Design, Implementation, Modeling, and

Optimization of Next Generation Low-Voltage

Power MOSFETs

by

Abraham Yoo

A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
University of Toronto

Copyright by Abraham Yoo 2010

Design, Implementation, Modeling, and Optimization of Next

Generation Low-Voltage Power MOSFETs
Abraham Yoo
Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
University of Toronto
2010

Abstract
In this thesis, next generation low-voltage integrated power semiconductor devices are
proposed and analyzed in terms of device structure and layout optimization techniques.
Both approaches strive to minimize the power consumption of the output stage in DC-DC
converters.
In the first part of this thesis, we present a low-voltage CMOS power transistor layout
technique, implemented in a 0.25m, 5 metal layer standard CMOS process. The hybrid
waffle (HW) layout was designed to provide an effective trade-off between the width of
diagonal source/drain metal and the active device area, allowing more effective
optimization between switching and conduction losses. In comparison with conventional
layout schemes, the HW layout exhibited a 30% reduction in overall on-resistance with
3.6 times smaller total gate charge for CMOS devices with a current rating of 1A.
Integrated DC-DC buck converters using HW output stages were found to have higher
efficiencies at switching frequencies beyond multi-MHz.

ii

In the second part of the thesis, we present a CMOS-compatible lateral superjunction

FINFET (SJ-FINFET) on a SOI platform. One drawback associated with low-voltage SJ
devices is that the on-resistance is not only strongly dependent on the drift doping
concentration but also on the channel resistance as well. To resolve the issue, a SJFINFET structure consisting of a 3D trench gate and SJ drift region was developed to
minimize both channel and drift resistances. Several prototype devices were fabricated in
a 0.5m CMOS compatible process with nine masking layers. In comparison with
conventional SJ-LDMOSFETs, the fabricated SJ-FINFETs demonstrated approximately
30% improvement in Ron,sp. This is a positive indication that the SJ-FINFET can become
a competitive power device for sub-100V rating applications.

iii

Acknowledgements
First of all, I would like to thank Prof. Wai Tung Ng for his supervision,
encouragement, and invaluable counsel throughout my Ph.D. program. Without whose
presence my development as both a student and an individual would not have progressed
as rapidly. I wish to further acknowledge Prof. Johnny Sin (Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology) and Yasuhiko Onishi (Visiting Scientist from Fuji Electric
Corp.) who have contributed to my knowledge in the field, which better enabled me to
carry out and finish my research project on time.
I would like to express appreciation to all the members in the Smart Power Integration
& Semiconductor Devices Research Group for their fruitful discussions over the course
of this research, particularly M. Chang, O. Trescases, H. Wang, E. Xu, G. Wei, and Q.
Fung. I would also like to express my appreciation to all the staff in Nanoelectronic
Fabrication Facility (NFF) at HKUST who provided me with various IC fabrication
support.
Financial support from the University of Toronto Open Fellowship, the Natural
Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Auto21 Network of
Centres of Excellence of Canada are gratefully acknowledged.
Lastly, I would like to extend my appreciation to my wife, Mia Yoo for her patience,
consideration and support during the past four years. She has been wonderful and a true
partner. Also, special thanks to my mother and parents-in-law for their constant support
and encouragement throughout the studies.

iv

Table of Contents
Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. v
List of Tables .................................................................................................................. viii
List of Figures ................................................................................................................... ix
List of Glossary .............................................................................................................. xiv
List of Symbols ............................................................................................................... xvi
Chapter 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Technology and Market Trends in Power Semiconductors ...................................... 1
1.2 Advantages of Power MOSFET Devices ................................................................. 3
1.3 Application Fields for Current and Future Power MOSFETs .................................. 4
1.4 Thesis Objectives and Organization ......................................................................... 6
Chapter 2 Power MOSFETs a Brief Overview ........................................................... 7
2.1 Fundamentals of MOS Device .................................................................................. 7
2.2 Types of Power MOSFETs ..................................................................................... 11
2.2.1 Traditional Vertical Power MOSFETs ............................................................ 12
2.2.2 Traditional Lateral Power MOSFETs .............................................................. 14
2.3 CMOS-based Power MOSFETs ............................................................................. 18
2.3.1 Monolithic Integration: Standard CMOS Process ........................................... 18
2.3.2 CMOS Layout Techniques for Power Integrated Circuits ............................... 20
2.4 Super-Junction (SJ) Power MOSFETs ................................................................... 25
2.4.1 Device Concept and Characteristics ................................................................ 25
2.4.2 Current Status and Challenges of SJ Power MOSFETs .................................. 27
Chapter 3 Analytical Layout Modeling of Power MOSFET ...................................... 30
3.1 Analysis of Basic MOS Finger Structure................................................................ 30
3.2 Modeling of Conventional Multi-Finger (MF) Layout ........................................... 33

