Trench Separation Diffusion for High Voltage Device

Abstract

A manufacturable and economically viable edge termination structure allows a semiconductor device to withstand a very high reverse blocking voltage (for example, 8500 volts) without suffering breakdown. A P type peripheral aluminum diffusion region extends around the bottom periphery of a thick die. The peripheral aluminum diffusion region extends upward from the bottom surface of the die, extending into N type bulk silicon. A deep peripheral trench extends around the upper periphery of the die. The deep trench extends from the topside of the die down toward the peripheral aluminum diffusion region. A P type sidewall doped region extends laterally inward from the inner sidewall of the trench, and extends laterally outward from the outer sidewall of the trench. The P type sidewall doped region joins with the P type peripheral aluminum diffusion region, thereby forming a separation edge diffusion structure that surrounds the active area of the die.

Claims

1-20. (canceled)

21. A method of manufacture comprising: forming a peripheral aluminum diffused region of P type semiconductor material that extends upward into a semiconductor wafer from a bottom semiconductor surface of the wafer, wherein the semiconductor wafer is at least six hundred microns thick and is of N type bulk semiconductor material; forming a peripheral trench down into the semiconductor wafer from a top semiconductor surface of the wafer, wherein the peripheral trench has vertical inner sidewalls, vertical outer sidewalls, and a bottom, and wherein the peripheral aluminum diffused region and the peripheral trench extend around an active area of the wafer; forming a sidewall doped region of P type semiconductor material that extends laterally inwardly from the vertical inner sidewalls toward the active area, wherein the sidewall doped region of P type semiconductor material joins the peripheral aluminum region of P type semiconductor material so that P type semiconductor material extends contiguously and vertically a distance of at least six hundred microns from the top semiconductor surface of the wafer to the bottom semiconductor surface of the wafer; filling the peripheral trench with a solid trench fill material; and singulating the wafer thereby forming a semiconductor device die having outer edges, wherein the peripheral trench extends along a periphery of the semiconductor device die, wherein an amount of N type bulk semiconductor material is disposed between the peripheral trench and outer edges of the die, and wherein the peripheral aluminum diffused region extends upward from the bottom semiconductor surface a distance of at least one hundred microns into the semiconductor device die.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the peripheral aluminum diffused region extends laterally to the outer edges of the semiconductor device die.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising: applying a malleable foil to the bottom semiconductor surface of the wafer prior to the singulating of the wafer.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the bottom semiconductor surface of the semiconductor device die is not entirely planar but rather has a shallow peripheral groove.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the semiconductor device die comprises a semiconductor device, and wherein the semiconductor device has a forward blocking withstand voltage of at least 8000 volts and also has a reverse blocking withstand voltage of at least 8000 volts.

26. A method of manufacture comprising: forming a peripheral aluminum diffused region of P type semiconductor material that extends upward into a semiconductor wafer from a bottom semiconductor surface of the wafer, wherein the semiconductor wafer is at least six hundred microns thick and is of N type bulk semiconductor material; forming a peripheral trench down into the semiconductor wafer from a top semiconductor surface of the wafer, wherein the peripheral trench has vertical inner sidewalls, vertical outer sidewalls, and a bottom, and wherein the peripheral aluminum diffused region and the peripheral trench extend around an active area of the wafer; forming a sidewall doped region of P type semiconductor material that extends laterally inwardly from the vertical inner sidewalls toward the active area, wherein the sidewall doped region of P type semiconductor material joins the peripheral aluminum region of P type semiconductor material so that P type semiconductor material extends contiguously and vertically a distance of at least eight hundred microns from the top semiconductor surface of the wafer to the bottom semiconductor surface of the wafer; filling the peripheral trench with a solid trench fill material; and singulating the wafer thereby forming a semiconductor device die having outer edges, wherein the peripheral trench extends along a periphery of the semiconductor device die, wherein an amount of N type bulk semiconductor material is disposed between the peripheral trench and outer edges of the die, and wherein the peripheral aluminum diffused region extends upward from the bottom semiconductor surface a distance of at least one hundred microns into the semiconductor device die.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the peripheral aluminum diffused region extends laterally to the outer edges of the semiconductor device die.

28. The method of claim 26, further comprising: applying a malleable foil to the bottom semiconductor surface of the wafer prior to the singulating of the wafer.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein the bottom semiconductor surface of the semiconductor device die is not entirely planar but rather has a shallow peripheral groove.

