Design and fabrication of RESURF MOSFETs on 4H-SiC(0001), (112~0), and 6H-SiC(0001)

Design and fabrication of lateral SiC reduced surface field (RESURF) MOSFETs have been investigated. The doping concentration (dose) of the RESURF and lightly doped drain regions has been optimized to reduce the electric field crowding at the drain edge or in the gate oxide by using device simulation. The optimum oxidation condition depends on the polytype: N/sub 2/O oxidation at 1300/spl deg/C seems to be suitable for 4H-SiC, and dry O/sub 2/ oxidation at 1250/spl deg/C for 6H-SiC. The average inversion-channel mobility is 22, 78, and 68 cm/sup 2//Vs for 4H-SiC(0001), (112~0), and 6H-SiC(0001) MOSFETs, respectively. RESURF MOSFETs have been fabricated on 10-/spl mu/m-thick p-type 4H-SiC(0001), (112~0), and 6H-SiC(0001) epilayers with an acceptor concentration of 1/spl times/10/sup 16/ cm/sup -3/. A 6H-SiC(0001) RESURF MOSFET with a 3-/spl mu/m channel length exhibits a high breakdown voltage of 1620 V and an on-resistance of 234 m/spl Omega//spl middot/cm/sup 2/. A 4H-SiC(112~0) RESURF MOSFET shows the characteristics of 1230 V-138 m/spl Omega//spl middot/cm/sup 2/.     

1300-V 6H-SiC lateral MOSFETs with two RESURF zones

A two-zone, lateral RESURF field 6H-SiC MOSFET with breakdown voltage as high as 1300 V and specific on-resistance of 160 m/spl Omega//spl middot/cm/sup 2/ has been fabricated. These MOSFETs exhibit stable and reversible breakdown indicating avalanche breakdown in SiC that has not been reported in earlier lateral SiC MOSFETs.     

Lateral RESURF MOSFET fabricated on 4H-SiC(0001/sup ~/) C-face

Lateral reduced surface field (RESURF) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) have been fabricated on 4H-SiC(0001/sup ~/) carbon face (C-face) substrates. The channel mobility of a lateral test MOSFET on a C-face was 41 cm/sup 2//V/spl middot/s, which was much higher than 5 cm/sup 2//V/spl middot/s for that on a Si-face. The specific on-resistance of the lateral RESURF MOSFET on a C-face was 79/spl Omega/ /spl middot/ cm/sup 2/, at a gate voltage of 25 V and drain voltage of 1 V. The breakdown voltage was 460 V, which was 79% of the designed breakdown voltage of 600 V. We measured the temperature dependence of R/sub on, sp/ for the RESURF MOSFET on the C-face. The R/sub on, sp/ increased with the increase in temperature.     

A 475-V high-voltage 6H-SiC lateral MOSFET

High-voltage lateral MOSFET's on 6H- and 4H-SiC have been fabricated with 400-475 V breakdown voltage using the RESURF principle. An MOS electron inversion layer mobility of about 50 cm²/V-s is obtained on 6H-SiC wafers. This mobility is high enough such that the specific on-resistance of the 6H-SiC MOSFET's (~0.29-0.77 Ω-cm²) is limited by the resistance of the drift layer, as desired. However, the implanted drift layer resistance is about ten times higher than expected for the implant dose used. Design and process changes are described to decrease the on-resistance and increase the breakdown voltage. For 4H-SiC, extremely low mobility was obtained, which prevents satisfactory device operation     

A concept of SOI RESURF lateral devices with striped trench electrodes

This paper presents a concept of silicon-on insulator lateral devices based on a reduced surface field (RESURF) principle by striped trench electrodes formed along the current flow direction. These trench electrodes reduce the electric field at the pn junctions sandwiched between the electrodes. We experimentally applied this RESURF technology to a conventional pn/sup -/ lateral diode. As a result, the breakdown voltage was increased from 56 to 104 V without varying the impurity concentration and the length of the n/sup -/ region. This means that the RESURF effect was achieved with the striped trench electrodes. The LDMOS with this RESURF technology was evaluated by simulations. This would be available for 80-V class lateral MOSFETs, used in the forthcoming 42-V automotive systems.     

