Patent Application
20140042522
This application claims the priority of Chinese patent application number 201210287201.5, filed on Aug. 13, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates in general to semiconductor technology, and in particular, to a radio frequency (RF) laterally diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) device and fabrication methods thereof.
Radio frequency (RF) laterally diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) device is a new generation integrated solid microwave power semiconductor device. It is a product of the combination of semiconductor integrated circuit technology and microwave electronics technology and has a variety of advantages such as high linearity, high gain, high voltage endurance, great output power, good thermal stability, high efficiency, good broadband matching property and high compatibility with MOS technology. Moreover, it is commercially available at a much lower price than gallium-arsenide (GaAs) devices. All of these advantages make the RF LDMOS device a very competitive power device that has been widely used as a power amplifier for Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Personal Communications Service (PCS) and Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) base stations and in wireless broadcasting, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and many other applications.
To design a good RF LDMOS device, it is generally required that the device has both a low on-resistance and a high breakdown voltage. In addition, as a gate-drain capacitance of the device determines its cut-off frequency, it is also required to have a gate-drain capacitance as low as applicable. A high breakdown voltage ensures a high operational stability for the device. For example, an RF LDMOS having a working voltage of 50 V is typically required to have a breakdown voltage of not lower than 110 V. Moreover, the on-resistance Rdson of an RF LDMOS device is directly related to its output power, gain and other properties.
Moreover, a heavily doped n-type source region 24 is formed in an upper portion of the p-type well 11.
A heavily doped n-type drain region 21 is formed in a right portion of the lightly doped n-type drain region 12.
Both the heavily doped n-type source region 24 and the heavily doped n-type drain region 21 have a higher n-type dopant concentration than the lightly doped n-type drain region 12.
A contact column 13 is connected to a left edge of the p-type well 11.
The contact column 13 is further extending downwards into the p-type substrate 1.
A heavily doped p-type region 22 is formed in an upper portion of the p-type well 11 left to the heavily doped n-type source region 24. The heavily doped p-type region 22 is connected to the contact column 13 and has a higher p-type dopant concentration than the p-type well 11.
A gate oxide layer 14 is covering both an upper portion of the p-type well 11 right to the heavily doped n-type source region 24 and a portion of the p-type epitaxial 10 between the p-type well 11 and the lightly doped n-type drain region 12.
A polysilicon gate 15 is covering the gate oxide layer 14.
An oxide layer 16 is covering both the polysilicon gate 15 and a left portion of the lightly doped n-type drain region 12.
Furthermore, a right portion of the oxide layer 16 is covered by a Faraday shield 17.
In a common RF LDMOS device, a lightly doped drift (LDD) region is formed at the end of the drain region to provide a high breakdown voltage BV of the device. However, the relatively low doping concentration of the lightly doped n-type drain region 12 will lead to a high on-resistance Rdson of the device. The Faraday shield 17 functions to reduce the feedback gate-drain capacitance Cgd. In addition, as the Faraday shield 17 is kept at zero electric potential during the operation of the device, it can further function as a field plate. Thus, modification of its length or the thickness of the underlying dielectric layer can result in a certain reduction of a surface electric field and hence an increase in the breakdown voltage of the device. Additionally, the length or thickness modification can also facilitate the prevention of hot carrier injection (HCl).
As shown in
Currently, in order to obtain an RF LDMOS device with a wider safe operating area (SOA), which are suited for high-voltage applications (i.e., at a working voltage of 50V), manufacturers generally adopt a Faraday shield with two or more metal layers. As shown in
The present invention is directed to provide an RF LDMOS device having a high breakdown voltage and can be fabricated in a simple way.
To achieve the above objective, there is provided a radio frequency (RF) laterally diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) device. The RF LDMOS device includes: a substrate; a p-type epitaxial layer on the substrate; a p-type well in a first portion of the p-type epitaxial layer; a lightly doped n-type drain region in a second portion of the p-type epitaxial layer and separated from the p-type well; a gate oxide layer covering a portion of the p-type well and a portion of the p-type epitaxial layer between the p-type well and the lightly doped n-type drain region; a polysilicon gate covering the gate oxide layer; a dielectric layer covering the polysilicon gate and a portion of the lightly doped n-type drain region; and a Faraday shield formed of a single metal layer and comprising: a horizontal portion covering a portion of the polysilicon gate and isolated from the polysilicon gate by the dielectric layer; a step-like portion covering a portion of the lightly doped n-type drain region and isolated from the lightly doped n-type drain region by the dielectric layer, the step-like portion having a step-like top surface with at least two step portions and a height of the at least two step portions increasing progressively in a direction from the p-type well to the lightly doped n-type drain region; and a vertical portion connecting the horizontal portion with the step-like portion, the vertical portion being isolated from the polysilicon gate and the lightly doped n-type drain region by the dielectric layer.