30. The method of claim 26, wherein the semiconductor device die comprises a semiconductor device, and wherein the semiconductor device has a forward blocking withstand voltage of at least 8000 volts and also has a reverse blocking withstand voltage of at least 8000 volts.

31. A method of manufacture comprising: forming a peripheral aluminum diffused region of P type semiconductor material that extends upward into a semiconductor wafer from a bottom semiconductor surface of the wafer; forming a peripheral trench down into the semiconductor wafer from a top semiconductor surface of the wafer, wherein the peripheral trench has vertical inner sidewalls, vertical outer sidewalls, and a bottom, and wherein the peripheral aluminum diffused region and the peripheral trench extend around an active area of the wafer; forming a sidewall doped region of P type semiconductor material that extends from the vertical inner sidewalls toward the active area; filling the peripheral trench with a solid trench fill material; and singulating the wafer thereby forming a semiconductor device die having outer edges, wherein the peripheral trench extends along a periphery of the semiconductor device die, and wherein an amount of N type bulk semiconductor material is disposed between the peripheral trench and outer edges of the die.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein a diffusion time required to form the peripheral aluminum diffused region of P type semiconductor material is less than two hundred hours.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the peripheral trench extends downward from the top semiconductor surface a distance A, and wherein the distance A is more than half of the semiconductor device die thickness.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein the sidewall doped region of P type semiconductor material joins the peripheral aluminum region of P type semiconductor material so that P type semiconductor material extends from the top semiconductor surface of the wafer to the bottom semiconductor surface of the wafer.

35. The method of claim 31, wherein the semiconductor wafer is at least six hundred microns thick, and wherein the semiconductor wafer is of N type bulk semiconductor material.

36. The method of claim 31, wherein the peripheral aluminum diffused region extends upward from the bottom semiconductor surface a distance of at least one hundred microns into the semiconductor device die.

37. The method of claim 31, wherein the peripheral aluminum diffused region extends laterally to the outer edges of the semiconductor device die.

38. The method of claim 31, further comprising: applying a malleable foil to the bottom semiconductor surface of the wafer prior to the singulating of the wafer.

39. The method of claim 31, wherein the bottom semiconductor surface of the semiconductor device die has a shallow peripheral groove.

40. The method of claim 31, wherein the semiconductor device die comprises a semiconductor device, wherein the semiconductor device has a forward blocking withstand voltage of at least 8000 volts, and wherein the semiconductor device has a reverse blocking withstand voltage of at least 8000 volts.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings, where like numerals indicate like components, illustrate embodiments of the invention.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view diagram of a power semiconductor device die 1 in accordance with one novel aspect.

[0012] FIG. 2 shows an edge portion of the structure of FIG. 1 in more detail.

[0013] FIG. 3 shows a step, in a method of manufacturing the power semiconductor device die of FIG. 1, of depositing and patterning aluminum.

[0014] FIG. 3A is a view of the bottom surface of the wafer during the method of manufacturing the power semiconductor device die of FIG. 1, where the diagram shows the aluminum mesh-like grid that underlies the scribe areas at what will be the edges of the dice.

[0015] FIG. 4 shows a step, in the method of manufacturing the power semiconductor device die of FIG. 1, of converting aluminum into aluminum oxide.

[0016] FIG. 5 shows a step, in the method of manufacturing the power semiconductor device die of FIG. 1, of diffusing aluminum into the wafer.

[0017] FIG. 6 shows a step, in the method of manufacturing the power semiconductor device die of FIG. 1, of removing the aluminum oxide.

[0018] FIG. 7 shows a step, in the method of manufacturing the power semiconductor device die of FIG. 1, of removing silicon oxide from the wafer.

[0019] FIG. 8 shows a step, in the method of manufacturing the power semiconductor device die of FIG. 1, of diffusing boron into the bottom surface of the wafer.

[0020] FIG. 9 shows a step, in the method of manufacturing the power semiconductor device die of FIG. 1, of formed trenches down into the wafer.

[0021] FIG. 9A is a view of the top surface of the wafer during the method of manufacturing the power semiconductor device die of FIG. 1, where the diagram shows trenches surrounding active areas.

[0022] FIG. 10 shows a step, in the method of manufacturing the power semiconductor device die of FIG. 1, of diffusing boron into the trench sidewalls.

