Robust reliability and electrical performances by the bulk-contact modulation in 60-V p-channel LDMOS power components

Abstract

ABSTRACTTo increase reliability and electrical performance, shallow-trench isolation (STI) (or called field-oxide (FOX)) structures were inserted in the bulk-contact region of 60-V high-voltage p-channel lateral-diffused MOSFET (pLDMOS) devices in this study. As the FOX ratio increased with the addition of FOX segments, the value of the secondary breakdown current (It2) was enhanced. Therefore, the anti-electrostatic discharge ability of a pLDMOS device can be efficiently improved using this novel method. In addition, when the weighting ratio of FOX structures increased, variation values in the trigger voltage (Vt1) and holding voltage (Vh) of the corresponding samples remained within the range of approximately 1–4 V. The Ron value decreased because of more uniform conduction. The experimental data for the FOX structures added to the bulk revealed that the It2 value was improved by approximately 13.98%, Vh values were greater than 60 V (which is favorable for latch-up immunity), and the Ron value was decreased by approximately 12.62% compared with a reference device under test (without FOX segments in the bulk-contact region).