Patent Application
20200395358
Solid-state devices that can be used in high frequency and/or high voltage applications are of great importance in modern semiconductor technologies. For example, radio frequency (RF) integrated circuits (RFIC) and power management integrated circuits (PMIC) may be critical functional blocks in system on a chip (SoC) implementations. Such SoC implementations may be found in mobile computing platforms such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, netbooks, and the like. In such implementations, the RFIC and PMIC and RFIC are important factors for power efficiency and form factor, and can be equally or even more important than logic and memory circuits.
Due, in part, to their large band gap and high mobility, III-N material based transistors, such as gallium nitride (GaN) based transistors, may be particularly advantageous for high frequency and high voltage applications.
Embodiments will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. To facilitate this description, like reference numerals designate like structural elements. Embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.
As mentioned above, transistors based on III-N semiconductor materials (i.e., III-N transistors) have properties that make them particularly advantageous for certain applications. For example, because GaN has a larger band gap (about 3.4 electron-volts (eV)) than Si (band gap of about 1.1 eV), a GaN transistor is expected to withstand a larger electric field (resulting, e.g., from applying a large voltage to the drain, Vdd) before suffering breakdown, compared to a Si transistor of similar dimensions. Furthermore, III-N transistors may advantageously employ a 2D electron gas (2DEG) (i.e., a group of electrons, an electron gas, free to move in two dimensions but tightly confined in the third dimension, e.g., a 2D sheet charge) as its transport channel, enabling high mobility without relying on using impurity dopants. For example, the 2DEG may be formed in a portion of a III-N semiconductor material that is near a heterojunction interface formed between the III-N semiconductor material and a charge-inducing film of a material having larger spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization, compared to the III-N semiconductor material. Such a film is generally referred to as a “polarization material” while the III-N semiconductor material adjacent to the polarization material may be referred to as a “III-N channel material” because this is where a conductive channel (2DEG) may be formed during operation of the III-N transistor. Together, a stack of a III-N channel material and a polarization material may be referred to as a “III-N channel stack” of a III-N transistor. A material that has a lattice constant smaller than that of a given III-N channel material may serve as a polarization material that may cause formation of 2DEG in the III-N channel material. Namely, the lattice mismatch between these two materials may induce tensile strain in the polarization material, which may allow forming high charge densities (e.g., 2DEG) in a portion of the III-N channel material adjacent to the polarization material. For example, providing a polarization material such as AlGaN to be adjacent to (e.g., in contact with) a III-N channel material such as GaN may induce tensile strain in the polarization material due to the lattice constant of a polarization material such as AlGaN being smaller than that of a III-N channel material such as GaN, which allows forming very high charge densities in the III-N channel material without intentionally adding impurity dopants to the III-N channel material. As a result, high mobility of charge carriers in the III-N channel material may, advantageously, be realized.
Despite the advantages, there are some challenges associated with III-N transistors which hinder their large-scale implementation. One such challenge resides in providing digital control logic for III-N transistors. Traditionally, processes for fabricating ICs have been optimized either for high bandwidth analog circuits that use III-N transistors or for high integration density of digital complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuits that use non-III-N transistors and realize digital control logic. High bandwidth analog circuits require digital control logic. Conventionally, provision of digital control logic for analog circuits has been realized by externally integrating one or more chips implementing analog ICs with one or more chips implementing digital ICs, coupled to one another with input/output (I/O) pins, in a multi-chip package (MCP). While such a solution may be acceptable for a small number of I/O pins, as logic solutions increase in complexity, the number of required I/O pins between the analog IC and the digital IC chips increases as well, compromising the viability of this solution.
Disclosed herein are IC structures, packages, and device assemblies that include self-aligned III-N transistors monolithically integrated on the same support structure/material (which may be, e.g., a substrate, a die, or a chip) as extended-drain III-N transistors. Embodiments of the present disclosure are based on recognition that self-aligned III-N transistors may provide a viable approach to implementing digital logic circuits, e.g., to implementing enhancement mode transistors (e.g., devices that are off at zero gate-source voltage but can be turned on by applying a positive voltage to the gate), on the same support structure with extended-drain III-N transistors which may be used as high-power transistors used to implement various RF components, thus enabling integration of III-N devices with digital logic. In some embodiments, extended-drain III-N transistors may be implemented as depletion mode transistors (e.g., devices that are normally on at zero gate-source voltage). In one aspect of the present disclosure, an example IC structure includes a III-N channel stack that includes a III-N channel material and a polarization material, where the polarization material is a material having a lattice constant that is smaller than a lattice constant of the III-N channel material (e.g., at least 3% smaller, or at least 5% smaller, e.g., between about 5 and 10% smaller). By having a smaller lattice constant, the polarization material may induce tensile strain and, therefore, formation of 2DEG, in a portion of the III-N channel material adjacent the polarization material. Such an IC structure further includes an extended-drain III-N transistor that includes a first gate provided over a first portion of the III-N channel stack and a self-aligned III-N transistor that includes a second gate provided over a second portion of the III-N channel stack.
As used herein, the term “III-N semiconductor material” (or, simply, “III-N material”) refers to a compound semiconductor material with a first sub-lattice of at least one element from group III of the periodic table (e.g., Al, Ga, In) and a second sub-lattice of nitrogen (N). As used herein, the term “III-N transistor” refers to a field-effect transistor (FET) that includes a III-N material (which may include one or more different III-N materials, e.g., a plurality of different III-N materials stacked over one another) as an active material (i.e., the material in which a conducting channel of the transistor forms during operation, in which context the III-N material is also referred to as a “III-N channel material”). In some embodiments, any of the III-N channel material, the polarization material, and materials of the source and/or drain (S/D) regions of the III-N transistors may include different III-N semiconductor materials. These III-N semiconductor materials may be different in terms of, e.g., one or more of their lattice constant (which may be indicative of the fact that these materials have different stoichiometry), bandgap, and/or concentration of dopant atoms.
While discussions provided herein may refer to the two-dimensional charge carrier layers as “2DEG” layers, embodiments described herein are also applicable to systems and material combinations in which 2D hole gas (2DHG) may be formed, instead of 2DEG. Thus, unless stated otherwise, explanations of embodiments referring to 2DEG may be applied to transistors implementing 2DHG instead, all of such embodiments being within the scope of the present disclosure.
Each of the structures, packages, methods, devices, and systems of the present disclosure may have several innovative aspects, no single one of which being solely responsible for the all of the desirable attributes disclosed herein. Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this specification are set forth in the description below and the accompanying drawings.
In the following detailed description, various aspects of the illustrative implementations may be described using terms commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. For example, the term “connected” means a direct electrical or magnetic connection between the things that are connected, without any intermediary devices, while the term “coupled” means either a direct electrical or magnetic connection between the things that are connected, or an indirect connection through one or more passive or active intermediary devices. The term “circuit” means one or more passive and/or active components that are arranged to cooperate with one another to provide a desired function. If used, the terms “oxide,” “carbide,” “nitride,” etc. refer to compounds containing, respectively, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, etc. Similarly, the terms naming various compounds refer to materials having any combination of the individual elements within a compound (e.g., “gallium nitride” or “GaN” refers to a material that includes gallium and nitrogen, “aluminum indium gallium nitride” or “AlInGaN” refers to a material that includes aluminum, indium, gallium and nitrogen, and so on). Further, the term “high-k dielectric” refers to a material having a higher dielectric constant (k) than silicon oxide, while the term “low-k dielectric” refers to a material having a lower k than silicon oxide. The terms “substantially,” “close,” “approximately,” “near,” and “about,” generally refer to being within +/−20%, preferably within +/−10%, of a target value based on the context of a particular value as described herein or as known in the art. Similarly, terms indicating orientation of various elements, e.g., “coplanar,” “perpendicular,” “orthogonal,” “parallel,” or any other angle between the elements, generally refer to being within +/−5-20% of a target value based on the context of a particular value as described herein or as known in the art.