3.3 Modeling of Regular Waffle (RW) Layout ............................................................ 36

3.4 Proposed Hybrid Waffle (HW) Layout ................................................................... 38
3.4.1 Lfinger-Optimization of HW Layout Structure .................................................. 40
3.4.2 Performance Evaluation via FOM ................................................................... 42
3.4.3 Simulated Characteristics of Different Layout Structures ............................... 48
3.5 Summary ................................................................................................................. 53
Chapter 4 High Speed CMOS Output Stage for Integrated DC-DC Converter ...... 54
4.1 Output Stage Design based on 5V Hybrid Waffle Layout ..................................... 55
4.1.1 Design of Low-Side Switch: N-channel MOSFETs ........................................ 56
4.1.2 Design of High-Side Switch: P-channel MOSFETs ........................................ 59
4.1.3 Power Connection Routings ............................................................................ 61
4.1.4 ESD Protection, Power Clamp, and Guard Rings ............................................ 62
4.2 IC Fabrication and Packaging ................................................................................. 66
4.3 Test PCB Design ..................................................................................................... 68
4.4 Experimental Results and Discussion ..................................................................... 70
4.4.1 On-Resistance Measurements .......................................................................... 70
4.4.2 Gate-drive Loss Measurements ........................................................................ 75
4.4.3 Efficiency Measurements................................................................................. 77
4.5 Summary ................................................................................................................. 79
Chapter 5 Device Structure and Analysis of the SJ-FINFET on SOI ........................ 80
5.1 Device Structure and Operating Concept ............................................................... 81
5.2 Process Simulations ................................................................................................ 87
5.2.1 Simulation of P-body Formation ..................................................................... 87
5.2.2 Simulation of SJ-drift Formation ..................................................................... 89
5.2.3 Simulation of N+ Source/Drain Contact Formation ........................................ 91
5.3 Device Simulations ................................................................................................. 92
5.3.1 Mesh Structure and Grid Refinement .............................................................. 92
5.3.2 Off-State Simulations....................................................................................... 94
5.3.3 On-State Simulations ....................................................................................... 99

vi

5.4 Comparison with Conventional SJ-LDMOS and Si Limit ................................... 103

5.4.1 Specific On-Resistance and Mobility Profiles ............................................... 103
5.4.2 Electric Field Distribution.............................................................................. 105
5.4.3 Trade-off Relationship between Ron,sp and BV .............................................. 108
5.5 Summary ............................................................................................................... 109
Chapter 6 Device Fabrication and Characterization of the SJ-FINFET on SOI .... 110
6.1 Process Design Considerations ............................................................................. 110
6.2 SJ-FINFET in a 0.5m Standard CMOS Process Flow........................................ 116
6.3 Layout, Mask and Test Structures ........................................................................ 127
6.4 Experimental Results and Discussion ................................................................... 132
6.4.1 Transfer Characteristics ................................................................................. 133
6.4.2 Output Characteristics .................................................................................... 134
6.4.3 Specific On-Resistance for Different N/P Pillar Width Ratio ....................... 136
6.4.4 Breakdown Voltage for Different SJ-drift Regions ....................................... 137
6.4.5 Comparison with Fabricated SJ-LDMOSFETs ............................................. 138
6.5 Summary ............................................................................................................... 141
Chapter 7 Conclusions .................................................................................................. 142
References: ..................................................................................................................... 144
APPENDIX-I: Calculation Methods of Parasitic Resistors ...................................... 154
APPENDIX-II: Parameter Extractions for Power MOSFETs ................................. 157
APPENDIX-III: Process Flow of SJ-FINFET ............................................................ 160
List of Publication ......................................................................................................... 167

