Abstract: A semiconductor device has at least a cell between two opposite main surfaces. Each cell has a first device feature region contacted with the first main surface and a second device feature region contacted with the second main surface. There is a voltage-sustaining region between the first device feature region and the second device feature region, which includes at least a semiconductor region and an insulator region containing conductive region(s). The semiconductor region and the insulator region contact directly with each other. The structure of such voltage-sustaining region can not only be used to implement high-voltage devices, but further be used as a junction edge technique of high-voltage devices.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a technique of semiconductor devices, and provides a semiconductor device, which uses two controllable current sources to control the electron current and the hole current of the voltage-sustaining region of a thyristor under conduction state, making the sum of the two currents from anode to cathode close to a saturated value under high voltage, thus avoiding the current crowding effect in local region and increasing the reliability of the device. Besides, it further provides a method of implementing the two current sources in the device and a method to improve the switching speed.

Abstract: A method or an auxiliary method to implement Optimum Variation Lateral Electric Displacement uses an insulator film(s) containing conductive particles covering on the semiconductor surface. This film(s) is capable of transmitting electric displacement into or extracting it from the semiconductor surface, or even capable of extracting some electric displacement from a part of the semiconductor surface and then transmitting it to another part of the surface. Optimum Variation Lateral Electric Displacement can be used to fabricate lateral high voltage devices, or as the edge termination for vertical high voltage devices, or to make capacitance. It can be further used to prevent strong field at the boundaries of semiconductor regions of different types of conductivity types.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a technique of semiconductor devices, and provides a semiconductor device, which uses two controllable current sources to control the electron current and the hole current of the voltage-sustaining region of a thyristor under conduction state, making the sum of current between anode and cathode close to saturation under high voltage, thus avoiding the current crowding effect in local region and increasing the reliability of the device. Besides, it further provides a method of implementing the two current sources in the device and a method to improve the switching speed.

Abstract: A method or an auxiliary method to implement Optimum Variation Lateral Electric Displacement uses an insulator film(s) containing conductive particles covering on the semiconductor surface. This film(s) is capable of transmitting electric displacement into or extracting it from the semiconductor surface, or even capable of extracting some electric displacement from a part of the semiconductor surface and then transmitting it to another part of the surface. Optimum Variation Lateral Electric Displacement can be used to fabricate lateral high voltage devices, or as the edge termination for vertical high voltage devices, or to make capacitance. It can be further used to prevent strong field at the boundaries of semiconductor regions of different types of conductivity types.

Abstract: An IGBT with almost no tail during turning-off is formed by connection of both the base and the emitter of the BJT of the IGBT at the bottom of the chip to two regions in an area of the top surface of the chip. The two regions keep non-depleted even under a maximum voltage being applied across the collector and the base of the BJT. The current through the two regions can be controlled by a gate voltage of a place close to the active region of the MISFET of the IGBT through a surface voltage-sustaining region. The injection efficiency of minorities of the IGBT can thus be controlled.

Abstract: This invention provides a structure for low-voltage power supply in high-voltage devices or IC's made on a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type. The structure comprises a heavily doped semiconductor region of the first conductivity type between, but not contacted with, two semiconductor regions of the second conductivity type. When the two semiconductor regions of the second conductivity type have reverse-biased voltage with respect to substrate, the depletion region of substrate reaches the heavily doped semiconductor region of the first conductivity type, the heavily doped semiconductor region of the first conductivity type constructs a terminal of low-voltage power supply and any one of the semiconductor region of the second conductivity type constructs another terminal. The heavily doped semiconductor region is used as one terminal of a primary low-voltage power supply and any other region is used as another terminal of it.

