Latch-up resistant bipolar transistor with trench IGFET and buried collector

US5488236A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• North Carolina State University · US

Inventors

• B. Jayant Baliga · Schenectady, US
• Jacek Korec · San Jose, US

Key dates

• Filing date: May 26, 1994
• Grant date: Jan 30, 1996
• Expiry date: May 26, 2014

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H10D62/393

Abstract

A gate-controlled bipolar transistor with buried collector includes a wide base bipolar transistor in a semiconductor substrate having a trench at a face thereof. A dual-channel insulated-gate field effect transistor (IGFET) is also included adjacent a sidewall of the trench for providing gated turn-on and turn-off control of the bipolar transistor. The bipolar transistor includes a buried collector region at a bottom of the trench, which is electrically connected to a cathode contact at the face. An emitter of the transistor is electrically connected to an anode contact at an opposing face of the substrate. For turn-on, the base of the bipolar transistor is electrically connected to the cathode contact upon the application of a gate bias signal to the IGFET. By electrically connecting the base to the cathode contact, forward conduction can be established once the anode contact is appropriately biased relative to the cathode contact. Latch-up can also be prevented by using the buried collector region as a diverter region to prevent the regenerative conduction between P--N--P--N coupled regions of the transistor.