High-voltage lateral RESURF MOSFETs on 4H-SiC

High-voltage lateral RESURF MOSFETs have been fabricated on 4H-SiC with both nitrogen and phosphorus as source/drain and RESURF region implants. Blocking voltages as high as 1200 V and specific on-resistances of 4 Ω cm² have been obtained, with the high on-resistance attributed to poor inversion layer mobility. Phosphorus is most appropriate for the source/drain implants due to low sheet resistance and contact resistance with low temperature anneals. However, poor activation of low dose phosphorus implants at 1200°C makes nitrogen the preferred choice for the RESURF region     

1330 V, 67 m/spl Omega//spl middot/cm/sup 2/ 4H-SiC(0001) RESURF MOSFET

Design and fabrication of 4H-SiC(0001) lateral MOSFETs with a two-zone reduced surface field structure have been investigated. The dose dependencies of experimental breakdown voltage show good agreement with simulation. Through the optimization of implant dose, high-temperature (1700/spl deg/C) annealing after ion implantation, and reduction of channel length, a breakdown voltage of 1330 V and a low on-resistance of 67 m/spl Omega//spl middot/cm/sup 2/ have been obtained. The figure-of-merit (V/sub B//sup 2//R/sub on/) of the present device reaches 26 MW/cm/sup 2/, being the best performance among lateral MOSFETs reported. The temperature dependence of static characteristics is also presented.     

Comparative hall measurements on wet- and dry-oxidized 4H-SiC MOSFETs

Hall measurements have been used to compare the properties of 4H-SiC inversion-mode MOSFETs with “wet” and “dry” gate oxides. While the field-effect mobilities were approximately 3–5 cm²/Vs, the Hall mobilities in 4H-SiC MOSFETs in the wet and dry oxide samples were approximately 70–80 cm²/Vs. The dry-oxidized metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) had a higher transconductance, improved threshold voltage, improved subthreshold slope, and a higher inversion carrier concentration compared to the wet-oxidized MOSFETs. The difference in characteristics between the wet- and the dry-oxidized MOSFETs is attributed to the larger fixed oxide charge in the dry oxide sample and a higher interface trap density in the wet oxide sample.     

Lateral n-channel inversion mode 4H-SiC MOSFETs

Advances in MOS devices on silicon carbide (SiC) have been greatly hampered by the low inversion layer mobilities. In this paper, the electrical characteristics of lateral n-channel MOSFETs fabricated on 4H-SiC are reported for the first time. Inversion layer electron mobilities of 165 cm²/V·s in 4H-SiC MOSFETs were measured at room temperature. These MOSFETs were fabricated using a low temperature deposited oxide, with subsequent oxidation anneal, as the gate dielectric     

1580-V–40-$hbox{m}Omegacdot hbox{cm}^{2}$ Double-RESURF MOSFETs on 4H-SiC $(hbox{000}bar{hbox{1}})$

Double-reduced-surface-field (RESURF) MOSFETs with $hbox{N}_{2}hbox{O}$ -grown oxides have been fabricated on the 4H-SiC $(hbox{000} bar{hbox{1}})$ face. The double-RESURF structure is effective in reducing the drift resistance, as well as in increasing the breakdown voltage. In addition, by utilizing the 4H-SiC $(hbox{000}bar{hbox{1}})$ face, the channel mobility can be increased to over 30 $hbox{cm}^{2}/hbox{V}cdothbox{s}$, and hence, the channel resistance is decreased. As a result, the fabricated MOSFETs on 4H-SiC $( hbox{000}bar{hbox{1}})$ have demonstrated a high breakdown voltage $(V_{B})$ of 1580 V and a low on-resistance $(R_{rm ON})$ of 40 $hbox{m}Omega cdothbox{cm}^{2}$. The figure-of-merit $(V_{B}^{2}/R_{rm ON})$ of the fabricated device has reached 62 $hbox{MW/cm}^{2}$, which is the highest value among any lateral MOSFETs and is more than ten times higher than the “Si limit.”      