The terms such as “over,” “under,” “between,” and “on” as used herein refer to a relative position of one material layer or component with respect to other layers or components. For example, one layer disposed over or under another layer may be directly in contact with the other layer or may have one or more intervening layers. Moreover, one layer disposed between two layers may be directly in contact with one or both of the two layers or may have one or more intervening layers. In contrast, a first layer described to be “on” a second layer refers to a layer that is in direct contact with that second layer. Similarly, unless explicitly stated otherwise, one feature disposed between two features may be in direct contact with the adjacent features or may have one or more intervening layers.
For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase “A and/or B” means (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase “A, B, and/or C” means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B, and C). The term “between,” when used with reference to measurement ranges, is inclusive of the ends of the measurement ranges. As used herein, the notation “A/B/C” means (A), (B), and/or (C).
The description uses the phrases “in an embodiment” or “in embodiments,” which may each refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments. Furthermore, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like, as used with respect to embodiments of the present disclosure, are synonymous. The disclosure may use perspective-based descriptions such as “above,” “below,” “top,” “bottom,” and “side”; such descriptions are used to facilitate the discussion and are not intended to restrict the application of disclosed embodiments. The accompanying drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Unless otherwise specified, the use of the ordinal adjectives “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking or in any other manner.
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown, by way of illustration, embodiments that may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized, and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense. For convenience, if a collection of drawings designated with different letters are present, e.g.,
In the drawings, some schematic illustrations of example structures of various structures, devices, and assemblies described herein may be shown with precise right angles and straight lines, but it is to be understood that such schematic illustrations may not reflect real-life process limitations which may cause the features to not look so “ideal” when any of the structures described herein are examined using e.g., scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images or transmission electron microscope (TEM) images. In such images of real structures, possible processing defects could also be visible, e.g., not-perfectly straight edges of materials, tapered vias or other openings, inadvertent rounding of corners or variations in thicknesses of different material layers, occasional screw, edge, or combination dislocations within the crystalline region(s), and/or occasional dislocation defects of single atoms or clusters of atoms. There may be other defects not listed here but that are common within the field of device fabrication.
Various operations may be described as multiple discrete actions or operations in turn in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the claimed subject matter. However, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations may not be performed in the order of presentation. Operations described may be performed in a different order from the described embodiment. Various additional operations may be performed, and/or described operations may be omitted in additional embodiments.
Various IC structures that include at least one extended-drain III-N transistor integrated with at least one self-aligned III-N transistor over a single support structure as described herein may be implemented in one or more components associated with an IC or/and between various such components. In various embodiments, components associated with an IC include, for example, transistors, diodes, power sources, resistors, capacitors, inductors, sensors, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, antennas, etc. Components associated with an IC may include those that are mounted on an IC, provided as an integral part of an IC, or those connected to an IC. The IC may be either analog or digital, or may include a combination of analog and digital circuitry, and may be used in a number of applications, such as microprocessors, optoelectronics, logic blocks, audio amplifiers, etc., depending on the components associated with the IC. In some embodiments, IC structures as described herein may be included in a RFIC, which may, e.g., be included in any component associated with an IC of an RF receiver, an RF transmitter, or an RF transceiver, or any other RF device, e.g., as used in telecommunications within base stations (BS) or user equipment (UE) devices. Such components may include, but are not limited to, control logic circuits for RF front-end (FE) or other portions of an RF device, RF switches, power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers, RF filters (including arrays of RF filters, or RF filter banks), upconverters, downconverters, and duplexers. In some embodiments, the IC structures as described herein may be employed as part of a chipset for executing one or more related functions in a computer.
The support structure 108 may be any suitable structure, e.g., a substrate, a die, or a chip, on which III-N transistors as described herein may be implemented. In some embodiments, the support structure 108 may include a semiconductor, such as silicon. In other implementations, the support structure 108 may include/be alternate materials, which may or may not be combined with silicon, that include but are not limited to germanium, indium antimonide, lead telluride, indium arsenide, indium phosphide, gallium arsenide, indium gallium arsenide, gallium antimonide, or other combinations of group III-N or group IV materials.
In some embodiments, the support structure 108 may include a ceramic material, or any other non-semiconductor material. For example, in some embodiments, the support structure 108 may include glass, a combination of organic and inorganic materials, embedded portions having different materials, etc. Although a few examples of materials from which the support structure 108 may be formed are described here, any material that may serve as a foundation upon which at least one extended-drain III-N transistor integrated with at least one self-aligned III-N transistor as described herein may be built falls within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
In some embodiments, an insulator 110 may be provided in various portions of the IC structure 100, e.g., encompassing at least portions of the extended-drain III-N transistor 102 and/or at least portions of the self-aligned III-N transistor 104, as shown in
In general, an insulating material such as the insulator 110 may be provided in various portions of the IC structure 100. In some embodiments, the insulator 110 may include a continuous insulator material encompassing at least portions of the extended-drain III-N transistor 102 and/or at least portions of the self-aligned III-N transistor 104. In various embodiments, an insulating material in the IC structure 100 may include different insulating materials in different portions of the IC structure 100, e.g., the insulator 110 encompassing at least portions of the extended-drain III-N transistor 102 and/or at least portions of the self-aligned III-N transistor 104, and an insulator 140 used to provide electrical isolation between the III-N transistors 102 and 104, as shown in
In some embodiments, the III-N material 112 may be formed of a compound semiconductor with a first sub-lattice of at least one element from group III of the periodic table (e.g., Al, Ga, In), and a second sub-lattice of nitrogen (N). In some embodiments, the III-N material 112 may be a binary, ternary, or quaternary III-N compound semiconductor that is an alloy of two, three, or even four elements from group III of the periodic table (e.g., boron, aluminum, indium, gallium) and nitrogen.
In general, the III-N material 112 may be composed of various III-N semiconductor material systems including, for example, N-type or P-type III-N materials systems, depending on whether the III-N transistor 102/104 is an N-type or a P-type transistor. For some N-type transistor embodiments, the III-N material 112 may advantageously be an III-N material having a high electron mobility, such as, but not limited to, GaN. In some embodiments, the III-N material 112 may be a ternary III-N alloy, such as InGaN, or a quaternary III-N alloy, such as AlInGaN, in any suitable stoichiometry. Although shown with the same pattern in
In some embodiments, the III-N material 112 may be formed of a highly crystalline semiconductor, e.g., of substantially a monocrystalline semiconductor (possibly with some limited amount of defects, e.g., dislocations). The quality of the III-N material 112 (e.g., in terms of defects or crystallinity) may be higher than that of other III-N materials of, or near, the III-N transistors 102/104 since, during the operation of the III-N transistors 102/104, a respective transistor channel will form in respective portions of the III-N material 112. A portion of the III-N material 112 where a transistor channel of a III-N transistor forms during operation may be referred to as a “III-N channel material/region” of the III-N transistor.
In some embodiments, the III-N material 112 may be an intrinsic III-N semiconductor material or alloy, not intentionally doped with any electrically active impurity. In alternate embodiments, one or more a nominal impurity dopant level may be present within the III-N material 112, for example to set a threshold voltage Vt of the III-N transistors 102/104, or to provide halo pocket implants, etc. In such impurity-doped embodiments however, impurity dopant level within the III-N material 112 may be relatively low, for example below 1015 dopants per cubic centimeter (cm−3), or below 1013 cm−3.