vii

List of Tables
Table 3.1 Data for different N N matrix of RW layout structures .................................. 36
Table 3.2 Data for different N N matrix of HW layout structures .................................. 38
Table 3.3 Parameter Summary of Trench-Gate Power MOSFETs................................... 42
Table 3.4 Parameter Summary of Lateral-Diffusion Power MOSFETs ........................... 42
Table 3.5 Efficiency Simulation Conditions: Conventional Power MOSFETs ............... 43
Table 3.6 Parameter Summary of CMOS-based Power MOSFETs ................................. 44
Table 3.7 Efficiency Simulation Conditions: CMOS-based Power MOSFETs ............... 44
Table 3.8 Simulation Data Summary of MF, RW, and HW Layout Structures ............... 52
Table 4.1 Target Specification .......................................................................................... 54
Table 4.2 Summary of 5V power MOSFETs with Hybrid Waffle Layout Structure ....... 55
Table 4.3 Package Description of the Integrated HW Output Stage ................................ 67
Table 4.4 Summary of on-resistance measurements......................................................... 71
Table 4.5 Data comparison between simulated and measured on-resistances.................. 75
Table 4.6 Summary of Gate-Drive Power Calculated from Measurements ..................... 76
Table 5.1: Parameters considered for both process and device simulations ..................... 86
Table 6.1 Parameters and specifications of the SOI wafer used in the fabrication ........ 111
Table 6.2 Summary of SJ-FINFET process parameters ................................................. 126
Table 6.3 Summary of SJ-FINFET layout design rules .................................................. 128
Table 6.4 SJ-FINFET Mask Information ........................................................................ 129

viii

List of Figures
Fig. 1.1 Evolution of power semiconductors. ..................................................................... 2
Fig. 1.2 Annual estimate and forecast of worldwide power semiconductor market........... 3
Fig. 1.3 Power device technologies and applications with respect to their voltages and
current ratings. ....................................................................................................... 5
Fig. 2.1 Basic Structure of a MOS transistor (n-type MOSFET) ....................................... 9
Fig. 2.2 An equivalent circuit for n-type MOSFET showing the parasitic capacitances and
resistances. ............................................................................................................. 9
Fig. 2.3 Types of Power Semiconductor Devices ............................................................. 11
Fig. 2.4 Structure of V-MOSFET. .................................................................................... 12
Fig. 2.5 Structure of DMOSFET....................................................................................... 13
Fig. 2.6 Structure of UMOSFET....................................................................................... 14
Fig. 2.7 Basic Structure of LDMOSFET .......................................................................... 15
Fig. 2.8 A RESURF LDMOSFET structure at full depletion ........................................... 17
Fig. 2.9 Functional elements of smart power technology ................................................. 18
Fig. 2.10 A conventional multi-finger (MF) layout structure ........................................... 21
Fig. 2.11 A modified version of MF layout structure with wider metal layers ................ 22
Fig. 2.12 A conventional Regular Waffle (RW) layout structure ..................................... 22
Fig. 2.13 Cross-section of a SJ-DMOSFET...................................................................... 26
Fig. 2.14 Ron,sp versus BV for different power device technologies [62-70]. ................... 29
Fig. 3.1 A basic MOS finger layout with simple interconnect resistive components. ...... 30
Fig. 3.2 (a) Two different MOS finger layouts with min. and max. metal-1 widths, ....... 31
Fig. 3.3 (a) Ron and (b) Ron,sp vs. Wtotal for different numbers of MOS fingers. ............... 32
Fig. 3.4 Conventional MF layout structure with parasitic resistors. ................................. 33
Fig. 3.5 A MF NMOS layout (10 MOS fingers) structure with minimum design rules. .. 35
Fig. 3.6 Corresponding schematic resistance model of the MF NMOS layout. ............... 35
Fig. 3.7 Schematic of (a) 4 4 regular waffle layout and (b) the corresponding resistance
model. .................................................................................................................. 37
Fig. 3.8 Hybrid waffle structure: (a) a layout and (b) a corresponding resistance model. 39
Fig. 3.9 Simulated Ron and Qg data for different Lfinger values of HW layouts. ................ 40