[0023] FIG. 11 shows a step, in the method of manufacturing the power semiconductor device die of FIG. 1, of filling the trenches and planarizing the top of the wafer.

[0024] FIG. 12 shows the result of several more steps of the method of manufacturing the power semiconductor device die of FIG. 1, of forming topside structures on the wafer.

[0025] FIG. 13 shows a step, in the method of manufacturing the power semiconductor device die of FIG. 1, of singulating the power semiconductor device die of FIG. 1 from the wafer by cutting the wafer along scribe lines.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] Reference will now be made in detail to background examples and some embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the description and claims below, when a first object is referred to as being disposed over or on a second object, it is to be understood that the first object can be directly on the second object, or an intervening object may be present between the first and second objects. Similarly, terms such as upper, top, up, upward, down, downward, vertically, horizontally, laterally, lower, under, below, beneath and bottom are used herein to describe relative orientations between different parts of the structure being described, and it is to be understood that the overall structure being described can actually be oriented in any way in three-dimensional space. When processing is described in the description below as being performed on the bottom of the wafer, such as for example when dopants are said to diffuse upward, it is understood the wafer may actually be oriented upside down during these processing steps, and may be processed from the top in ordinary fashion.

[0027] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view diagram of a power semiconductor device die 1 in accordance with one novel aspect. The die 1 has a rectangular top surface, a rectangular bottom surface, and four peripheral side edges. Two of the side edges 2 and 3 are illustrated in the cross-sectional diagram. A high reverse blocking voltage thyristor that can withstand a very high 8500 volt blocking voltage in both the forward direction and in the reverse direction is realized in the active area of the die. The thyristor is a three terminal device that has a metal cathode terminal 4, a metal gate terminal (not seen in the particular cross-section of the diagram), and a metal anode terminal 5. The metal cathode terminal 4 contacts an N+ type cathode region 6. The N+ type cathode region 6 extends downward from the top semiconductor surface 7 into a P type gate region 8. The P type gate region 8 in turn extends down into the bulk silicon material 9 of the die, which is of N type silicon. Extending upward from the bottom semiconductor surface 10 into the N type bulk semiconductor material 9 is a P type anode region 11. The bottom semiconductor surface 10 is not entirely planar but rather has a very shallow peripheral groove 27. The shallow peripheral groove of the bottom surface 10 extends along the periphery of the die. Backside metal of the metal anode terminal 5 contacts the P type anode region 11 as shown.

[0028] In addition to these thyristor regions and terminals, the power semiconductor device die 1 includes edge termination structures. The edge termination structures include two P type floating rings 12 and 13, and an N+ type channel stopper ring 14. An optional metal ring plate 15 makes electrical contact with the channel stopper diffusion 14 below. The P type floating rings 12 and 13 extend down into the die from the top semiconductor surface 7 the same distance as does the P type gate region 8. The N+ type channel stopper diffusion 14 extends down into the die from the top semiconductor surface 7 the same distance as does the N+ type cathode region 6. A layer of passivation 16 covers over the peripheral guard rings and edge termination structures as illustrated. A field plate portion 17 of the metal cathode terminal 4 extends up and over a part of the passivation layer 16 around the periphery of the thyristor gate region. When the die 1 is considered from the top-down perspective, the rings 12 and 13 and the channel stopper 14 are concentric rings that surround the metal cathode terminal 4.

[0029] FIG. 2 shows an edge portion of the structure of FIG. 1 in more detail. A peripheral trench 18 extends downward into the die from the top semiconductor surface 7. The peripheral trench 18 has an inner sidewall 21, an outer sidewall 22, and a bottom 23. This peripheral trench 18 is peripheral in the sense that it extends along the rectangular periphery of the top surface of the rectangular die. The inner and outer sidewalls are vertical and extend downward substantially perpendicularly from the plane of the top semiconductor surface 7. An amount of the N type bulk semiconductor material 9 laterally rings the peripheral trench 18 such that N type semiconductor material is disposed between the peripheral trench and the peripheral side edges of the die. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a P type sidewall doped region 19 extends laterally inwardly from the inner sidewalls of the trench and also extends laterally outwardly from the outer sidewalls of the trench. A material fills the peripheral trench. This material may, for example, be silicon oxide or P type polysilicon or another suitable material that can fill a deep trench. Known techniques for filling trenches in trench IGBTs are employed.