In various embodiments, a thickness of the III-N material 112 may be between about 5 and 2000 nanometers, including all values and ranges therein, e.g., between about 50 and 1000 nanometers, or between about 10 and 50 nanometers. Unless specified otherwise, all thicknesses described herein refer to a dimension measured in a direction perpendicular to the support structure 108 (i.e., measured along the z-axis of the example coordinate system shown in
Turning now to the polarization material 114 of the III-N transistors 102/104, in general, the polarization material 114 may be a layer of a charge-inducing film of a material having larger spontaneous and/or piezoelectric polarization than that of the bulk of the III-N layer material immediately below it (e.g., the III-N material 112), creating a heterojunction (e.g., an interface that occurs between two layers or regions of semiconductors having unequal band gaps) with the III-N material 112, and leading to formation of 2DEG at or near (e.g., immediately below) that interface, during operation of the III-N transistors 102/104. As described above, a 2DEG layer may be formed during operation of an III-N transistor in a layer of an III-N semiconductor material immediately below a suitable polarization layer. In various embodiments, the polarization material 114 may include materials such as AlN, InAlN, AlGaN, or AlxInyGa1−x−yN, and may have a thickness between about 1 and 50 nanometers, including all values and ranges therein, e.g., between about 5 and 15 nanometers or between about 10 and 30 nanometers.
As also shown in
The electrically conductive material 118 of the S/D electrodes 142 (shown in
The gate dielectric material 120 may be a high-k dielectric material, e.g., a material including elements such as hafnium, silicon, oxygen, titanium, tantalum, lanthanum, aluminum, zirconium, barium, strontium, yttrium, lead, scandium, niobium, and zinc. Examples of high-k materials that may be used in the gate dielectric material 120 may include, but are not limited to, hafnium oxide, hafnium silicon oxide, lanthanum oxide, lanthanum aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, zirconium silicon oxide, tantalum oxide, titanium oxide, barium strontium titanium oxide, barium titanium oxide, strontium titanium oxide, yttrium oxide, aluminum oxide, tantalum oxide, tantalum silicon oxide, lead scandium tantalum oxide, and lead zinc niobate. In some embodiments, an annealing process may be carried out on the gate dielectric material 120 during manufacture of the extended-drain III-N transistor 102 to improve the quality of the gate dielectric material 120. A thickness of the gate dielectric material 120 may be between 0.5 nanometers and 10 nanometers, including all values and ranges therein, e.g., between 1 and 3 nanometers, or between 1 and 2 nanometers.
The gate electrode material 122 may include at least one P-type work function metal or N-type work function metal, depending on whether the extended-drain III-N transistor 102 is a P-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (PMOS) transistor or an N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) transistor (e.g., P-type work function metal may be used as the gate electrode material 122 when the extended-drain III-N transistor 102 is a PMOS transistor and N-type work function metal may be used as the gate electrode material 122 when the extended-drain III-N transistor 102 is an NMOS transistor, depending on the desired threshold voltage). For a PMOS transistor, metals that may be used for the gate electrode material 122 may include, but are not limited to, ruthenium, palladium, platinum, cobalt, nickel, titanium nitride, and conductive metal oxides (e.g., ruthenium oxide). For an NMOS transistor, metals that may be used for the gate electrode material 122 include, but are not limited to, hafnium, zirconium, titanium, tantalum, aluminum, alloys of these metals, carbides of these metals (e.g., hafnium carbide, zirconium carbide, titanium carbide, tantalum carbide, and aluminum carbide), and nitrides of these metals (e.g., tantalum nitride, and tantalum aluminum nitride). In some embodiments, the gate electrode material 122 may include a stack of two or more metal layers, where one or more metal layers are work function metal layers and at least one metal layer is a fill metal layer.
Further layers may be included next to the gate electrode material 122 for other purposes, such as to act as a diffusion barrier layer or/and an adhesion layer, not specifically shown in
benzocyclobutene, and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), or spin-on silicon-based polymeric dielectric such as hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) and methylsilsesquioxane (MSQ)). Other examples of low-k materials that may be used as the dielectric spacer material 160 include various porous dielectric materials, such as for example porous silicon dioxide or porous carbon-doped silicon dioxide, where large voids or pores are created in a dielectric in order to reduce the overall dielectric constant of the layer, since voids can have a dielectric constant of nearly 1.
In some embodiments, the IC structure 100 may, optionally, include a buffer material 124 between the III-N material 112 and the support structure 108. In some embodiments, the buffer material 124 may be a layer of a semiconductor material that has a band gap larger than that of the III-N material 112, so that the buffer material 124 can serve to prevent current leakage from the future III-N transistors 102/104 to the support structure 108. Furthermore, a properly selected semiconductor for the buffer material 124 may enable better epitaxy of the III-N material 112 thereon, e.g., it may improve epitaxial growth of the III-N material 112, for instance in terms of a bridge lattice constant or amount of defects. For example, a semiconductor that includes aluminum, gallium, and nitrogen (e.g., AlGaN) or a semiconductor that includes aluminum and nitrogen (e.g., AlN) may be used as the buffer material 124 when the III-N material 112 is a semiconductor that includes gallium and nitrogen (e.g., GaN). Other examples of materials for the buffer material 124 may include materials typically used as ILD, described above, such as oxide isolation layers, e.g., silicon oxide, silicon nitride, aluminum oxide, and/or silicon oxynitride. When implemented in the IC structure 100, the buffer material 124 may have a thickness between about 100 and 5000 nanometers, including all values and ranges therein, e.g., between about 200 and 1000 nanometers, or between about 250 and 500 nanometers.
Although not specifically shown in
Turning now to the self-aligned III-N transistor 104,
As shown in
In some embodiments, some of the materials listed above for the gate electrode material 122 may be used both as the gate electrode material 122 for the extended-drain III-N transistor 102 and as the gate electrode material 132 for the self-aligned III-N transistor 104, even if one of them may be a PMOS while another one of them may be an NMOS transistor. For example, titanium nitride is a “mid-gap” material with a work function that is between N-type and P-type. Therefore, it may be suitable both for implementing one of the III-N transistors 102/104 as a PMOS transistor to provide the desired PMOS threshold voltage, and also for implementing another one of the III-N transistors 102/104 as an NMOS transistor to provide the desired NMOS threshold voltage. Using the same gate electrode material for both III-N transistors 102/104 may simplify fabrication.
However, in other embodiments, the extended-drain III-N transistor 102 and the self-aligned III-N transistor 104 may use different gate electrode materials. For example, in some embodiments, the gate electrode material 122 of the extended-drain III-N transistor 102 may have a work function smaller than a work function of the gate electrode material 132 of the self-aligned III-N transistor 104. Some examples of such materials with different work functions include the gate electrode material 122 of the extended-drain III-N transistor 102 including one or more of titanium, titanium nitride, and tungsten, while the gate electrode material 132 of the self-aligned III-N transistor 104 including one or more of nickel and molybdenum. Employing such different gate electrode materials for the extended-drain and the self-aligned III-N transistors 102 and 104 may be particularly advantageous if one of them, e.g., the extended-drain III-N transistor 102, is to be implemented as a depletion mode transistor, while another one of them, e.g., the self-aligned III-N transistor 104, is to be implemented as an enhancement mode transistor.