In one specific embodiment, the RF LDMOS device may further include: a heavily doped n-type source region in an upper portion of the p-type well; and a heavily doped n-type drain region in the lightly doped n-type drain region and proximate to an edge of the lightly doped n-type drain region that is farther from the gate oxide layer, wherein both the heavily doped n-type source region and the heavily doped n-type drain region have an n-type dopant concentration higher than an n-type dopant concentration of the lightly doped n-type drain region.
In another embodiment, the step-like portion has a step-like top surface with two step portions and a height of the two step portions increases progressively in a direction from the p-type well to the lightly doped n-type drain region.
In another embodiment, the step-like portion has a step-like top surface with three step portions and a height of the three step portions increases progressively in a direction from the p-type well to the lightly doped n-type drain region.
In another embodiment, a portion of the dielectric layer between a first step portion nearest to the gate oxide layer and the lightly doped n-type drain region has a thickness of 10 nm to 800 nm, wherein a portion of the dielectric layer between a former step portion and the lightly doped n-type drain region has a thickness of 10 nm to 100 nm smaller than a thickness of a portion of the dielectric layer between a latter step portion and the lightly doped n-type drain region, and wherein each step portion of the step-like portion has a length of 0.01 μm to 3 μm.
To achieve the above objective, there is also provided a method of fabricating a radio frequency (RF) laterally diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) device. The method includes the steps of: providing a substrate; forming a p-type epitaxial layer over the substrate; forming a p-type well in a first portion of the p-type epitaxial layer; forming a lightly doped n-type drain region in a second portion of the p-type epitaxial layer, the lightly doped n-type drain region being separated from the p-type well; forming a gate oxide layer and a polysilicon gate, the gate oxide layer covering a portion of the p-type well and a portion of the p-type epitaxial layer between the p-type well and the lightly doped n-type drain region, the polysilicon gate covering the gate oxide layer; depositing a dielectric layer over the polysilicon gate and a portion of the lightly doped n-type drain region; and forming a Faraday shield, the Faraday shield including: a horizontal portion covering a portion of the polysilicon gate and isolated from the polysilicon gate by the dielectric layer; a step-like portion covering a portion of the lightly doped n-type drain region and isolated from the lightly doped n-type drain region by the dielectric layer, the step-like portion having a step-like top surface with at least two step portions and a height of the at least two step portions increasing progressively in a direction from the p-type well to the lightly doped n-type drain region; and a vertical portion connecting the horizontal portion with the step-like portion, the vertical portion being isolated from the polysilicon gate and the lightly doped n-type drain region by the dielectric layer.
The Faraday shield formed of a single metal layer with a step-like shape enables the RF LDMOS device of the present invention to have a similar performance to an RF LDMOS device employing a Faraday shield formed of multiple metal layers in attaining a high breakdown voltage while keeping the on-resistance and gate-drain capacitance unchanged. Moreover, compared to the complicated fabrication of the Faraday shield formed of multiple metal layers, the Faraday shield formed of a single metal layer with a step-like shape can be fabricated in a simpler way which results in the reduction of at least one dielectric layer deposition process, one metal layer deposition process and one metal etching processes. Therefore, the present invention not only ensures a high breakdown voltage and a high reliability for an RF LDMOS device, but also enables the device to be fabricated in a simple way.
Accompanying drawings for further describing principles of the present invention will be briefly described below. What is depicted by the accompanying drawings taken as reference in the following detailed description are only several non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make other similar drawings in light of the accompanying drawings without exerting creative efforts.
Exemplary embodiments are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings so that this disclosure will be thorough and fully understood. The embodiments described herein are only some exemplary embodiments rather than all embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments made without exerting creative efforts by those skilled in the art in light of principles of the exemplary embodiments are considered to be within the scope of the present invention.
The Faraday shield 17 is comprised of a single metal layer including a horizontal portion 171, a step-like portion 172 and a vertical portion 173. The vertical portion 173 is right to the polysilicon gate 15 and has its upper and lower ends joined with a right end of the horizontal portion 171 and a left end of the step-like portion 172, respectively. The horizontal portion 171 has its left end situated above the polysilicon gate 15. The step-like portion 172 is situated above the lightly doped n-type drain region 12. A portion of the dielectric layer 16 is sandwiched between the Faraday shield 17 and the polysilicon gate 15 and the rest portion is sandwiched between the Faraday shield 17 and the lightly doped n-type drain region 12. The step-like portion 172 has a step-like shape which increases its height from the left to the right.
The step-like portion 172 has a plurality of step portions.