[0030] A peripheral aluminum diffused region 20 of P type silicon is disposed under the peripheral trench 18. The peripheral aluminum diffused region 20 extends upward from the bottom semiconductor surface 10 toward the bottom of the peripheral trench, and also extends laterally outwardly to the peripheral side edges of the die. The dopant of the peripheral aluminum diffused region 20 is aluminum. In the illustration of FIG. 2, the peripheral aluminum diffused region 20 extends laterally to the right to die side edge 3. P type material of the peripheral aluminum diffused region 20 contacts and joins with P type material of the anode region 11 as shown. P type material of the peripheral aluminum region 20 also contacts and joins with P type material of the sidewall doped region 19 as shown. The crystal structure of the silicon at the side edges of the die is generally damaged at the time when the die is singulated from other dice when the source wafer is cut into dice. This is represented in FIG. 2 by the jagged edge labeled saw cut edge at scribe line.

[0031] In one novel aspect, the thyristor device in the active area has extremely high forward and reverse blocking voltage ratings of 8500 volts, and yet its peripheral separation diffusion structure is manufactured in an economically realistic amount of time of less than 200 hours. In order to be able to provide the very high reverse blocking withstand voltage rating of 8500 volts, the die thickness E between the bottom semiconductor surface 10 and the top semiconductor surface 7 is greater than 600 microns. In the example of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, distance E is 850 microns. The peripheral aluminum diffused region 20 extends upward from the bottom semiconductor surface 10 a distance B of at least 100 microns. Distance B is at least 100 microns, but it is less than half of the distance E. In the example of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, distance B is about 300 microns. The diffusion time required to diffuse the aluminum dopant up from semiconductor surface 10 into the die this distance B is less than 200 hours, and in the example of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is about 150 hours. The peripheral trench 18 extends downward into the die from the top semiconductor surface 7 a distance A such that the P type material of the sidewall doped region 19 joins the P type material of the peripheral aluminum doped region 11. In the example of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the distance A is more than half of the overall die thickness E and is about 600 microns. A substantial amount of diffusion time is required to form the sidewall doped region 19 to an adequate thickness as required for the 8500 volt reverse breakdown voltage device. The thickness C of the sidewall doped region 19 is at least 20 microns, and in the example of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 the thickness C of the sidewall doped region 19 is 50 microns. The diffusion time to form sidewall doped region 19 is about 80 hours. The width D of the peripheral trench 18 is about 100 microns. There is a distance F between the laterally outward limit of the sidewall doped region 19 and the die side edge 3. In the example of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, distance F is about 100 microns.

[0032] Although in the illustrated example of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 the device in the active area is a thyristor, the device in the active area in other examples is another type of device. For example, the device in the active in one example is a reverse blocking IGBT, and in another example is an inverse diode.

[0033] FIG. 3 through FIG. 13 set forth a method of making a semiconductor device die in accordance with one novel aspect. The initial starting wafer is of N type bulk silicon 9. As shown in FIG. 3, aluminum 24 is deposited on the bottom side of the wafer, and is patterned so that aluminum is disposed under the scribe regions. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken at location of a scribe line. The aluminum 24 appears as a cross-section of a strip at this location. FIG. 3A is view of the bottom of the wafer. As FIG. 3A shows, the aluminum 24 forms a mesh-like grid structure that underlies all the scribe line areas. The cross-sectional diagram of FIG. 3 is taken along sectional line A-A of FIG. 3A.

[0034] Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the mesh-like grid of aluminum 24 is converted into aluminum oxide 25. In one example, the wafer is heated in a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere, at a temperature of about 500 degrees Celsius, which is a temperature below the 660 degrees melting point of aluminum. As a result, the aluminum is oxidized without the aluminum first melting. Once oxidized, the resulting aluminum oxide 25 has a higher melting point in excess of two thousand degrees Celsius.

[0035] Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the temperature is then increased to about 1250 degrees Celsius. Under this high temperature condition, aluminum from the aluminum oxide 25 diffuses into the wafer. Silicon oxide 26 also grows on the exposed silicon surfaces on the top and bottom of the wafer. The high temperature condition is sustained long enough that the aluminum diffuses approximately 40 microns into the wafer, thereby forming peripheral aluminum diffused region 20. In one example, the diffusion time is about 70 hours. (Later in the process when boron regions are thermally diffused, this aluminum will diffuse an additional amount due to an additional 80 hours of diffusion time, for a total aluminum diffusion time of about 150 hours.)