Furthermore, in various embodiments, one of both of the gates 144 and 154 may be provided in a recess in the III-N channel stack so that portions of the polarization material below these gates have different thicknesses. For example, in some embodiments, a thickness of the polarization material 114 under the gate 144 (e.g., between the gate 144 and the III-N channel material 112) may be greater than a thickness of the polarization material 114 under the gate 154 (e.g., between the gate 154 and the III-N channel material 112). Such embodiments may be particularly advantageous if the extended-drain III-N transistor 102 is a depletion mode transistor, while the self-aligned III-N transistor 104 is an enhancement mode transistor. In some such embodiments, the thickness of the polarization material 114 under the gate 144 may be greater than about 1 nanometer, e.g., between about 1 and 10 nanometers or between about 1 and 5 nanometers, while the thickness of the polarization material 114 under the gate 154 may be less than about 1 nanometer, e.g., less than 0.5 nanometers or 0 nanometers. In other embodiments, both of the extended-drain and the self-aligned III-N transistors 102 and 104 may be depletion mode transistors or both may be enhancement mode transistors.
As shown in
Similarly, as also shown in
Although not specifically shown in the present figures, in general, in various embodiments, one or more transistor terminals of the extended-drain III-N transistor 102 may be electrically coupled to one or more terminals of the self-aligned III-N transistor 104. For example, when the self-aligned III-N transistor 104 is implemented as a PMOS transistor and the extended-drain III-N transistor 102 is implemented as an NMOS transistor, these two transistors coupled to one another may form a driver circuit for converters (configured to perform analog-to-digital (ADC) data conversion, e.g., an ADC 2520 in a receive path of an RF device 2500 shown in
Although not specifically shown in
In some embodiments, the IC structure 100 may be included in, or used to implement at least a portion of an RF FE. In some embodiments, the extended-drain III-N transistor 102 of the IC structure 100 may be included in, or used to implement at least a portion of an RF circuit or a part of a power circuit included in the IC structure.
The IC structures implementing at least one extended-drain III-N transistor integrated with at least one self-aligned III-N transistor over a single support structure as described herein may be manufactured using any suitable techniques.
In addition, the example manufacturing method 200 may include other operations not specifically shown in
Various operations of the method 200 may be illustrated with reference to the example embodiments shown in
Turning to
In some embodiments, the process 202 may include epitaxially growing various transistor films, e.g., for forming the buffer material 124, the III-N material 112, and the polarization material 114. In this context, “epitaxial growth” refers to the deposition of crystalline overlayers in the form of the desired materials. The epitaxial growth of various layers of the process 202 may be carried out using any known gaseous or liquid precursors for forming the desired material layers.
The method 200 may then proceed with providing dummy gates over the III-N channel stack provided in process 202 and providing a spacer material over and between the dummy gates (process 204 shown in
The method 200 may further proceed with patterning source-drain spacing for future extended-drain and self-aligned III-N transistors and etching away the remaining spacer material provided in process 204 from the upper surface of the III-N channel stack of the IC structure (process 206 shown in
Next, the method 200 may proceed with providing S/D regions, and then filling insulating material above the S/D regions and around the dummy gates provided in process 204 and polishing the IC structure (process 208 shown in
The method 200 may further proceed with providing metal gates in place of dummy gates (process 210 shown in
The IC structures illustrated and described with reference to
Although particular arrangements of materials are discussed with reference to
Furthermore, although the III-N transistors are shown in the present figures with the III-N channel material 112 being between the polarization material 114 and the support structure 108 and with the polarization material 114 being between the III-N channel material 112 and the gates 144/154, in other embodiments, the polarization material 114 may be between the III-N channel material 112 and the support structure 108, and the III-N channel material 112 may be between the polarization material 114 and the gates 144/154. In such embodiments, the 2DEG may be formed just above the interface of the polarization material 114 and the III-N channel material 112 (i.e., further away from the support structure 108 than the polarization material 114). Also, in such embodiments, the gates 144/154 may be provided in a recess in the III-N channel material 112 so that the gate stack 140 is relatively close to the 2DEG.
Still further, although the gate 144 of the Extended-drain III-N transistor 102 are shown to include the gate dielectric materials 120, in other embodiments the gate dielectric material 120 may be excluded. In such embodiments, the gate electrode material 122 of the gate 144 may form a Schottky contact with the semiconductor material of the III-N channel stack (e.g., either with the polarization material 114 or the III-N channel material 112, depending on whether the polarization material 114 is above the III-N channel material 112 as shown in the present figures, or below the III-N channel material 112 as described above). The same is applicable to the gate 154 of the III-N transistor 104.
Additionally, although some elements of the IC structures are illustrated in
Inspection of layout and mask data and reverse engineering of parts of a device to reconstruct the circuit using e.g., optical microscopy, TEM, or SEM, and/or inspection of a cross-section of a device to detect the shape and the location of various device elements described herein using e.g., Physical Failure Analysis (PFA) would allow determination of the presence of one or more transistor arrangements with at least one extended-drain III-N transistor integrated with at least one self-aligned III-N transistor as described herein.
In some embodiments, various embodiments of the IC structure 100 may be included in, or used to implement at least a portion of an RF FE. In some embodiments, the III-N transistors of the IC structure 100 may be included in, or used to implement at least a portion of an RF circuit, e.g., an RF switch, or a part of a power circuit included in the IC structure. In some embodiments, various embodiments of the IC structure 100 may be included in, or used to implement at least a portion of a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuit included in the IC structure (e.g., control logic, current mirrors, level shifters, buffers, power gating, etc.).
IC structures that include at least one extended-drain III-N transistor integrated with at least one self-aligned III-N transistor as disclosed herein may be included in any suitable electronic device.
As shown in
The package substrate 2252 may include conductive contacts 2263 that are coupled to conductive pathways 2262 through the package substrate 2252, allowing circuitry within the dies 2256 and/or the interposer 2257 to electrically couple to various ones of the conductive contacts 2264 (or to other devices included in the package substrate 2252, not shown).
The IC package 2200 may include an interposer 2257 coupled to the package substrate 2252 via conductive contacts 2261 of the interposer 2257, first-level interconnects 2265, and the conductive contacts 2263 of the package substrate 2252. The first-level interconnects 2265 illustrated in
The IC package 2200 may include one or more dies 2256 coupled to the interposer 2257 via conductive contacts 2254 of the dies 2256, first-level interconnects 2258, and conductive contacts 2260 of the interposer 2257. The conductive contacts 2260 may be coupled to conductive pathways (not shown) through the interposer 2257, allowing circuitry within the dies 2256 to electrically couple to various ones of the conductive contacts 2261 (or to other devices included in the interposer 2257, not shown). The first-level interconnects 2258 illustrated in
In some embodiments, an underfill material 2266 may be disposed between the package substrate 2252 and the interposer 2257 around the first-level interconnects 2265, and a mold compound 2268 may be disposed around the dies 2256 and the interposer 2257 and in contact with the package substrate 2252. In some embodiments, the underfill material 2266 may be the same as the mold compound 2268. Example materials that may be used for the underfill material 2266 and the mold compound 2268 are epoxy mold materials, as suitable. Second-level interconnects 2270 may be coupled to the conductive contacts 2264. The second-level interconnects 2270 illustrated in
The dies 2256 may take the form of any of the embodiments of the die 2002 discussed herein and may include any of the embodiments of an IC structure having at least one extended-drain III-N transistor integrated with at least one self-aligned III-N transistor as described herein. In embodiments in which the IC package 2200 includes multiple dies 2256, the IC package 2200 may be referred to as a multi-chip-package (MCP). The dies 2256 may include circuitry to perform any desired functionality. For example, one or more of the dies 2256 may be RF FE dies which may include one or more IC structures having at least one extended-drain III-N transistor integrated with at least one self-aligned III-N transistor as described herein, one or more of the dies 2256 may be logic dies (e.g., silicon-based dies), one or more of the dies 2256 may be memory dies (e.g., high bandwidth memory), etc. In some embodiments, any of the dies 2256 may include III-N transistor arrangements as discussed above; in some embodiments, at least some of the dies 2256 may not include any III-N transistor arrangements as described herein.