Abstract: High- and low-side surface voltage sustaining regions are produced utilizing optimum surface variation lateral doping. Schottky junctions are formed by depositing metal (M) on an n-type region having the lowest potential, taking M as the anode AL or AH of the Schottky diode, and ohmic contact is formed at the portion having the highest potential, taken as the cathode KL or KH of the Schottky diode. The potentials refer to a reverse bias applied to the Schottky diode. Each voltage-sustaining region is isolated and can be divided into several sections with isolation region inserted between them. A Schottky diode is formed in each section and connected to each other in series. A lateral Schottky diode and an n-MOST can be formed within a single voltage-sustaining region. The source region and drain region are connected directly to the anode and cathode of the Schottky junction, respectively.

Abstract: This invention provides a lateral high-voltage semiconductor device, which is a three-terminal one with two types of carriers for conduction and consists of a highest voltage region and a lowest voltage region referring to the substrate and a surface voltage-sustaining region between the highest voltage region and the lowest voltage region. The highest voltage region and the lowest region have an outer control terminal and an inner control terminal respectively, where one terminal is for controlling the flow of majorities of one conductivity type and another for controlling the flow of majorities of the other conductivity type. The potential of the inner control terminal is regulated by the voltage applied to the outer control terminal.

Abstract: This invention provides a semiconductor device, which is used to manufacture two lateral high-voltage devices on the same substrate, where the voltages between maximum voltage terminals and minimum voltage terminals of the two devices have not too much difference. Both devices are formed on two different surface regions with a small isolation region in-between the two regions. When the semiconductor region(s) of the isolation region is fully depleted, its effective electric flux density emitted to the substrate is of a value between the values of its adjacent regions of said two semiconductor devices. The figure presented here schematically shows the structure used to form a low-side high-voltage n-MOST and high-voltage n-MOST and M1, where their terminal voltages are very close.

Abstract: A semiconductor high-voltage device comprising a voltage sustaining layer between a n+-region and a p+-region is provided, which is a uniformly doped n (or p)-layer containing a plurality of floating p (or n)-islands. The effect of the floating islands is to absorb a large part of the electric flux when the layer is fully depleted under high reverse bias voltage so as the peak field is not increased when the doping concentration of voltage sustaining layer is increased. Therefore, the thickness and the specific on-resistance of the voltage sustaining layer for a given breakdown voltage can be much lower than those of a conventional voltage sustaining layer with the same breakdown voltage. By using the voltage sustaining layer of this invention, various high voltage devices can be made with better relation between specific on-resistance and breakdown voltage.

Abstract: This invention provides a structure for low-voltage power supply in high-voltage devices or IC's made on a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type. The structure comprises a heavily doped semiconductor region of the first conductivity type between, but not contacted with, two semiconductor regions of the second conductivity type. When the two semiconductor regions of the second conductivity type have reverse-biased voltage with respect to substrate, the depletion region of substrate reaches the heavily doped semiconductor region of the first conductivity type, the heavily doped semiconductor region of the first conductivity type constructs a terminal of low-voltage power supply and any one of the semiconductor region of the second conductivity type constructs another terminal. The heavily doped semiconductor region is used as one terminal of a primary low-voltage power supply and any other region is used as another terminal of it.

Abstract: This invention provides a lateral high-voltage semiconductor device, which is a three-terminal one with two types of carriers for conduction and consists of a highest voltage region and a lowest voltage region referring to the substrate and a surface voltage-sustaining region between the highest voltage region and the lowest voltage region. The highest voltage region and the lowest region have an outer control terminal and an inner control terminal respectively, where one terminal is for controlling the flow of majorities of one conductivity type and another for controlling the flow of majorities of the other conductivity type. The potential of the inner control terminal is regulated by the voltage applied to the outer control terminal.