ix

Fig. 3.10 FOM-1 & FOM-2 versus different Lfinger of HW layout structures. .................. 41
Fig. 3.11 FOM vs. Efficiency for conventional power MOSFETs. .................................. 43
Fig. 3.12 Efficiency vs. Conventional FOM for CMOS-based Power MOSFETs. .......... 45
Fig. 3.13 Cross-sectional views of Trench-gate, LDMOS, and CMOS power MOSFETs.
............................................................................................................................ 45
Fig. 3.14 Efficiency vs. New FOM for CMOS-based Power MOSFETs. ........................ 48
Fig. 3.15 Gate charge characteristics of (a) MF and (b) HW layout structures ................ 49
Fig. 3.16 RON and QG plots as a function of MF, RF and HW layout active areas. .......... 50
Fig. 3.17 Comparison of power conversion efficiencies for both MF and HW layout
structures as a function of switching frequency and for different load currents:51
Fig. 4.1 Power MOSFET Output Stage: (a) Layout and (b) Schematic ........................... 55
Fig. 4.2 HW_NMOS unit-cell: (a) Active, (b) M1, (c) M2, (d) M3, (e) M4, and (f) M5. 56
Fig. 4.3 HW_NMOS unit-cell: (a) Layout and (b) Schematic (w/o parasitics) ................ 57
Fig. 4.4 Gate Segmentations of NMOS array: (a) layout and (b) schematic. ................... 58
Fig. 4.5 Layout comparison between segments: (a) Gate_N<6> and (b) Gate_N<0>. .... 58
Fig. 4.6 HW_PMOS unit-cell: (a) Active, (b) M1, (c) M2, (d) M3, (e) M4, and (f) M5 . 59
Fig. 4.7 Gate Segmentations of PMOS array: (a) layout and (b) schematic. .................... 60
Fig. 4.8 Layout comparison between segments: (a) Gate_P<0> and (b) Gate_P<6>. ..... 60
Fig. 4.9 Power Connection Routing Layouts: (a) M1-M3 and (b) M4-M5 layers. .......... 61
Fig. 4.10 Metal stress relief pattern on a routing metal wire. ........................................... 61
Fig. 4.11 2kV HBM and 400 MM ESD protection circuit, (a) layout (b) schematic. ...... 62
Fig. 4.12 ESD Protection Circuit Under Input Pad: (a) layout and (b) schematic. ........... 63
Fig. 4.13 Power Clamp, esd_nclamp5v_ 500p4U, (a) layout and (b) schematic. ............ 64
Fig. 4.14 p-type high resistance poly-resistor, rphripoly, (a) layout and (b) schematic. .. 65
Fig. 4.15 Seal and guard ring layout. ................................................................................ 65
Fig. 4.16 A micrograph of an integrated output stage using Hybrid Waffle layout in
TSMC 0.25m standard CMOS technology...................................................... 66
Fig. 4.17 A micrograph of source/drain metal runners (M3-M5). .................................... 67
Fig. 4.18 A micrograph of the packaged HW chip. .......................................................... 68
Fig. 4.19 a) System Overview and b) X-ray Image of QFN-12 package. ........................ 68
Fig. 4.20 Test PCB: (a) layout (silkscreen-view) and (b) photograph. ............................. 69