Gate-oxide breakdown accelerated by large drain current inn-channel MOSFET's

A study of the time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) of thin gate oxides in small n-channel MOSFETs operated beyond punchthrough is discussed. Catastrophic gate-oxide breakdown is accelerated when holes generated by the large drain current are injected into the gate oxide. More specifically, the gate-oxide breakdown in a MOSFET (gate length=1.0 μm, gate width-15 μm) occurs in ~100 s at an applied gate oxide field of ~5.2 MV/cm during the high drain current stress, while it occurs in ~100 s at an applied gate oxide field of ~10.7 MV/cm during a conventional time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) test. The results indicate that the gate oxide lifetime is much shorter in MOSFETs when there is hot-hole injection than that expected using the conventional TDDB method     

Fabrication of 4H-SiC n-channel IGBTs with ultra high blocking voltage

Owing to the conductivity modulation of silicon carbide (SiC) bipolar devices,n-channel insulated gate bipolar transistors (n-IGBTs) have a significant advantage over metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) in ultra high voltage (UHV) applications.In this paper,backside grinding and laser annealing process were carried out to fabricate 4H-SiC n-IGBTs.The thickness of a drift layer was 120 μm,which was designed for a blocking voltage of 13 kV.The n-IGBTs carried a collector current density of 24 A/cm2 at a power dissipation of 300 W/cm2 when the gate voltage was 20 V,with a differential specific on-resistance of 140 mΩ·cm2.     

High channel mobility in normally-off 4H-SiC buried channel MOSFETs

We have fabricated buried channel (BC) MOSFETs with a thermally grown gate oxide in 4H-SiC. The gate oxide was prepared by dry oxidation with wet reoxidation. The BC region was formed by nitrogen ion implantation at room temperature followed by annealing at 1500°C. The optimum doping depth of the BC region has been investigated. For a nitrogen concentration of 1×10¹⁷ cm^-3, the optimum depth was found to be 0.2 μm. Under this condition, a channel mobility of 140 cm²/Vs was achieved with a threshold voltage of 0.3 V. This channel mobility is the highest reported so far for a normally-off 4H-SiC MOSFET with a thermally grown gate oxide     

Nitrogen Plasma Processing of SiO2/4H-SiC Interfaces

A nitrogen plasma annealing process for gate dielectric applications in 4H-SiC metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) technology has been investigated. This process results in substantially greater interfacial N coverage at the SiO₂/4H-SiC interface and lower interface trap densities than the state-of-the-art nitric oxide (NO) annealing process. Despite these exciting results, the field-effect mobility of MOS field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) fabricated by use of this process is very similar to that of NO-annealed MOSFETs. These results emphasize the importance of understanding mobility-limiting mechanisms in addition to charge trapping in next-generation 4H-SiC MOSFETs.     

碳化硅MOSFET反型沟道迁移率的研究

SiC MOSFET是制作高速、低功耗开关功率器件的理想材料，然而，制作反型沟道迁移率较高的SiC MOSFET工艺尚未取得满意结果。通过在N0中高温退火可以显著地提高4H—SiC MOSFET的有效沟道迁移率；采用H2中退火制作的4H—SiC MOSFET阈值电压为3．1V，反型沟道迁移率高于100cm^2／Vs的栅压的安全工作区较宽。N20退火技术由于其的安全性而发展迅速并将取代N0。     

Thin-oxide silicon-gate self-aligned 6H-SiC MOSFETs fabricated witha low-temperature source/drain implant activation anneal

