n junctions formed by implanting a 60 keV Ge⁺ into a TiSi₂ layer have been studied. A very low reverse leakage current density (≅0.4 nA/cm² at -5 V) and a very good forward ideality factor n (≅1.001) were achieved in these ultra-shallow p ⁺/n junctions. From the secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analysis, the junction depth was measured to be 600 Å and the surface concentration was about 3 times higher than that of the conventional samples     

Steady-state and transient forward current-voltage characteristicsof 4H-silicon carbide 5.5 kV diodes at high and superhigh currentdensities

Steady-state and transient forward current-voltage I-V characteristics have been measured in 5.5 kV p⁺-n-n⁺ 4H-SiC rectifier diodes up to a current density j≈5.5×10 ⁴ A/cm². The steady-state data are compared with calculations in the framework of a model, in which the emitter injection coefficient decreases with increasing current density. To compare correctly the experimental and theoretical results, the lifetime of minority carriers for high injection level, τ_ph, has been estimated from transient characteristics. At low injection level, the hole diffusion length L_pl has been measured by photoresponse technique. For a low-doped n-base, the hole diffusion lengths are L_pl≈2 μm and L_ph≈6-10 μm at low and high injection levels respectively. Hole lifetimes for low and high injection levels are τ_pl≈15 ns and τ_ph≈140-400 ns. The calculated and experimental results agree well within the wide range of current densities 10 A/cm ²3 A/cm². At j>5 kA/cm², the experimental values of residual voltage drop V is lower than the calculated ones. In the range of current densities 5×10³ A/cm²4 A/cm², the minimal value of differential resistance R_d =dV/dj is 1.5×10^-4 Ω cm². At j>25 kA/cm², R_d increases with increasing current density manifesting the contribution of other nonlinear mechanisms to the formation steady-state current-voltage characteristic. The possible role of Auger recombination is also discussed     

Electrical characteristics of GaAsP Schottky barrier diodes

Schottky barrier diodes of chromium on n-type epitaxial gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) were studied from 25°C to 440°C. The diodes showed significant rectification properties up to a temperature of 440°C. At high temperature the reverse leakage current was 1.15 mA at 25 V with a diode area of 1.14×10⁻³ cm² as compared with 0.25-μA current at room temperature. The n factor derived from the slope of the ln I vs. V curves was 1.1. The barrier height for chromium was found to be 1.25 eV from the capacitance measurements and 1.12 eV from the saturation current vs. temperature measurements. The slope of the C-V curves yielded a carrier concentration of 6.0×10¹⁵ carriers per cm³.     

Analytical Modeling of High-Voltage 4H-SiC Junction Barrier Schottky (JBS) Rectifiers

We develop a new analytical model for the junction barrier Schottky (JBS) rectifier and apply it to high-voltage 4H-SiC JBS rectifiers. This model uses a novel method to approximate the electric field at the Schottky contact, which is together with the Fowler–Nordheim tunneling equation to accurately calculate the reverse leakage current of a high-voltage 4H-SiC JBS rectifier. The forward on-resistance of a high-voltage 4H-SiC JBS rectifier consists of several components, which are dominated by the spreading resistances in the drift layer. Moreover, this model has been verified by comparing the simulation and experimental results, and they are shown to be in good agreement.      

Reduction in minority carrier storage effect by fluorine ion implantation damage

Damage is produced in p-n diodes by fluorine ion implantation to reduce minority carrier storage effect. The switching time, reverse leakage current, andI-Vcharacteristics were investigated for annealing temperature between 450°C and 650°C. The accelation energy is 130 keV and doses are 10¹³-10¹⁵/cm². Annealing causes restoration in switching time, but leakage current increases with annealing temperature rise for doses more than 1 × 10¹⁴/cm². The best diodes indicate 1.5-order reduction in switching time and 10 nA in reverse leakage current. These properties, caused by implantation damage, are retained after long-cycle annealing at 450°C and are expected to be stable under practical use. These diodes can be obtained by annealing at 450°C and they furnish satisfactory diode performance.     