Fig. 4.21 Test circuits for on-resistance measurements: (a) NMOS and (b) PMOS ........ 70
Fig. 4.22 Measured on-resistance vs. # of segments at different voltage ratings. ............ 73
Fig. 4.23 Comparison between simulated and measured on-resistances: ......................... 74
Fig. 4.24 Total dynamic and gate-drive power measurements. ........................................ 76
Fig. 4.25 Measured power conversion efficiency of HW output stage with a test
conditions: fs = 6.25MHz, Vin = 2.7V, Vout = 1.8V, L = 2.2 H, and C = 100nF.
............................................................................................................................ 77
Fig. 4.26 10MHz switching characteristic at Iout = 158mA. ............................................. 78
Fig. 4.27 Measured power conversion efficiency of HW segmented output stage at
10MHz switching frequency: Vin = 3.6V, Vout = 1.8V, L = 1H, and C = 56nF.
............................................................................................................................ 78
Fig. 5.1 Basic idea of SJ-FINFET structure: (a) a fin-gate and (b) with a SJ-drift region 81
Fig. 5.2 (a) Overview of the proposed lateral SJ-FINFET structure and (b) Schematic
cross-sections along the cut-lines: A-A and B-B .............................................. 83
Fig. 5.3 Ideal device structure of the proposed SJ-FINFET. ............................................ 85
Fig. 5.4 P-body formation of the SJ-FINFET: (a) a trench formation by reactive ion
etching process, (b) after 45 tilted B+ ion implantation and thermal annealing
process, (c) a doping concentration profile along X-cut line at X=2, and (d) a
doping concentration profile along Y-cut at Y=-3. ............................................. 88
Fig. 5.5 P-pillar formation of the SJ-FINFET structure: (a)-(d) are the cross-sections
along the B-B cut line after 12 tilted B+ ion implantation (left) and thermal
diffusion (right) steps and (e)-(h) are the corresponding doping profiles for
different B+ ion implantation doses. .................................................................... 90
Fig. 5.6 N+ source/drain contact formation of the SJ-FINFET: (a) after 45 tilted dualimplant of n-type dopant species (i.e. arsenic and phosphorus) and thermal
diffusion steps, and (b) a doping concentration profile along Y-cut line at Y=-3.
............................................................................................................................. 91
Fig. 5.7 Unit-cell of the SJ-FINFET: a) w/ and b) w/o any oxide materials .................... 93
Fig. 5.8 Contour plots of the electrostatic potential distribution in off-state for a proposed
SJ-FINFET with p-pillar impurity concentration of 9.25 x 1016 cm3 under charge
balance: a) w/ and b) w/o any oxide materials ................................................... 96

xi

Fig. 5.9 Contour plots of the electric field distribution in off-state for a proposed SJFINFET with p-pillar impurity concentration of 9.25 x 1016 cm3 under charge
balance: a) w/ and b) w/o refined mesh structure. .............................................. 97
Fig. 5.10 The relationship between BV and charge imbalance for the proposed SJFINFET with Ldrift of 3.0 m and 6.0 m, Wn = Wp = 0.3 m and trench depths
(Wside) of 2.0 m and 3.0 m. ............................................................................ 98
Fig. 5.11 I-V characteristics of the proposed SJ-FINFETs during off-state for various drift
region lengths. .................................................................................................... 98
Fig. 5.12 Transfer characteristics of the SJ-FINFET with Ldrift = 3.5 m. ....................... 99
Fig. 5.13 On-state simulations: (a) electron current density distribution and (b) output
characteristics of the SJ-FINFET with Ldrift =4.5 m and device area = 1 mm2.
.......................................................................................................................... 101
Fig. 5.14 I-V characteristics of the proposed SJ-FINFETs during on-state for various drift
region lengths. .................................................................................................. 102
Fig. 5.15 The trade-off relationship between BV and Ron,sp of the SJ-FINFET for different
drift region lengths. .......................................................................................... 102
Fig. 5.16 Specific on-resistance profile along C-C cut line during on-state for
conventional SJ SOI-LDMOS and the proposed SJ-FINFETs ........................ 104
Fig. 5.17 Mobility profile along C-C cut line during on-state for conventional SJ SOILDMOS and the proposed SJ-FINFET with Wside = 3 m. ............................. 105
Fig. 5.18 Comparison of the electric field distribution (along the C-C cut line) for the SJFINFETs with two different values of NA at ND= 7.4 1016 cm3and Wside = 2
m. ................................................................................................................... 106
Fig. 5.19 Electric field distribution comparison between the conventional SJ-LDMOS and
SJ-FINFETs at NA = 9.25 1016 cm3 and ND = 7.4 1016 cm3. ................... 107
Fig. 5.20 Performance comparison between SJ simulation results with different trench
gate depths and previously published data....................................................... 108
Fig. 6.1 Standard CMOS process flow with additional steps for the lateral SJ-FINFET
implementation. ................................................................................................. 112
Fig. 6.2 Six sequential processing steps required for the deep trench isolation region. . 113
Fig. 6.3 Process Flow of the SJ-FINFET (Part 1 of 5) ................................................... 121

