Silicon Carbide Semiconductor Device with Trench Gate Structure and Horizontally Arranged Channel and Current Spread Regions

A semiconductor device, comprising:

• trench gate structures extending from a first surface into a silicon carbide portion;
• a shielding region formed between a drift zone and the trench gate structures along a vertical direction orthogonal to the first surface, the shielding region forming an auxiliary pn junction with the drift zone;
• and
• channel regions,
• wherein the channel regions and the trench gate structures are successively arranged along a first horizontal direction,
• wherein along a second horizontal direction orthogonal to the first horizontal direction, the channel regions are formed between a source region and a current spread region,
• wherein the channel regions are configured to form bulk channels comprising charge carrier flow in central portions of mesa sections between neighboring trench gate structures at a gate voltage within an absolute maximum rating of the semiconductor device.

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method comprising:

• forming, in a silicon carbide substrate, a shielding region that forms an auxiliary pn junction with a drift zone;
• forming, in a portion of the silicon carbide substrate between a main surface and the shielding region, a source region and a current spread region, longitudinal axes of the source region and the current spread region running parallel to a first horizontal direction;
• forming, between the source region and the current spread region, trench gate structures extending from the main surface into the silicon carbide substrate,
• wherein the trench gate structures alternate with mesa sections of the silicon carbide substrate along the first horizontal direction,
• wherein a mesa width of the mesa sections is at most 50 nm.