We have demonstrated self-aligned (SA) n+ polysilicon gate n-channel inversion MOSFETs in 6H-SiC with 25-nm thick gate oxides. The nitrogen-implanted source/drain regions were activated with a furnace anneal at 1050°C. These devices exhibit a positive threshold voltage (about +1 V), and peak transconductance of 3.6 mS/mm at V_g=7 V, comparable to the best nonself-aligned 6H-SiC MOSFETs. The subthreshold slope is 200 mV/decade, about two times higher than that of typical silicon MOSFETs. This represents the first demonstration of a viable process for silicon-gate self-aligned MOSFETs in 6H-SiC     

Experimental and theoretical analysis of energy capability ofRESURF LDMOSFETs and its correlation with static electrical safeoperating area (SOA)

Thermal and electrical destruction of 55 V single and double reduced surface field (RESURF) lateral double-diffused MOSFETs (LDMOSFETs) in smart power ICs are investigated by experiments, simulations, and theoretical modeling. Static safe operating area (SOA) and single pulse dynamic SOA (energy capability) have been studied and correlated. Single RESURF device failure and hence the energy capability is controlled by electrical phenomenon for drain to source voltage near breakdown voltages, whereas the energy capability of the double RESURF device is shown to be controlled by thermal phenomenon for voltage ranges up to about 5 V below the breakdown voltage. Measured energy capability data have been used to obtain critical temperatures for device failure, which decreases with an increase in drain to source voltage. We have empirically shown using experimental data that if the dynamic SOA of the device comes within about 2-5× of the static SOA boundary, the device failure is strongly influenced by avalanche multiplication. An analytical model based on Green's function formulation is derived and proposed which can predict energy capability of LDMOSFETs for a wide range of device geometry. The calculated data show excellent matching with the measurements and are within ±10%. A new technique of distributing power within a device by applying less power at the center and more at the edges is proposed, which realizes significant improvement in energy capability by optimizing the temperature distribution within the device     

高温氧化对SiC MOS器件栅氧可靠性的影响

SiC金属氧化物半导体(MOS)器件中SiO2栅氧化层的可靠性直接影响器件的功能.为了开发高可靠性的栅氧化层,将n型4H-SiC (0001)外延片分别在1 200,1 250,1 350,1 450和1 550℃5种温度下进行高温干氧氧化实验来制备SiO2栅氧化层.在室温下,对SiC MOS电容样品的栅氧化层进行零时击穿(TZDB)和与时间有关的击穿(TDDB)测试,并对不同干氧氧化温度处理下的栅氧化层样品分别进行了可靠性分析.结果发现,在1 250℃下进行高温干氧氧化时所得的击穿场强和击穿电荷最大,分别为11.21 MV/cm和5.5×10-4 C/cm2,势垒高度(2.43 eV)最接近理论值.当温度高于1 250℃时生成的SiO2栅氧化层的可靠性随之降低.     

RESURF AlGaN/GaN HEMT for high voltage power switching

A novel HEMT configuration based on the RESURF technique is proposed for very high voltage power switching applications. It employs a p-n junction below the 2-DEG channel and two field plates, one extending from the gate and the other from the drain, to distribute the electric field over the gate to drain separation. 2-D simulations indicate a breakdown voltage >1 KV at on-resistance of ~1 mΩ·cm² (neglecting contact resistances) for the device     

Hysteresis in transfer characteristics in 4H-SiCdepletion/accumulation-mode MOSFETs

Hysteresis in room-temperature transfer characteristics between forward (pinch-off voltage, V_P=-15 V) and reverse gate voltage sweeps (V_P=7 V) in n-channel depletion/accumulation-mode 4H-SiC MOSFETs is reported. Transfer characteristics exhibit a parallel shift toward negative voltages depending,on the starting gate voltage and direction of the sweep. The hysteresis and shift in transfer characteristics are related to changes in effective fixed-oxide charge resulting from changes in interface trap occupancy. Interface trap occupancy changes depending on the magnitude of the starting gate voltage and the direction of gate-voltage sweep. At high temperatures, the hysteresis between forward and reverse gate voltage sweep decreases