xii

Fig. 6.4 Layout design rules for the proposed SJ-FINFET device on a SOI platform. .. 127
Fig. 6.5 A full test chip layout of both SJ-FINFET and SJ-LDMOS device. ................. 131
Fig. 6.6 Some of the process structures: (a) critical dimensions and (b)-(c) alignment
marks. ................................................................................................................ 131
Fig. 6.7 Micrograph of the fabricated test integrated chip (Optical: 200). .................. 132
Fig. 6.8 Top-view of SJ-FINFET device: (a) a layout and (b) a corresponding fabricated
structures. .......................................................................................................... 133
Fig. 6.9 SEM images of fabricated SJ-FINFET: (a) a transistor array and (b) a crosssection after Al and oxide etchings. .................................................................. 133
Fig. 6.10 Ids - Vgs transfer characteristic of the fabricated SJ-FINFET at Vgs = 0.1 V. .. 134
Fig. 6.11Output I-V characteristics of the fabricated (a) SJ-LDMOSFET and (b) SJFINFET devices, Ldrift = 3.5 m and Wtotal = 200 m. .................................... 135
Fig. 6.12 The specific on-resistance of the fabricated SJ-FINFETs for different n/p pillar
width ratios and SJ-drift trench (DTI) widths. ................................................. 136
Fig. 6.13 The relationship between BV and P-pillar dose for the fabricated SJ-FINFET
devices with Ldrift of 3.5 m and 6 m, Wn = Wp = 0.3 m and Wside of 2.7 m.
.......................................................................................................................... 137
Fig. 6.14 On-resistance data comparison as a function of the gate width (W) of the
fabricated SJ-FINFET and SJ-LDMOSFETS, Ldrift = 3.5 m. ........................ 138
Fig. 6.15 Ron,sp data comparison between SJ-FINFET and SJ-LDMOS for different Ldrift.
.......................................................................................................................... 139
Fig. 6.16 Micrographs of the SJ-FINFETs with different drift lengths: (a) Ldrift = 3.5 m,
(b) Ldrift = 6.0 m, (c) ) Ldrift = 10.0 m and (d) ) Ldrift = 12.0 m for Wtotal = 200
m. ................................................................................................................... 139
Fig. 6.17 Performance comparison between the fabricated SJ-devices and previously
published data. Data from [102], [104], [114] are for conventional
LDMOSFETs. Data from [103], [111-113] are for conventional SJLDMOSFETs. .................................................................................................. 140

xiii

List of Glossary
ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuits
ASSP: Application-Specific Standard Products
BJT: Bipolar Junction Transistor
BV: Breakdown Voltage
BOX: Buried Oxide Layer (SOI Wafer)
CAGR: Cumulative Average Growth Rate
CMOS: Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
CMP: Chemical Mechanical Polishing
DMOS: Double Diffused MOS
DTI: Deep Trench Isolation
ESD: Electro-Static Discharge
FET: Field Effect Transistor
FOM: Figure of Merit
FINFET: Fin-Field Effect Transistor
GTO: Gate Turn-off Thyristor
HW: Hybrid-Waffle (Layout Style)
HS: High-Side (Output Switch)
HBM: Human Body Model (ESD)
IGBT: Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor
ICP-RIE: Induced Coupled Plasma RIE
LDMOSFET: Lateral Double-Diffused MOSFET
LS: Low-Side (Output Switch)
xiv