The IC package 2200 illustrated in
In some embodiments, the circuit board 2302 may be a printed circuit board (PCB) including multiple metal layers separated from one another by layers of dielectric material and interconnected by electrically conductive vias. Any one or more of the metal layers may be formed in a desired circuit pattern to route electrical signals (optionally in conjunction with other metal layers) between the components coupled to the circuit board 2302. In other embodiments, the circuit board 2302 may be a non-PCB substrate.
The IC device assembly 2300 illustrated in
The package-on-interposer structure 2336 may include an IC package 2320 coupled to an interposer 2304 by coupling components 2318. The coupling components 2318 may take any suitable form for the application, such as the forms discussed above with reference to the coupling components 2316. The IC package 2320 may be or include, for example, a die (the die 2002 of
The interposer 2304 may be formed of an epoxy resin, a fiberglass-reinforced epoxy resin, a ceramic material, or a polymer material such as polyimide. In some implementations, the interposer 2304 may be formed of alternate rigid or flexible materials that may include the same materials described above for use in a semiconductor substrate, such as silicon, germanium, and other group III-V and group IV materials. The interposer 2304 may include metal interconnects 2308 and vias 2310, including but not limited to through-silicon vias (TSVs) 2306. The interposer 2304 may further include embedded devices 2314, including both passive and active devices. Such devices may include, but are not limited to, capacitors, decoupling capacitors, resistors, inductors, fuses, diodes, transformers, sensors, electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection devices, and memory devices. More complex devices such as further RF devices, PAs, power management devices, antennas, arrays, sensors, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices may also be formed on the interposer 2304. In some embodiments, the IC structures implementing at least one extended-drain III-N transistor integrated with at least one self-aligned III-N transistor as described herein may also be implemented in/on the interposer 2304. The package-on-interposer structure 2336 may take the form of any of the package-on-interposer structures known in the art.
The IC device assembly 2300 may include an IC package 2324 coupled to the first face 2340 of the circuit board 2302 by coupling components 2322. The coupling components 2322 may take the form of any of the embodiments discussed above with reference to the coupling components 2316, and the IC package 2324 may take the form of any of the embodiments discussed above with reference to the IC package 2320.
The IC device assembly 2300 illustrated in
A number of components are illustrated in
Additionally, in various embodiments, the computing device 2400 may not include one or more of the components illustrated in
The computing device 2400 may include a processing device 2402 (e.g., one or more processing devices). As used herein, the term “processing device” or “processor” may refer to any device or portion of a device that processes electronic data from registers and/or memory to transform that electronic data into other electronic data that may be stored in registers and/or memory. The processing device 2402 may include one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific ICs (ASICs), central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), cryptoprocessors (specialized processors that execute cryptographic algorithms within hardware), server processors, or any other suitable processing devices. The computing device 2400 may include a memory 2404, which may itself include one or more memory devices such as volatile memory (e.g., DRAM), nonvolatile memory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM)), flash memory, solid-state memory, and/or a hard drive. In some embodiments, the memory 2404 may include memory that shares a die with the processing device 2402. This memory may be used as cache memory and may include, e.g., eDRAM, and/or spin transfer torque magnetic random-access memory (STT-M RAM).
In some embodiments, the computing device 2400 may include a communication chip 2412 (e.g., one or more communication chips). For example, the communication chip 2412 may be configured for managing wireless communications for the transfer of data to and from the computing device 2400. The term “wireless” and its derivatives may be used to describe circuits, devices, systems, methods, techniques, communications channels, etc., that may communicate data through the use of modulated electromagnetic radiation through a nonsolid medium. The term does not imply that the associated devices do not contain any wires, although in some embodiments they might not.
The communication chip 2412 may implement any of a number of wireless standards or protocols, including but not limited to Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) standards including Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 family), IEEE 802.16 standards (e.g., IEEE 802.16-2005 Amendment), Long-Term Evolution (LTE) project along with any amendments, updates, and/or revisions (e.g., advanced LTE project, ultramobile broadband (UMB) project (also referred to as “3GPP2”), etc.). IEEE 802.16 compatible Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) networks are generally referred to as WiMAX networks, an acronym that stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, which is a certification mark for products that pass conformity and interoperability tests for the IEEE 802.16 standards. The communication chip 2412 may operate in accordance with a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Evolved HSPA (E-HSPA), or LTE network. The communication chip 2412 may operate in accordance with Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), or Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN). The communication chip 2412 may operate in accordance with Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), Evolution-Data optimized (EV-DO), and derivatives thereof, as well as any other wireless protocols that are designated as 3G, 4G, 5G, and beyond. The communication chip 2412 may operate in accordance with other wireless protocols in other embodiments. The computing device 2400 may include an antenna 2422 to facilitate wireless communications and/or to receive other wireless communications (such as AM or FM radio transmissions).
In some embodiments, the communication chip 2412 may manage wired communications, such as electrical, optical, or any other suitable communication protocols (e.g., the Ethernet). As noted above, the communication chip 2412 may include multiple communication chips. For instance, a first communication chip 2412 may be dedicated to shorter-range wireless communications such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and a second communication chip 2412 may be dedicated to longer-range wireless communications such as global positioning system (GPS), EDGE, GPRS, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE, EV-DO, or others. In some embodiments, a first communication chip 2412 may be dedicated to wireless communications, and a second communication chip 2412 may be dedicated to wired communications.
In various embodiments, IC structures as described herein may be particularly advantageous for use within the one or more communication chips 2412, described above. For example, such IC structures, in particular III-N transistor arrangements with at least one extended-drain III-N transistor integrated with at least one self-aligned III-N transistor as described herein, may be used to implement one or more of RF switches, PAs, LNAs, filters (including arrays of filters and filter banks), upconverters, downconverters, and duplexers, e.g., as a part of implementing the communication chips 2412.
The computing device 2400 may include battery/power circuitry 2414. The battery/power circuitry 2414 may include one or more energy storage devices (e.g., batteries or capacitors) and/or circuitry for coupling components of the computing device 2400 to an energy source separate from the computing device 2400 (e.g., AC line power).
The computing device 2400 may include a display device 2406 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). The display device 2406 may include any visual indicators, such as a heads-up display, a computer monitor, a projector, a touchscreen display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode display, or a flat panel display, for example.
The computing device 2400 may include an audio output device 2408 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). The audio output device 2408 may include any device that generates an audible indicator, such as speakers, headsets, or earbuds, for example.
The computing device 2400 may include an audio input device 2418 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). The audio input device 2418 may include any device that generates a signal representative of a sound, such as microphones, microphone arrays, or digital instruments (e.g., instruments having a musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) output).
The computing device 2400 may include a GPS device 2416 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). The GPS device 2416 may be in communication with a satellite-based system and may receive a location of the computing device 2400, as known in the art.
The computing device 2400 may include an other output device 2410 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). Examples of the other output device 2410 may include an audio codec, a video codec, a printer, a wired or wireless transmitter for providing information to other devices, or an additional storage device.
