Semiconductor device with bipolar junction transistor cells

US9508711B2 · US · B2

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-9508711-B2
Application numberUS-201314096338-A
CountryUS
Kind codeB2
Filing dateDec 4, 2013
Priority dateDec 4, 2013
Publication dateNov 29, 2016
Grant dateNov 29, 2016

How to read this patent

A practical reading order for non-experts. Skip the full description unless you need deep technical detail.

  1. Title

    What the patent document calls the invention.

  2. Abstract

    A short plain-language summary of the technical disclosure.

  3. Assignees and inventors

    Who owns or filed the patent and who is credited as inventor.

  4. Key dates

    Filing, priority, publication, and grant dates set the timeline.

  5. First independent claim

    The legal scope of protection — read this for what is actually claimed.

  6. CPC / IPC classifications

    Technology tags used to group this patent with similar filings.

  7. Citations and related patents

    Prior art links and similar publications in this corpus.

Abstract

Official abstract text for this publication.

A semiconductor device includes a bipolar junction transistor cell including an emitter region which is at least partly formed between mesas of a semiconductor body. The emitter region extends between a first surface of the semiconductor body and an emitter bottom plane. The transistor cell further includes a collector region and a base region that separates the emitter region and the collector region.

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

What is claimed is: 1. A semiconductor device comprising a bipolar junction transistor cell that comprises: a semiconductor body comprising mesas protruding from a layer section, wherein top surfaces of the mesas are coplanar with a first surface of the semiconductor body; an emitter region partly formed between two neighboring ones of the mesas, and extending between a plane spanned by the coplanar top surfaces of the mesas and an emitter bottom plane in the semiconductor body, wherein the emitter bottom plane is between the plane spanned by the coplanar top surfaces of the mesas and the layer section; a collector region at least partly formed in the mesas of the semiconductor body and extending from the first surface to a pedestal layer in the semiconductor body; and a base region separating the emitter region and the collector region and comprising first base portions extending along sidewalls of the mesas, wherein the sidewalls are tilted to the top surfaces. 2. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein a distance between the first surface and the pedestal layer is greater than a distance between the first surface and the emitter bottom plane. 3. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the base region further comprises a second base portion between the mesas and connecting the first base portions. 4. The semiconductor device of claim 3 , wherein the base region further comprises third base portions in the vertical projection of the mesas, each third base portion connected to one of the first base portions. 5. The semiconductor device of claim 4 , wherein the third base portions extend over the complete vertical projection of the mesas. 6. The semiconductor device of claim 5 , wherein the emitter region comprises a first and a second sub-region formed on opposing sides of a base contact structure extending between the mesas from the first surface to the second portion of the base region. 7. The semiconductor device of claim 6 , wherein the emitter region comprises third sub-regions in the vertical projection of the mesas. 8. The semiconductor device of claim 6 , wherein the emitter region is completely formed between the mesas. 9. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , further comprising: a plurality of the bipolar junction transistor cells. 10. The semiconductor device of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of the bipolar junction transistor cells is arranged in a regular pattern. 11. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , further comprising: an anode region formed between second mesas of the semiconductor body and a cathode region formed at least partly in the mesas, the anode and cathode regions arranged to form a diode. 12. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , further comprising: an insulator structure formed between third mesas of the semiconductor body. 13. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor body, the base region and the emitter region comprise silicon carbide. 14. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein in the emitter region a vertical impurity concentration profile perpendicular to the first surface is constant.

Assignees

Inventors

Classifications

  • Combinations of vertical BJTs and only diodes · CPC title

  • Emitter or collector electrodes for bipolar transistors · CPC title

  • Silicon carbide · CPC title

  • Base regions of bipolar transistors, e.g. BJTs or IGBTs · CPC title

  • Emitter regions of BJTs · CPC title

Patent family

Related publications grouped by family.

External sources

Frequently asked questions

Answers are generated from the same data shown on this page.

What does patent US9508711B2 cover?
A semiconductor device includes a bipolar junction transistor cell including an emitter region which is at least partly formed between mesas of a semiconductor body. The emitter region extends between a first surface of the semiconductor body and an emitter bottom plane. The transistor cell further includes a collector region and a base region that separates the emitter region and the collector…
Who is the assignee on this patent?
Infineon Technologies Ag
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification H10D84/641. Mapped technology areas include Electricity.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Tue Nov 29 2016 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
What related patents are in patentsdb?
We list 8 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).