[0036] Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the aluminum oxide 25 is chemically removed by underetching in a wet etch step using potassium hydroxide (KOH). A shallow groove 27 that is about 10 microns in depth remains where the aluminum oxide had been.

[0037] Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the silicon oxide layer 26 is removed in a wet etch cleaning step using hydrofluoric acid (HF). Alternatively, or in addition, chemical mechanical polishing is employed. The cleaning process removes all silicon oxide but may also remove an amount of semiconductor material (for example, it may remove one micron of silicon) from the bottom surface of the wafer.

[0038] Next, as shown in FIG. 8, boron is implanted and diffused into the bottom semiconductor surface and into the top semiconductor surface. At this point, P type anode region 11, front side P type region 8 and floating P rings 12 and 13 are about 20 microns thick.

[0039] Next, as shown in FIG. 9, vertical trenches 18 and 28 are formed down into the top semiconductor surface of the wafer to a depth of 600 microns. Reactive ion etching may be used. These trenches have vertical sidewalls, and are 100 microns wide. There is one such trench that extends around the active area of what will be each semiconductor device die. The cross-sections of two trenches 18 and 28 are seen in FIG. 9 because the cross-section of FIG. 9 cuts across the scribe area between what will be two adjacent dice. FIG. 9A shows the top of the wafer at this stage in processing. The cross-sectional diagram of FIG. 9 is taken along sectional line A-A of top-down diagram FIG. 9A. From the top-down perspective of FIG. 9A, each trench has a square shape. Trench 18 extends around active area 29. Trench 28 extends around active area 30.

[0040] Next, as shown in FIG. 10, a sidewall doping step is performed to diffuse boron into the trench sidewalls, thereby forming sidewall doped regions 19 and 31. Vapor phase diffusion of diborane or another suitable doping technique is employed. During this step, most of the top surface of the wafer is masked off with a thick layer of silicon oxide or other material to block dopants (not shown) so that boron is not also diffused down everywhere into the upper surface of the wafer at the time when regions 19 and 31 are formed.

[0041] Next, the boron dopants of all boron doped regions are thermally diffused further for about 80 hours more of diffusion time. This thermal step causes boron of sidewall doped regions 19 and 31 to diffuse further so that the sidewall doped regions 19 and 31 have their final desired sidewall depths of 50 microns, and causes boron of the anode region 11 to diffuse further upward to its final desired extent of 40 microns, and causes boron of the gate region 8 to diffuse down further to its final junction depth of 40 microns, and causes boron of the floating rings 12 and 13 to diffuse down to their final depths of 40 microns, and causes aluminum of region 20 to diffuse further upward to its final desired extent of 300 microns.

[0042] Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the trenches are filled with a fill material 32, such as silicon oxide or P type polysilicon. After the deposition of the fill material, the upper semiconductor surface 7 of the wafer is planarized in a chemical mechanical polishing or mechanical grinding step.

[0043] FIG. 12 is a simplified cross-sectional diagram of the resulting wafer structure, shown here with floating ring structures, channel stopper structures, and metallization structures.

[0044] Next, as shown in FIG. 13, the wafer structure is then cut along the scribe lines into square semiconductor device dice. Advantageously, the top semiconductor surface of each die is square even though the devices have 8500 volt forward and reverse blocking voltages. Advantageously, the square die does not have termination edge bevels and the expense of providing such bevels is avoided. In the particular view of FIG. 13, the wafer is cut, such as using a mechanical saw 33 or using a laser, along the scribe line 34. The sawing may consume between 80 to 100 microns of silicon material. Prior to sawing, a malleable foil may be applied to the backside of the wafer in a hot roll process so that material of the foil is pressed into grooves in the bottom of the wafer to support the wafer material at the scribe line areas during sawing. Anode metal 5 may not be entirely planar at the bottom of the wafer, and the foil supports the wafer during sawing. An additional expensive step of planarizing the bottom semiconductor surface 10 of the wafer is thereby avoided, and the shallow peripheral groove 27 remains in each finished semiconductor device. Each of the resulting dice is as shown in the cross-sectional diagram of FIG. 1. The outward boundary of the sidewall doped region 19 is about 100 microns from the side edge of the die.

[0045] Although certain specific embodiments are described above for instructional purposes, the teachings of this patent document have general applicability and are not limited to the specific embodiments described above. Accordingly, various modifications, adaptations, and combinations of various features of the described embodiments can be practiced without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.