Semiconductor device and power conversion apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12568638-B2
Application number	US-202318177021-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 1, 2023
Priority date	Apr 26, 2022
Publication date	Mar 3, 2026
Grant date	Mar 3, 2026

Abstract

A semiconductor device has an alternating region in which insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) regions and diode regions are alternately arranged linearly in a plan view. In the alternating region, a width, in the first direction, of an IGBT region closest to the center of a cell region is equal to or smaller than widths of other IGBT regions in the first direction, and a width, in the first direction, of a diode region closest to a center of the cell region is equal to or smaller than widths of other diode regions in the first direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor substrate that has a drift layer of a first conductivity type between a first main surface and a second main surface opposite to the first main surface, the semiconductor device comprising:
insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) regions each including a trench gate provided to penetrate an emitter layer of the first conductivity type and a base layer of a second conductivity type from the first main surface of the semiconductor substrate, and a collector layer of the second conductivity type provided closer to the second main surface than the drift layer; diode regions each including an anode layer of the second conductivity type provided closer to the first main surface than the drift layer and a cathode layer of the first conductivity type provided closer to the second main surface than the drift layer; and a cell region including an alternating region that includes the IGBT regions and the diode regions and in which the IGBT regions and the diode regions are alternately arranged linearly in a plan view, wherein in a first direction along the alternating region, a width of each of the IGBT regions and a width of each of the diode regions are not constant and are set so as to be two or more types of widths, and in the alternating region, a width in the first direction of the IGBT region closest to a center of the cell region is smaller than widths of other IGBT regions in the first direction, and a width in the first direction of the diode region closest to the center of the cell region is smaller than widths of other diode regions in the first direction.

2 . The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein, in the alternating region, the width of the IGBT region in the first direction gradually increases from the IGBT region closest to the center of the cell region toward the IGBT region closest to an end of the cell region in the first direction.

3 . The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein, in the alternating region, the width of the diode region in the first direction gradually increases from the diode region closest to the center of the cell region toward the diode region closest to an end of the cell region in the first direction.

4 . The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein in the alternating region, a width, in the first direction, of another IGBT region excluding the IGBT region closest to the center of the cell region and the IGBT region closest to an end of the cell region in the first direction is the largest of the widths of the IGBT regions in the first direction, and a width, in the first direction, of another diode region excluding the diode region closest to the center of the cell region and the diode region closest to the end of the cell region in the first direction is the largest of the widths of the diode regions in the first direction.

5 . The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein, in the alternating region, the width in the first direction of the IGBT region closest to the center of the cell region is equal to or larger than a thickness of the semiconductor substrate.

6 . The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein in the alternating region, the width in the first direction of the diode region closest to the center of the cell region is equal to or larger than a thickness of the semiconductor substrate.

7 . The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein the IGBT regions and the diode regions are provided to extend in a direction orthogonal to the first direction and are alternately provided along the first direction in the alternating region.

8 . The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein the IGBT regions and the diode regions are provided radially such that the width in the first direction increases from the center of the cell region toward an end of the cell region.

9 . The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein, in a plan view, an outer periphery of each of the IGBT regions and the diode regions has a polygonal shape or a circular shape, the polygonal shape or the circular shape of each of the IGBT regions and the diode regions has an identical center, and the IGBT region and the diode region are alternately provided from the identical center toward an end of the cell region.

10 . The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein one of the IGBT region and the diode region is provided to be divided into a plurality of island-shaped regions surrounded by the other region in a plan view.

11 . The semiconductor device according to claim 10 , wherein each of the island-shaped regions is provided in a polygonal shape or a circular shape in a plan view.

12 . The semiconductor device according to claim 10 , further comprising:
a first island group including a plurality of the island-shaped regions arranged away from an end of the cell region having an annular shape by a first distance; a second island group including a plurality of the island-shaped regions arranged away from the end of the cell region having the annular shape by a second distance; a first imaginary line annularly connecting imaginary lines drawn in contact with portions, closest to the end of the cell region, of the island-shaped regions belonging to the first island group; a second imaginary line annularly connecting imaginary lines drawn in contact with portions, farthest from the end of the cell region, of the island-shaped regions belonging to the first island group; a third imaginary line annularly connecting imaginary lines drawn in contact with portions, closest to the end of the cell region, of the island-shaped regions belonging to the second island group; and a fourth imaginary line annularly connecting imaginary lines drawn in contact with portions, farthest from the end of the cell region, of the island-shaped regions belonging to the second island group, wherein a region surrounded by the first imaginary line and the second imaginary line and a region surrounded by the third imaginary line and the fourth imaginary line have an identical center.

13 . A power conversion apparatus comprising:
a main conversion circuit that includes the semiconductor device according to claim 1 and converts input electric power to output the electric power converted; a drive circuit that outputs to the semiconductor device a drive signal for driving the semiconductor device; and a control circuit that outputs to the drive circuit a control signal for controlling the drive circuit.

14 . The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein,
in the first direction along the alternating region, widths of each of the diode regions are not constant and are set so as to be two or more types of widths.

15 . The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein,
at least two of the IGBT regions have different widths in the first direction, and at least two of the diode regions have different widths in the first direction.

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Harada Kenji
• Soneda Shinya

Classifications

• H10D8/00

  Diodes (variable-capacitance diodes H10D1/64; gated diodes H10D12/00) · CPC title

• H10D64/513

  within recesses in the substrate, e.g. trench gates, groove gates or buried gates · CPC title

• H10D62/129

  Cathode regions of diodes · CPC title

• H10D8/422

  PN diodes having the PN junctions in mesas · CPC title

• H10D12/481 Primary

  having gate structures on slanted surfaces, on vertical surfaces, or in grooves, e.g. trench gate IGBTs · CPC title