Metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitor formed on silicon carbide
AssigneeNorth Carolina State University
InventorJohn W. Palmour
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Abstract
The invention comprises a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor formed on silicon carbide. By utilizing new techniques for obtaining single crystals and monocrystalline thin films of silicon carbide, and by positioning the ohmic contact and the metal contact on a common side of the silicon carbide semiconductor portion, devices are obtained which are commercially viable and which demonstrate reduced series resistance, lesser leakage current and greater capacitance than have previous devices formed on silicon carbide.
Claims14
A variable capacitance metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitor with reduced series resistance and lesser leakage current, suitable for operation at high temperatures and high radiation densities, and comprising:
- a substantially variable capacitance doped semiconductor portion formed of silicon carbide having substantially uniform high resistivity for substantially varying the capacitance thereof when said doped semiconductor portion is depleted of carriers;
- a substantially constant capacitance portion of insulator material upon one surface of said silicon carbide semiconductor portion;
- a metal portion upon said substantially constant capacitance insulator portion for defining an active region of said silicon carbide semiconductor portion, and for variably depleting said active region of carriers when a bias is applied to said metal portion;
- and
- an ohmic contact upon said one surface of said silicon carbide semiconductor portion so that a bias applied to said metal portion variably depletes said silicon carbide semiconductor portion of carriers, substantially varies the capacitance of said silicon carbide semiconductor portion, and correspondingly substantially varies the total capacitance of said capacitor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.