There are disclosed herein various implementations of an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) with buried depletion electrode. Such an IGBT may include a collector at a bottom surface of a semiconductor substrate, a drift region having a first conductivity type situated over the collector, and a base layer having a second conductivity type opposite the first conductivity type situated over the drift region. The IGBT also includes a plurality of deep insulated trenches with a buried depletion electrode and at least one gate electrode disposed therein. In addition, the IGBT includes an active cell including an emitter adjacent the gate electrode, and an implant zone, situated between adjacent deep insulated trenches. The implant zone is formed below the base layer and has the first conductivity type. In one implementation, the IGBT may also include a dummy cell neighboring the active cell.

A termination region of an IGBT is described, in which surface p-rings are combined with oxide/polysilicon-filled trenches, buried p-rings and surface field plates, so as to obtain an improved distribution of potential field lines in the termination region. The combination of surface ring termination and deep ring termination offers a significant reduction in the amount silicon area which is required for the termination region.

A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor body with a first surface, a contact electrode arranged on the first surface, and a passivation layer on the first surface adjacent the contact electrode. The passivation layer includes a layer stack with an amorphous semi-insulating layer on the first surface, a first nitride layer on the amorphous semi-insulating layer, and a second nitride layer on the first nitride layer.

An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device capable of eliminating unevenness of current distribution in a plane. A semiconductor device according to the present invention is a semiconductor device including a transistor cell region where a plurality of transistor cells is arranged on a semiconductor substrate, the semiconductor device including an electrode pad which is arranged avoiding the transistor cell region on the semiconductor substrate and is electrically connected to a one-side current electrode of each of the cells, in which the transistor cell region contains a plurality of regions each of which has a different current drive capability from each other depending on a distance from the electrode pad.

A method of producing a semiconductor device includes providing a semiconductor body having a front side 10-1 and a back side, wherein the semiconductor body includes a drift region having dopants of a first conductivity type and a body region having dopants of a second conductivity type complementary to the first conductivity type, a transition between the drift region and the body region forming a pn-junction. The method further comprises: creating a contact groove in the semiconductor body, the contact groove extending into the body region along a vertical direction pointing from the front side to the back side; and filling the contact groove at least partially by epitaxially growing a semiconductor material within the contact groove, wherein the semiconductor material has dopants of the second conductivity type.

A method of processing a semiconductor device is presented. The method includes providing a semiconductor body; forming a trench within the semiconductor body, the trench having a stripe configuration and extending laterally within an active region of the semiconductor body that is surrounded by a non-active region of the semiconductor body; forming, within the trench, a first electrode and a first insulator insulating the first electrode from the semiconductor body; carrying out a first etching step for partially removing the first electrode along the total lateral extension of the first electrode such that the remaining part of the first electrode has a planar surface, thereby creating a well in the trench that is laterally confined by the first insulator; depositing a second insulator on top the planar surface; and forming a second electrode within the well of the trench. The second insulator insulates the second electrode from the first electrode.

A power semiconductor transistor includes a semiconductor body coupled to a load terminal, a drift region, a first trench extending into the semiconductor body and including a control electrode electrically insulated from the semiconductor body by an insulator, a source region arranged laterally adjacent to a sidewall of the first trench and electrically connected to the load terminal, a channel region arranged laterally adjacent to the same trench sidewall as the source region, a second trench extending into the semiconductor body, and a guidance zone electrically connected to the load terminal and extending deeper into the semiconductor body than the first trench. The guidance zone is adjacent the opposite sidewall of the first trench as the source region and adjacent one sidewall of the second trench. In a section arranged deeper than the bottom of the first trench, the guidance zone extends laterally towards the channel region.

A semiconductor device comprising a source region being electrically connected to a first load terminal (E) of the semiconductor device and a drift region comprising a first semiconductor material (M1) having a first band gap, the drift region having dopants of a first conductivity type and being configured to carry at least a part of a load current between the first load terminal (E) and a second load terminal (C) of the semiconductor device, is presented. The semiconductor device further comprises a semiconductor body region having dopants of a second conductivity type complementary to the first conductivity type and being electrically connected to the first load terminal (E), a transition between the semiconductor body region and the drift region forming a pn-junction, wherein the pn-junction is configured to block a voltage applied between the first load terminal (E) and the second load terminal (C). The semiconductor body region isolates the source region from the drift region and includes a reduced band gap zone comprising a second semiconductor material (M2) having a second band gap that is smaller than the first band gap, wherein the reduced band gap zone is arranged in the semiconductor body region such that the reduced band gap zone and the source region exhibit, in a cross-section along a vertical direction (Z), at least one of a common lateral extension range (LR) along a first lateral direction (X) and a common vertical extension range (VR) along the vertical direction (Z).

A semiconductor device includes a source metallization, a source region of a first conductivity type in contact with the source metallization, a body region of a second conductivity type which is adjacent to the source region. The semiconductor device further includes a first field-effect structure including a first insulated gate electrode and a second field-effect structure including a second insulated gate electrode which is electrically connected to the source metallization. The capacitance per unit area between the second insulated gate electrode and the body region is larger than the capacitance per unit area between the first insulated gate electrode and the body region.

A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor body with transistor cells arranged in an active area and absent in an edge area between the active area and a side surface. A field dielectric adjoins a first surface of the semiconductor body and separates, in the edge area, a conductive structure connected to gate electrodes of the transistor cells from the semiconductor body. The field dielectric includes a transition from a first vertical extension to a second, greater vertical extension. The transition is in the vertical projection of a non-depletable extension zone in the semiconductor body, wherein the non-depletable extension zone has a conductivity type of body/anode zones of the transistor cells and is electrically connected to at least one of the body/anode zones.