Semiconductor device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12046668-B2
Application number	US-202217942605-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 12, 2022
Priority date	Mar 9, 2022
Publication date	Jul 23, 2024
Grant date	Jul 23, 2024

Abstract

A semiconductor device includes: a drain electrode including a plurality of drain finger parts; a source electrode including a plurality of source finger parts and a Kelvin source part electrically connected with the source finger parts; a sense electrode positioned between a drain finger part and the Kelvin source part, which are next to each other in a particular direction; and a gate electrode positioned between a drain finger part and a source finger part, which are next to each other in the particular direction, and between a drain finger part and the sense electrode, which are next to each other in the particular direction. The sense electrode and the Kelvin source part are electrically connected via a sense resistance due to a spacing between the sense electrode and the Kelvin source part in the particular direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A semiconductor device, comprising:
a first nitride semiconductor layer;
a second nitride semiconductor layer located on the first nitride semiconductor layer, the second nitride semiconductor layer having a wider bandgap than the first nitride semiconductor layer;
a drain electrode including a plurality of drain finger parts, the plurality of drain finger parts extending in a first direction;
a source electrode including
a plurality of source finger parts extending in the first direction, and
a Kelvin source part extending in the first direction, the Kelvin source part being electrically connected with the source finger parts;

a sense electrode positioned between the drain finger part and the Kelvin source part next to each other in a second direction crossing the first direction, the sense electrode extending in the first direction; and
a gate electrode positioned between the drain finger part and the source finger part next to each other in the second direction and between the drain finger part and the sense electrode next to each other in the second direction, the gate electrode extending in the first direction,
the sense electrode and the Kelvin source part being electrically connected via a sense resistance due to a spacing between the sense electrode and the Kelvin source part in the second direction.

2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein
the spacing in the second direction between the Kelvin source part and the sense electrode is less than a spacing in the second direction between the drain finger part and the source finger part.

3. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein
the sense resistance includes a two-dimensional electron gas distributed in the first nitride semiconductor layer at a vicinity of an interface with the second nitride semiconductor layer.

4. The semiconductor device according to claim 3 , wherein
a width in the first direction of a distribution region of the two-dimensional electron gas in the sense resistance is greater than a width in the first direction of a distribution region of the two-dimensional electron gas between the drain finger part and the source finger part.

5. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an insulating film located on the second nitride semiconductor layer,
the drain finger part, the source finger part, the Kelvin source part, and the sense electrode contacting the second nitride semiconductor layer,
the gate electrode being positioned on the insulating film.

6. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a gate terminal connected with the gate electrode;
a sense terminal connected with the sense electrode;
a first Kelvin source terminal positioned between the gate terminal and the sense terminal in the first direction and connected to the source electrode and a first ground terminal of a gate driver; and
a second Kelvin source terminal positioned between the first Kelvin source terminal and the sense terminal in the first direction and connected to the source electrode and a second ground terminal of the gate driver.

7. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein
a plurality of the Kelvin source parts and a plurality of the sense electrodes are included.

8. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein
the first nitride semiconductor layer is a GaN layer, and
the second nitride semiconductor layer is an AlGaN layer.

9. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein
a resistance value of the sense resistance is less than a resistance value of one main element, and
the main element includes:
the drain finger part,
the source finger part, and
the gate electrode positioned between the drain finger part and the source finger part.

10. The semiconductor device according to claim 9 , wherein
the resistance value of the sense resistance is not more than 1/10 of the resistance value of the main element.

11. The semiconductor device according to claim 9 , wherein
a plurality of the main elements is included,
a sense element includes the sense resistance, and
the sense element is located in a region at a periphery of a region in which the plurality of main elements is located.

12. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein
the semiconductor device is a normally-off nitride semiconductor device that is off when the gate electrode has no input signal.

Assignees

• Toshiba Kk
• Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corp

Inventors

• Sugiyama Toru
• Yoshioka Akira
• Kobayashi Hitoshi
• Onomura Masaaki
• Isobe Yasuhiro
• Hung Hung
• Sekiguchi Hideki
• Ohno Tetsuya

Classifications

• H10D1/40

  Resistors · CPC title

• H10D64/257

  for lateral devices wherein the source or drain electrodes are characterised by top-view geometrical layouts, e.g. interdigitated, semi-circular, annular or L-shaped electrodes (source or drain electrodes of TFTs H10D30/673) · CPC title

• H10D62/8503

  Nitride Group III-V materials, e.g. AlN or GaN · CPC title

• H10D84/01

  Manufacture or treatment · CPC title

• H10D62/824

  comprising only Group III-V materials heterojunctions, e.g. GaN/AlGaN heterojunctions · CPC title