Abstract: High-side and low-side surface voltage sustaining regions is produced by utilizing optimum surface variation lateral doping. Schottky junctions are formed by depositing metal M on an n-type region having the lowest potential, taking M as the anode AL or AH of the Schottky diode, and ohmic contact is formed at the portion having the highest potential, which is taken as the cathode KL or KH of the Schottky diode. Where said potentials refer to a reverse bias is applied to the Schottky diode. A small isolation region is formed between two surface voltage sustaining regions. Each voltage sustaining region can be divided into several sections. Isolation region are inserted between neighbouring sections. A Schottky diode is formed in each section. Schottky diode of each section is connected to each other in series. A lateral Schottky diode and an n-MOST can be formed within a single voltage sustaining region.

Abstract: A cell of a semiconductor device comprises a substrate of n-type with a trench formed in a portion of a first main surface of the substrate and filled with insulator. Two device-feature regions are formed beneath the first main surface of the substrate, the first one at one side and the second one at the other side of the trench. A region of a p-type and/or a region of metal is formed in the first device feature region and is connected to a first electrode. A p-n junction is formed in the second device feature region and the p-region of the p-n junction is connected to a second electrode. A U-shaped region is formed between the two device regions. An IGBT without tail during turning-off can be fabricated with a simple process at a low cost.

Abstract: An IGBT with almost no tail during turning-off is formed by connection of both the base and the emitter of the BJT of the IGBT at the bottom of the chip to two regions in an area of the top surface of the chip. The two regions keep non-depleted even under a maximum voltage being applied across the collector and the base of the BJT. The current through the two regions can be controlled by a gate voltage of a place close to the active region of the MISFET of the IGBT through a surface voltage-sustaining region. The injection efficiency of minorities of the IGBT can thus be controlled.

Abstract: This invention provides a semiconductor device, which is used to manufacture two lateral high-voltage devices on the same substrate, where the voltages between maximum voltage terminals and minimum voltage terminals of the two devices have not too much difference. Both devices are formed on two different surface regions with a small isolation region in-between the two regions. When the semiconductor region(s) of the isolation region is fully depleted, its effective electric flux density emitted to the substrate is of a value between the values of its adjacent regions of said two semiconductor devices. The figure presented here schematically shows the structure used to form a low-side high-voltage n-MOST and high-voltage n-MOST and M1, where their terminal voltages are very close.

Abstract: In a chip containing high-voltage device with a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type, a method of implementing low-voltage power supply is provided, wherein the electrical potential of an isolated region of a second conductivity type in a surface portion is used as one output terminal or as a voltage by which a transistor is controlled to provide output current for a low-voltage power supply. The other output terminal could be either terminal of the two that apply high voltage to high-voltage device or could be a floating terminal. Using this method, a low-voltage power supply can be implemented not only for the low-voltage integrated circuit (I) in a power IC containing one high-voltage device, but also for the low-voltage integrated circuit in a power IC having totem-pole connection or CMOS connection. As there is no need to implement depletion mode device in the chip, the fabrication cost is reduced.

Abstract: A semiconductor lateral voltage-sustaining region and devices based thereupon. The voltage-sustaining region is made by using the Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor capacitance formed by terrace field plate to emit or to absorb electric flux on the semiconductor surface, so that the effective electric flux density emitted from the semiconductor surface to the substrate approaches approximately the optimum distribution, and a highest breakdown voltage can be achieved within a smallest distance on the surface. The field plate(s) can be either connected to an electrode or floating ones, or connected to floating field limiting rings. Coupling capacitance between different plates can also be used to change the flux distribution.

Abstract: In a chip containing high-voltage device with a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type, a method of implementing low-voltage power supply is provided, wherein the electrical potential of an isolated region of a second conductivity type in a surface portion is used as one output terminal or as a voltage by which a transistor is controlled to provide output current for a low-voltage power supply. The other output terminal could be either terminal of the two that apply high voltage to high-voltage device or could be a floating terminal. Using this method, a low-voltage power supply can be implemented not only for the low-voltage integrated circuit (I) in a power IC containing one high-voltage device, but also for the low-voltage integrated circuit in a power IC having totem-pole connection or CMOS connection. As there is no need to implement depletion mode device in the chip, the fabrication cost is reduced.