The computing device 2400 may include an other input device 2420 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). Examples of the other input device 2420 may include an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a compass, an image capture device, a keyboard, a cursor control device such as a mouse, a stylus, a touchpad, a bar code reader, a Quick Response (QR) code reader, any sensor, or a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader.
The computing device 2400 may have any desired form factor, such as a handheld or mobile computing device (e.g., a cell phone, a smart phone, a mobile internet device, a music player, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook computer, an ultrabook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an ultramobile personal computer, etc.), a desktop computing device, a server or other networked computing component, a printer, a scanner, a monitor, a set-top box, an entertainment control unit, a vehicle control unit, a digital camera, a digital video recorder, or a wearable computing device. In some embodiments, the computing device 2400 may be any other electronic device that processes data.
In general, the RF device 2500 may be any device or system that may support wireless transmission and/or reception of signals in the form of electromagnetic waves in the RF range of approximately 3 kiloHertz (kHz) to 300 gigaHertz (GHz). In some embodiments, the RF device 2500 may be used for wireless communications, e.g., in a BS or a UE device of any suitable cellular wireless communications technology, such as GSM, WCDMA, or LTE. In a further example, the RF device 2500 may be used as, or in, e.g., a BS or a UE device of a millimeter-wave wireless technology such as fifth generation (5G) wireless (i.e., high-frequency/short wavelength spectrum, e.g., with frequencies in the range between about 20 and 60 GHz, corresponding to wavelengths in the range between about 5 and 15 millimeters). In yet another example, the RF device 2500 may be used for wireless communications using Wi-Fi technology (e.g., a frequency band of 2.4 GHz, corresponding to a wavelength of about 12 cm, or a frequency band of 5.8 GHz, spectrum, corresponding to a wavelength of about 5 cm), e.g., in a Wi-Fi-enabled device such as a desktop, a laptop, a video game console, a smart phone, a tablet, a smart TV, a digital audio player, a car, a printer, etc. In some implementations, a Wi-Fi-enabled device may, e.g., be a node in a smart system configured to communicate data with other nodes, e.g., a smart sensor. Still in another example, the RF device 2500 may be used for wireless communications using Bluetooth technology (e.g., a frequency band from about 2.4 to about 2.485 GHz, corresponding to a wavelength of about 12 cm). In other embodiments, the RF device 2500 may be used for transmitting and/or receiving RF signals for purposes other than communication, e.g., in an automotive radar system, or in medical applications such as magneto-resonance imaging (MRI).
In various embodiments, the RF device 2500 may be included in frequency-division duplex (FDD) or time-domain duplex (TDD) variants of frequency allocations that may be used in a cellular network. In an FDD system, the uplink (i.e., RF signals transmitted from the UE devices to a BS) and the downlink (i.e., RF signals transmitted from the BS to the US devices) may use separate frequency bands at the same time. In a TDD system, the uplink and the downlink may use the same frequencies but at different times.
A number of components are illustrated in
In some embodiments, some or all of the components included in the RF device 2500 may be attached to one or more motherboards. In some embodiments, some or all of these components are fabricated on a single die, e.g., on a single SoC die.
Additionally, in various embodiments, the RF device 2500 may not include one or more of the components illustrated in
As shown in
The antenna 2502 may be configured to wirelessly transmit and/or receive RF signals in accordance with any wireless standards or protocols, e.g., Wi-Fi, LTE, or GSM, as well as any other wireless protocols that are designated as 3G, 4G, 5G, and beyond. If the RF device 2500 is an FDD transceiver, the antenna 2502 may be configured for concurrent reception and transmission of communication signals in separate, i.e., non-overlapping and non-continuous, bands of frequencies, e.g., in bands having a separation of, e.g., 20 MHz from one another. If the RF device 2500 is a TDD transceiver, the antenna 2502 may be configured for sequential reception and transmission of communication signals in bands of frequencies that may be the same, or overlapping for TX and RX paths. In some embodiments, the RF device 2500 may be a multi-band RF device, in which case the antenna 2502 may be configured for concurrent reception of signals having multiple RF components in separate frequency bands and/or configured for concurrent transmission of signals having multiple RF components in separate frequency bands. In such embodiments, the antenna 2502 may be a single wide-band antenna or a plurality of band-specific antennas (e.g., a plurality of antennas each configured to receive and/or transmit signals in a specific band of frequencies). In various embodiments, the antenna 2502 may include a plurality of antenna elements, e.g., a plurality of antenna elements forming a phased antenna array (e.g., a communication system or an array of antennas that may use a plurality of antenna elements and phase shifting to transmit and receive RF signals). Compared to a single-antenna system, a phased antenna array may offer advantages such as increased gain, ability of directional steering, and simultaneous communication. In some embodiments, the RF device 2500 may include more than one antenna 2502 to implement antenna diversity. In some such embodiments, the RF switch 2534 may be deployed to switch between different antennas. Any of the embodiments of the IC structures with at least one extended-drain III-N transistor integrated with at least one self-aligned III-N transistor as described herein may be used to implement at least a portion of the RF switch 2534.
An output of the antenna 2502 may be coupled to the input of the duplexer 2504. The duplexer 2504 may be any suitable component configured for filtering multiple signals to allow for bidirectional communication over a single path between the duplexer 2504 and the antenna 2502. The duplexer 2504 may be configured for providing RX signals to the RX path of the RF device 2500 and for receiving TX signals from the TX path of the RF device 2500.
The RF device 2500 may include one or more local oscillators 2506, configured to provide local oscillator signals that may be used for downconversion of the RF signals received by the antenna 2502 and/or upconversion of the signals to be transmitted by the antenna 2502.
The RF device 2500 may include the digital processing unit 2508, which may include one or more processing devices. In some embodiments, the digital processing unit 2508 may be implemented as the processing device 2402 shown in
Turning to the details of the RX path that may be included in the RF device 2500, the RX path amplifier 2512 may include an LNA. An input of the RX path amplifier 2512 may be coupled to an antenna port (not shown) of the antenna 2502, e.g., via the duplexer 2504. The RX path amplifier 2512 may amplify the RF signals received by the antenna 2502.
An output of the RX path amplifier 2512 may be coupled to an input of the RX path pre-mix filter 2514, which may be a harmonic or band-pass (e.g., low-pass) filter, configured to filter received RF signals that have been amplified by the RX path amplifier 2512.
An output of the RX path pre-mix filter 2514 may be coupled to an input of the RX path mixer 2516, also referred to as a downconverter. The RX path mixer 2516 may include two inputs and one output. A first input may be configured to receive the RX signals, which may be current signals, indicative of the signals received by the antenna 2502 (e.g., the first input may receive the output of the RX path pre-mix filter 2514). A second input may be configured to receive local oscillator signals from one of the local oscillators 2506. The RX path mixer 2516 may then mix the signals received at its two inputs to generate a downconverted RX signal, provided at an output of the RX path mixer 2516. As used herein, downconversion refers to a process of mixing a received RF signal with a local oscillator signal to generate a signal of a lower frequency. In particular, the TX path mixer (e.g., downconverter) 2516 may be configured to generate the sum and/or the difference frequency at the output port when two input frequencies are provided at the two input ports. In some embodiments, the RF device 2500 may implement a direct-conversion receiver (DCR), also known as homodyne, synchrodyne, or zero-IF receiver, in which case the RX path mixer 2516 may be configured to demodulate the incoming radio signals using local oscillator signals whose frequency is identical to, or very close to the carrier frequency of the radio signal. In other embodiments, the RF device 2500 may make use of downconversion to an intermediate frequency (IF). IFs may be used in superheterodyne radio receivers, in which a received RF signal is shifted to an IF, before the final detection of the information in the received signal is done. Conversion to an IF may be useful for several reasons. For example, when several stages of filters are used, they can all be set to a fixed frequency, which makes them easier to build and to tune. In some embodiments, the RX path mixer 2516 may include several such stages of IF conversion.
