# US 12,113,101 B2 · Method and system of junction termination extension in high voltage semiconductor devices

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- Number: US 12,113,101 B2
- Document ID: US12113101B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/369,600
- Filed: 2021-07-07
- Published: 2022-01-13
- Granted: 2024-10-08
- Earliest claimed: 2020-07-08
- Assignees: Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC
- Applicants: Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC
- Inventors: Subhash Srinivas Pidaparthi; Andrew P. Edwards; Clifford Drowley; Kedar Patel
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12113101B2

## CPC

- H10D 62/105: {by having particular doping profiles, shapes or arrangements of PN junctions; by having supplementary regions, e.g. junction termination extension [JTE] (IGFETs having LDD or drain extension regions H10D30/601)}
- H10D 62/104: {having particular shapes of the bodies at or near reverse-biased junctions, e.g. having bevels or moats}
- H10D 62/60: Impurity distributions or concentrations
- H10D 64/01: Manufacture or treatment
- H10D 64/111: {Field plates}
- H10P 30/206: {into Group III-V semiconductors}
- H10P 30/21: {of electrically active species}
- H10P 30/22: using masks
- H10P 95/904: {of Group III-V semiconductors}
- H10P 30/28: characterised by an annealing step, e.g. for activation of dopants
- H10D: INORGANIC ELECTRIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10

## Abstract

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes: providing a semiconductor substrate; epitaxially growing a first semiconductor layer coupled to the semiconductor substrate; epitaxially growing a second semiconductor layer coupled to the first semiconductor layer, wherein the second semiconductor layer comprises a contact region and a terminal region surrounding the contact region; forming a mask layer on the second semiconductor layer, wherein the mask layer is patterned with a tapered region aligned with the terminal region of the second semiconductor layer; implanting ions into the terminal region of the second semiconductor layer using the mask layer to form a tapered junction termination element in the terminal region of the second semiconductor layer; and forming a contact structure in the contact region of the second semiconductor layer.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A semiconductor device comprising:
a semiconductor substrate comprising a first side and second side, wherein the semiconductor substrate is characterized by a first conductivity type;
a first III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer epitaxially grown on the first side of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the first III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer is characterized by a varying dopant concentration of the first conductivity type;
a second III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer epitaxially grown on the first III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer, wherein the second III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer is characterized by the first conductivity type and an upper surface, wherein the second III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer comprises a contact region including a contact structure comprising a plurality of source contacts, each of the plurality of source contacts formed on a portion of the upper surface of the second III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer;
a plurality of fins formed in the second III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer and a portion of the first III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer, wherein bottom surfaces of the fins extend from the first III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer and each of the plurality of fins is separated from an adjacent fin of the plurality of fins by a trench;
a third III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer epitaxially regrown in the trenches separating the plurality of fins and defined by an upper surface coplanar with the upper surface of the second III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer and including a terminal region surrounding the contact region, wherein the terminal region comprises a tapered junction termination element having a linear profile and a non-conducting ion implanted zone adjacent to the tapered junction termination element, wherein the non-conducting ion implanted zone is characterized by the linear profile, and wherein the third III-nitride epitaxial layer is characterized by a second conductivity type opposite to the first conductive type; and
a gate metal layer formed on the upper surface of the third III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1, further comprising a metallic field plate electrically coupled to the tapered junction termination element.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1, further comprising a metallic layer coupled to the second side of the semiconductor substrate.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein the contact structure comprises a metallic structure electrically coupled to the contact region of the second III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein the contact structure comprises:
a fourth III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer coupled to the contact region of the second III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer, wherein the fourth III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer is characterized by the first conductivity type; and
a metallic structure electrically coupled to the fourth III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The semiconductor device of claim 5 wherein a dopant concentration of the fourth III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer is greater than a dopant concentration of the second III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein the semiconductor substrate is characterized by a first n-type dopant concentration and the first III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer is characterized by a second n-type dopant concentration less than the first n-type dopant concentration.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein the contact region of the second III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer comprises a recess.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The semiconductor device of claim 8 wherein the recess includes a metallic structure electrically coupled to the second III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein an edge of each of the plurality of source contacts is aligned with an interface between each of the plurality of fins and the trench.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein the non-conducting ion implanted zone comprises argon, nitrogen, helium, oxygen, or silicon.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein a thickness of tapered junction termination element measured from a lower surface to an upper surface of the second III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer decreases linearly with a lateral distance from the contact region.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein the tapered junction termination element has a non-symmetric arrangement.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein the tapered junction termination element has a symmetric arrangement.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the second III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer further comprises an outer region surrounding the terminal region, wherein the outer region comprises a peripheral implanted zone having a peripheral zone conductivity.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The semiconductor device of claim 15 wherein the tapered junction termination element further comprises an implanted zone having a uniform implanted zone conductivity, wherein the peripheral zone conductivity is equal to the uniform implanted zone conductivity.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the non-conducting ion implanted zone extends into the first III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer.

### Claim 18 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the non-conducting ion implanted zone comprises a peripheral implanted zone extending into the first III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer and characterized by a uniform dopant concentration profile parallel to semiconductor substrate.

### Claim 19 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the non-conducting ion implanted zone is characterized by an implanted conductivity less than an epitaxial conductivity of the third III-nitride epitaxial semiconductor layer.