Passivation of wide band-gap based semiconductor devices with hydrogen-free sputtered nitrides
US7525122B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 29, 2005 |
| Grant date | Apr 28, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 29, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH10D62/8503
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A passivated semiconductor structure and associated method are disclosed. The structure includes a silicon carbide substrate or layer; an oxidation layer on the silicon carbide substrate for lowering the interface density between the silicon carbide substrate and the thermal oxidation layer; a first sputtered non-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer on the thermal oxidation layer for reducing parasitic capacitance and minimizing device trapping; a second sputtered non-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer on the first layer for positioning subsequent passivation layers further from the substrate without encapsulating the structure; a sputtered stoichiometric silicon nitride layer on the second sputtered layer for encapsulating the structure and for enhancing the hydrogen barrier properties of the passivation layers; and a chemical vapor deposited environmental barrier layer of stoichiometric silicon nitride for step coverage and crack prevention on the encapsulant layer.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.