Preferably, a portion of the dielectric layer 16 between the first step portion that is nearest to the polysilicon gate 15 and the lightly doped n-type drain region 12 has a thickness T0 of 10 nm to 800 nm; a difference between the thickness TO and a thickness of a portion of the dielectric layer 16 between the second step portion and the lightly doped n-type drain region 12 is of 10 nm to 100 nm; each step portion has a length (e.g., in the embodiment of
Referring to
Both the heavily doped n-type drain region 21 and the heavily doped n-type source region 24 have a higher n-type dopant concentration than the lightly doped n-type drain region 12.
In this embodiment, a gate oxide layer 14 covers a portion of the p-type well 11 right to the heavily doped n-type source region 24 and a portion of the p-type epitaxial layer 10 between the p-type well 11 and the lightly doped n-type drain region 12.
Moreover, a polysilicon gate 15 is covering the gate oxide layer 14.
In this embodiment, the RF LDMOS device of Embodiment 1 is fabricated in a method including the following steps.
Turning now to
In a second step, a dielectric layer 16 (e.g., a silicon oxide layer) is deposited over the resulting structure from the first step. Preferably, the dielectric layer 16 has a thickness of 10 nm to 1000 nm.
In a third step, an area where the step-like portion 172 with two or more step portions to be formed is defined on a portion of the dielectric layer 16 covering a left portion of the lightly doped n-type drain region 12 using photoresist.
Preferably, the distance S2 between the left edge of the step-like portion 172 and the nearest edge of the polysilicon gate 15 is 0.001 μm to 0.3 μm.
In a fourth step, a portion of the dielectric layer 16 that covers a left portion of the lightly doped n-type drain region 12 is etched into a step-like structure with two or more step portions increasing their height from the left to the right.
Preferably, the first step portion that is nearest to the polysilicon gate 15 has a thickness T0 of 10 nm to 800 nm; portions of the dielectric layer below two adjacent step portions have a thickness difference of 10 nm to 100 nm; and each step portion has a length (e.g., in the embodiment of
In a fifth step, the photoresist is removed and a metal layer is deposited over the resulting structure. Preferably, the metal layer has a thickness of 0.01 μm to 3 μm.
In a sixth step, a portion of the metal layer is removed using a photolithography and etching process such that the rest portion that covers a right portion of the polysilicon gate 15 and the entire step-like structure serves as the Faraday shield 17. Preferably, the portion of the remaining portion of the metal layer that covers the right portion of the polysilicon gate 15 has a length Si of 0 μm to 1 μm.
In a seventh step, subsequent processes are carried out to complete the RF LDMOS device.
In this embodiment, the first step of the method of Embodiment 3 includes the following steps:
1) growing the p-type epitaxial layer 10 over a p-type substrate;
2) forming the p-type well 11 in the p-type epitaxial layer 10 by p-type ion implantation followed by high-temperature drive-in (i.e., ion activation);
3) growing the gate oxide layer 14 over the p-type epitaxial layer 10;
4) depositing polysilicon over the gate oxide layer 14;
5) defining an area where the polysilicon gate 15 is to be formed using photoresist in such a manner that a left portion of the defined area covers a right portion of the p-type well 11, and removing a portion of each of the gate oxide layer 14 and polysilicon 15 deposited out of the defined area;
6) as shown in
7) defining areas where a heavily doped n-type source region 24 and a heavily doped n-type drain region 21 are to be formed, respectively, using photolithography and forming the heavily doped n-type source region 24 right to the lightly doped n-type source region 18 and the heavily doped n-type drain region 21 in a right portion of the lightly doped n-type drain region 12 using n-type ion implantation.
In a breakdown voltage measurement carried out to an RF LDMOS device constructed in accordance with the present invention, the metal layer of the Faraday shield, the source and the gate of the device are all grounded and a drain voltage is scanned. In this set-up, the metal layer functions as a field plate, which causes an electric field at a surface under an edge of the step-like portion of the metal layer to be increased, thereby resulting in reduction of an electric field around an edge of the gate.
The Faraday shield formed of a single metal layer with a step-like shape enables the RF LDMOS device of the present invention to have a similar performance with an RF LDMOS device employing a Faraday shield formed of multiple metal layers in attaining a high breakdown voltage while keeping the on-resistance and gate-drain capacitance unchanged. Moreover, compared to the complicated fabrication of the Faraday shield formed of multiple metal layers, the Faraday shield formed of a single metal layer with a step-like shape of the present invention can be fabricated in a simpler way which results in the elimination of at least one dielectric layer deposition process, one metal layer deposition process and one metal etching processes. Therefore, the present invention not only ensures a high breakdown voltage and a high reliability for an RF LDMOS device, but also enables the device to be fabricated in a simple way.
While preferred embodiments are described and illustrated herein, they are not intended to limit the invention in any way. Various alternatives, modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention embraces all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the true scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201210287201.5 | Aug 2012 | CN | national |