Although a single RX path mixer 2516 is shown in the RX path of
The output of the RX path mixer 2516 may, optionally, be coupled to the RX path post-mix filter 2518, which may be low-pass filters. In case the RX path mixer 2516 is a quadrature mixer that implements the first and second mixers as described above, the in-phase and quadrature components provided at the outputs of the first and second mixers respectively may be coupled to respective individual first and second RX path post-mix filters included in the filter 2518.
The ADC 2520 may be configured to convert the mixed RX signals from the RX path mixer 2516 from analog to digital domain. The ADC 2520 may be a quadrature ADC that, similar to the RX path quadrature mixer 2516, may include two ADCs, configured to digitize the downconverted RX path signals separated in in-phase and quadrature components. The output of the ADC 2520 may be provided to the digital processing unit 2508, configured to perform various functions related to digital processing of the RX signals so that information encoded in the RX signals can be extracted.
Turning to the details of the TX path that may be included in the RF device 2500, the digital signal to later be transmitted (TX signal) by the antenna 2502 may be provided, from the digital processing unit 2508, to the DAC 2530. Similar to the ADC 2520, the DAC 2530 may include two DACs, configured to convert, respectively, digital I- and Q-path TX signal components to analog form.
Optionally, the output of the DAC 2530 may be coupled to the TX path pre-mix filter 2528, which may be a band-pass (e.g., low-pass) filter (or a pair of band-pass, e.g., low-pass, filters, in case of quadrature processing) configured to filter out, from the analog TX signals output by the DAC 2530, the signal components outside of the desired band. The digital TX signals may then be provided to the TX path mixer 2526, which may also be referred to as an upconverter. Similar to the RX path mixer 2516, the TX path mixer 2526 may include a pair of TX path mixers, for in-phase and quadrature component mixing. Similar to the first and second RX path mixers that may be included in the RX path, each of the TX path mixers of the TX path mixer 2526 may include two inputs and one output. A first input may receive the TX signal components, converted to the analog form by the respective DAC 2530, which are to be upconverted to generate RF signals to be transmitted. The first TX path mixer may generate an in-phase (I) upconverted signal by mixing the TX signal component converted to analog form by the DAC 2530 with the in-phase component of the TX path local oscillator signal provided from the local oscillator 2506 (in various embodiments, the local oscillator 2506 may include a plurality of different local oscillators, or be configured to provide different local oscillator frequencies for the mixer 2516 in the RX path and the mixer 2526 in the TX path). The second TX path mixer may generate a quadrature phase (Q) upconverted signal by mixing the TX signal component converted to analog form by the DAC 2530 with the quadrature component of the TX path local oscillator signal. The output of the second TX path mixer may be added to the output of the first TX path mixer to create a real RF signal. A second input of each of the TX path mixers may be coupled the local oscillator 2506.
Optionally, the RF device 2500 may include the TX path post-mix filter 2524, configured to filter the output of the TX path mixer 2526.
The TX path amplifier 2522 may be a PA, configured to amplify the upconverted RF signal before providing it to the antenna 2502 for transmission. Any of the embodiments of the IC structures with at least one extended-drain III-N transistor integrated with at least one self-aligned III-N transistor, as described herein, may be used to implement the TX path amplifier 2522 as a PA.
In various embodiments, any of the RX path pre-mix filter 2514, the RX path post-mix filter 2518, the TX post-mix filter 2524, and the TX pre-mix filter 2528 may be implemented as RF filters. In some embodiments, each of such RF filters may include one or more, typically a plurality of, resonators (e.g., film bulk acoustic resonators (FBARs), Lamb wave resonators, and/or contour-wave resonators), arranged, e.g., in a ladder configuration. An individual resonator of an RF filter may include a layer of a piezoelectric material such as AIN, enclosed between a bottom electrode and a top electrode, with a cavity provided around a portion of each electrode in order to allow a portion of the piezoelectric material to vibrate during operation of the filter. In some embodiments, an RF filter may be implemented as a plurality of RF filters, or a filter bank. A filter bank may include a plurality of RF resonators that may be coupled to a switch, e. g., the RF switch 2534, configured to selectively switch any one of the plurality of RF resonators on and off (e.g., activate any one of the plurality of RF resonators), in order to achieve desired filtering characteristics of the filter bank (i.e., in order to program the filter bank). For example, such a filter bank may be used to switch between different RF frequency ranges when the RF device 2500 is, or is included in, a BS or in a UE device. In another example, such a filter bank may be programmable to suppress TX leakage on the different duplex distances.
The impedance tuner 2532 may include any suitable circuitry, configured to match the input and output impedances of the different RF circuitries to minimize signal losses in the RF device 2500. For example, the impedance tuner 2532 may include an antenna impedance tuner. Being able to tune the impedance of the antenna 2502 may be particularly advantageous because antenna's impedance is a function of the environment that the RF device 2500 is in, e.g., antenna's impedance changes depending on, e.g., if the antenna is held in a hand, placed on a car roof, etc.
As described above, the RF switch 2534 may be a device configured to route high-frequency signals through transmission paths, e.g., in order to selectively switch between a plurality of instances of any one of the components shown in
In various embodiments, III-N transistor arrangements as described herein may be particularly advantageous when used in, or to provide an RF interconnect to (i.e., to provide means for supporting communication of RF signals to), any of the duplexer 2504, RX path amplifier 2512, RX path pre-mix filter 2514, RX path post-mix filter 2518, TX path amplifier 2522, TX path pre-mix filter 2528, TX path post-mix filter 2524, impedance tuner 2532, and/or RF switch 2534.
The RF device 2500 provides a simplified version and, in further embodiments, other components not specifically shown in
The following paragraphs provide various examples of the embodiments disclosed herein.
Example 1 provides an IC structure that includes a support structure (e.g., a substrate, a die, or a chip) and a III-N channel stack provided over the support structure. The III-N channel stack includes a III-N channel material and a polarization material, where the polarization material is a material having a lattice constant that is smaller than a lattice constant of the III-N channel material (e.g., at least 3% smaller, or at least 5% smaller, e.g., between about 5 and 10% smaller; by having a smaller lattice constant, the polarization material may induce tensile strain and, therefore, formation of 2DEG, in a portion of the III-N channel material adjacent the polarization material). The IC structure further includes a first gate, provided over a first portion of the III-N channel stack; a first pair of a source region and drain region, where the first gate is between a first S/D region of the first pair and a second S/D region of the first pair; a second gate, provided over a second portion of the III-N channel stack, different from the first portion; and a second pair of a source region and drain region, where the second gate is between a first S/D region of the second pair and a second S/D region of the second pair. In such an IC structure, a distance between the first gate and the first S/D region of the first pair (e.g., the distance 148-1 shown in
Example 2 provides the IC structure according to example 1, where a difference between the distance between the first gate and the first S/D region of the first pair (e.g., the distance 148-1 shown in
Example 3 provides the IC structure according to examples 1 or 2, where the distance between the first gate and the first S/D region of the first pair (e.g., the distance 148-1 shown in
Example 4 provides the IC structure according to any one of the preceding examples, where the distance between the second gate and the first S/D region of the second pair (e.g., the distance 158-1 shown in
Example 5 provides the IC structure according to any one of the preceding examples, where a first transistor includes the first gate and the first pair of the source region and the drain region, and a second transistor includes the second gate and the second pair of the source region and the drain region.