Characteristics of polysilicon contacted shallow junction diodeformed with a stacked-amorphous-silicon film

A high-performance shallow junction diode formed with a stacked-amorphous-silicon (SAS) film is presented. Since the boundaries of stacked silicon layers and the poly/mono silicon interface act as a diffusion barrier for implanted dopants, the junction depth of SAS emitter contacted diode is about 500 Å shallower than that of the as-deposited polysilicon emitter contacted diode. The fabricated SAS emitter contacted diodes exhibited a very low reverse leakage current (⩽1 nA/cm² at -5 V) and a forward ideality factor m ≈1.001 over seven decades on a log scale. The reverse I-V characteristics were found to be nearly independent of the reverse voltage from room temperature to 200°C, and it was also found that the leakage current was due almost completely to the diffusion current. The plots of the diode leakage current versus the perimeter to area ratio showed that the periphery-generation current contributed little to the total leakage. The processing temperature for the SAS emitter contacted p⁺-n diode can be as low as 600°C     

A novel planarized, silicon trench sidewall oxide-merged p-i-nSchottky (TSOX-MPS) rectifier

A new high-voltage rectifier structure, a planarized silicon Trench Sidewall OXide Merged P-i-n Schottky (TSOX-MPS) rectifier is described. This TSOX-MPS rectifier exhibits a far superior switching performance, compared to the p-i-n rectifier, for the same reverse leakage current and on-state voltage. In addition, for the same lifetime, the reverse leakage current of the TSOX-MPS rectifier is equal to that of the p-i-n rectifier, not so much sensitive than the MPS rectifier does. These aspects of the TSOX-MPS rectifier have been experimentally verified, by fabrication of 400 V TSOX-MPS rectifiers     

Dual metal SiC Schottky rectifiers with low power dissipation

Nickel and titanium are the most commonly used metals for Schottky barrier diodes on silicon carbide (SiC). Ti has a low Schottky barrier height (i.e. 0.8 eV on 6H-SiC), whilst Ni has a higher barrier (i.e. 1.25 eV). Therefore, the first metal allows to achieve a low forward voltage drop V_F but leads to a high leakage current. On the other hand, the second one presents the advantage of a lower reverse leakage current but has also a high value of V_F. In this work, dual-metal-planar (DMP) Schottky diodes on silicon carbide are reported. The rectifying barrier was formed by using an array of micrometric Ti and Ni₂Si (nickel silicide) stripes. This low/high Schottky barrier allowed to combine the advantages of the two metals, i.e. to fabricate diodes with a forward voltage drop close to that of a Ti diode and with a level of reverse current comparable to that of a Ni₂Si diode. Under the application point of view, using this kind of barrier can lead to a reduction of the device power dissipation and an increase of the maximum operating temperature.     

Trench MOS barrier Schottky rectifier formed by counter-doping trench-bottom implantation

A trench MOS barrier Schottky (TMBS) rectifier has been formed by carrying out trench bottom counter-doping implantation for improving the blocking voltage and the device reliability. By additionally implementing a counter-doped region enclosing the trench bottom, the reverse blocking voltage of the conventional TMBS rectifier can be significantly enhanced without considerable degradation of on-state characteristics. In addition, the device reliability can be significantly improved. The large peak electric field in the corner of trench bottom, which limits the blocking voltage of the conventional TMBS rectifier, can be largely alleviated due to charge compensation. Though the counter-doped region enclosing the trench bottom may partly encroach into the mesa region, no considerable deterioration of on-state characteristics is caused. In addition, a too low-dose trench-bottom implantation cannot provide sufficient charge compensation, and a too high-dose trench-bottom implantation would create a large peak electric field below the trench bottom. As a result, a proper trench-bottom implantation may be employed to significantly enhance the blocking voltage without considerable degradation of on-state characteristics.     

Analysis of a high-voltage merged p-i-n/Schottky (MPS) rectifier

A new operating mode for the merged p-i-n/Schottky (MPS) rectifier structure is analyzed. It is shown that these devices exhibit superior forward-drop and turn-off-speed characteristics. As an example, for the same forward drop, the 400-V MPS rectifier is an order of magnitude faster in switching speed when compared to a p-i-n rectifier. In addition, for equal switching speed, the MPS rectifier has much lower forward drop and leakage current.