Example 6 provides the IC structure according to example 5, where the first transistor is a depletion mode transistor.
Example 7 provides the IC structure according to examples 5 or 6, where the second transistor is an enhancement mode transistor.
Example 8 provides the IC structure according to any one of the preceding examples, where a portion of the first gate is in a recess in the first portion of the III-N channel stack or a portion of the second gate is in a recess in the second portion of the III-N channel stack.
Example 9 provides the IC structure according to any one of the preceding examples, where a thickness of the polarization material between the first gate and the III-N channel material is greater than a thickness of the polarization material between the second gate and the III-N channel material.
Example 10 provides the IC structure according to any one of the preceding examples, where a thickness of the polarization material under the first gate (e.g., between the first gate and the III-N channel material) is greater than 1 nanometer, e.g., between about 1 and 10 nanometers or between about 1 and 5 nanometers.
Example 11 provides the IC structure according to any one of the preceding examples, where a thickness of the polarization material under the second gate (e.g., between the second gate and the III-N channel material) is less than 1 nanometer, e.g., less than 0.5 nanometers or 0 nanometers.
Example 12 provides the IC structure according to any one of the preceding examples, where the first gate includes a first gate metal and the second gate includes a second gate metal, and where a work function of the second gate metal is greater than a work function of the first gate metal.
Example 13 provides the IC structure according to example 12, where the first gate metal includes titanium, titanium nitride, or tungsten.
Example 14 provides the IC structure according to examples 12 or 13, where the second gate metal includes nickel or molybdenum.
Example 15 provides the IC structure according to any one of the preceding examples, further including a spacer material, provided on sidewalls of the first gate, over a portion of the III-N channel between the first gate and the first S/D region (i.e., over the first S/D access region of the first transistor), and over a portion of the III-N channel between the first gate and the second S/D region (i.e., over the second S/D access region of the first transistor).
Example 16 provides the IC structure according to example 15, where a thickness of the spacer material is between about 3 and 50 nanometers, including all values and ranges therein, e.g., between about 5 and 25 nanometers, or between about 5 and 15 nanometers.
Example 17 provides an IC structure that includes a support structure (e.g., a substrate, a die, or a chip) and a III-N channel stack provided over the support structure. The III-N channel stack includes a III-N channel material and a polarization material, where the polarization material is a material having a lattice constant that is smaller than a lattice constant of the III-N channel material (e.g., at least 3% smaller, or at least 5% smaller, e.g., between about 5 and 10% smaller; by having a smaller lattice constant, the polarization material may induce tensile strain and, therefore, formation of 2DEG, in a portion of the III-N channel material adjacent the polarization material). The IC structure further includes a pair of a source region and a drain region; a gate, provided over a portion of the III-N channel stack between the source region and the drain region; and a spacer material, provided on sidewalls of the gate, over a first source or drain (S/D) access region of the III-N channel stack, and over a second S/D access region of the III-N channel stack, where a thickness of the spacer material is between about 3 and 50 nanometers, including all values and ranges therein, e.g., between about 5 and 25 nanometers, or between about 5 and 15 nanometers.
Example 18 provides the IC structure according to example 17, where a distance between the gate and a first source or drain (S/D) region of the pair (e.g., the distance 148-1 shown in
Example 19 provides the IC structure according to examples 17 or 18, where a difference between a distance between the gate and a first source or drain (S/D) region of the pair (e.g., the distance 148-1 shown in
Example 20 provides the IC structure according to any one of examples 17-19, where a distance between the gate and a first source or drain (S/D) region of the pair (e.g., the distance 148-1 shown in
Example 21 provides the IC structure according to any one of examples 17-20, where a thickness of the polarization material under the gate (e.g., between the gate and the III-N channel material) is greater than 1 nanometer, e.g., between about 1 and 10 nanometers or between about 1 and 5 nanometers.
Example 22 provides the IC structure according to any one of examples 17-21, where the gate is a first gate, the pair is a first pair, the first portion of the III-N channel stack is a first portion of the III-N channel stack, and the IC structure further includes a second gate, provided over a second portion of the III-N channel stack, different from the first portion, and a second pair of a source region and drain region, where the second gate is between a first S/D region of the second pair and a second S/D region of the second pair.
Example 23 provides the IC structure according to example 22, where a distance between the second gate and the first S/D region of the second pair (e.g., the distance 158-1 shown in
Example 24 provides the IC structure according to examples 22 or 23, where a first transistor includes the first gate and the first pair of the source region and the drain region, a second transistor includes the second gate and the second pair of the source region and the drain region, and the second transistor is an enhancement mode transistor.
Example 25 provides a method of fabricating an IC structure, the method including providing a III-N channel stack including a III-N channel material and a polarization material, where the polarization material is a material having a lattice constant that is smaller than a lattice constant of the III-N channel material; providing a sacrificial gate over a portion of the III-N channel stack; providing an etch-mask material over the sacrificial gate, the etch-mask material defining a first distance from the sacrificial gate to a first source or drain (S/D) region of a pair and a second distance from the sacrificial gate to a second S/D region of the pair, where the first distance is different from the second distance; providing the pair using the etch-mask material as a mask; providing an insulator material over the pair; and replacing the sacrificial gate with a metal gate.
Example 26 provides the method according to example 25, further including, prior to providing the etch-mask material, providing a layer of a spacer material over the sacrificial gate.
Example 27 provides an IC package that includes an IC die, the IC die including the IC structure according to any one of the preceding examples (e.g., any one of examples 1-24), and a further IC component, coupled to the IC die.
Example 28 provides the IC package according to example 27, where the further IC component includes one of a package substrate, an interposer, or a further IC die.
Example 29 provides the IC package according to any one of examples 27-28, where the IC package is included in a base station of a wireless communication system.
Example 30 provides the IC package according to any one of examples 27-28, where the IC package is included in a UE device (e.g., a mobile device) of a wireless communication system.
Example 31 provides the IC package according to any one of the preceding examples, where the IC die is a part of an RF device.
Example 32 provides an electronic device that includes a carrier substrate and an IC die coupled to the carrier substrate. The IC die includes the IC structure according to any one of examples 1-24, and/or is included in the IC package according to any one of examples 27-31.
Example 33 provides the electronic device according to example 32, where the computing device is a wearable or handheld electronic device.
Example 34 provides the electronic device according to examples 32 or 33, where the electronic device further includes one or more communication chips and an antenna.
Example 35 provides the electronic device according to any one of examples 32-34, where the carrier substrate is a motherboard.
Example 36 provides the electronic device according to any one of examples 32-35, where the electronic device is an RF transceiver.
Example 37 provides the electronic device according to any one of examples 32-36, where the electronic device is one of an RF switch, a power amplifier, a low-noise amplifier, a filter, a filter bank, a duplexer, an upconverter, or a downconverter of an RF communications device, e.g., of an RF transceiver.
Example 38 provides the electronic device according to any one of examples 32-37, where the electronic device is included in a base station of a wireless communication system.
Example 39 provides the electronic device according to any one of examples 32-37, where the electronic device is included in a UE device (e.g., a mobile device) of a wireless communication system.
The above description of illustrated implementations of the disclosure, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. While specific implementations of, and examples for, the disclosure are described herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the disclosure, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. These modifications may be made to the disclosure in light of the above detailed description.