LOCOS: LOCal Oxidation of Silicon

LTO: Low Temperature Oxide
MOS: Metal Oxide Semiconductor
MF: Multi-Finger (Layout Style)
MM: Machine Model (ESD)
PIC: Power Integrated Circuits
PECVD: Plasma Enhanced CVD
QFN: Quad Flat No-Lead (Package Type)
RESURF: Reduced SURface Field
RIE: Reactive Ion Etching
RW: Regular-Waffle (Layout Style)
SOA: Safe Operation Area
SEG: Selective Epitaxial Growth
SAD: Substrate-Assisted Depletion
SJ: Super-Junction
SOI: Silicon-On-Insulator
SFB: Silicon Fusion Bonded (SOI Wafer)
STI: Shallow Trench Isolation

xv

List of Symbols
Cgd: Gate to Drain Capacitance, or Miller Capacitance
Cgs: Gate to Source Capacitance
Ciss: Input Capacitance
Coss: Output Capacitance
Crss: Reverse Transfer Capacitance

si : Dielectric Constant of Silicon (=1.0310-12 F/cm)

ox : Dielectric Constant of Oxide (=3.4510-12 F/cm)

Ec: Critical Electric Field
fs: Converter Switching Frequency
Lg: Gate or Channel Length
Ldrift: Drift Length
NA: Acceptor or Hole Doping Concentration
ND: Donor or Electron Doping Concentration

ni : Intrinsic Carrier Concentration

Pcond: Conduction Power Loss
Pdyn: Dynamic Power Loss
Pgate: Gate-Drive Power Loss
Psw: Switching Power Loss

q : Electronic Charge (=1.6010-19 C)

Qg: Total Gate Charge
Qgs: Gate to Source Charge

xvi

Qgd: Gate to Drain Charge

Rg: Gate Resistance
Ron: On-Resistance
Ron,sp: Specific On-Resistance (Ron Area)
Rp: Project Range of Implant
Sn or Sp: Cross-sectional Area of n-drift or p-drift region
Tox: Oxide Thickness or Gate Oxide Thickness
Tepi: Epi. Thickness (SOI Wafer)

on : Turn-On Delay

off : Turn-Off Delay

ch : Carrier Mobility in the Channel
Vth: Threshold Voltage
Vin: Input Supply Voltage
Vout: Output Voltage
Vgate: Gate Voltage
Vgs: Gate to Source Voltage
Vds: Drain to Source Voltage
Wg: Gate or Channel Width
Wd: Depletion Width
Wn or Wp: n-pillar or p-pillar Width
Wside: Trench Gate Depth
Wtop: Top Gate Width
Wtotal: Total Channel Width

xvii

Chapter 1 Introduction
Over the last decade, there has been a growing research interest in the area of highefficient power integrated circuits (PICs) for various electronic applications. Especially
portable electronics products, such as cell phones, laptops, MP3 players, PDAs, digital
cameras, and other compact battery powered products have gained tremendous popularity
in the market place during the last few years. Power management ICs play a critical role
in these systems to offer a long battery operating time and many power-saving features at
the same time. The most important and largest device block in power management IC is
the output power stage, which can switch or regulate large amounts of power using many
parallel-connected power transistors. MOS power transistors have several advantages
over their bipolar counterparts, including a majority carrier device, simpler drive
requirements, and lower forward voltages. These advantages make MOS transistors
extremely useful power devices [1-4]. In this chapter, power device technology, market
trends, advantages/disadvantages, their current and future applications, and the objectives
of this thesis will be addressed.

1.1 Technology and Market Trends in Power Semiconductors

The growth of todays power electronics has been centering on AC-DC inverters and
DC-DC converters as the key system topologies. This has been accelerated by several
evolutionary changes and breakthroughs in the areas of power semiconductor device and
process technologies. Fig. 1.1 shows the historical growth of power semiconductor
devices. In the 1960s, the introduction of the thyristor generated the first wave in the
history of power semiconductor devices and opened up many possibilities for the growth
of power electronics as a whole. In the second half of the 1970s, the bipolar transistor
module and the gate turn-off thyristor (GTO) were introduced for the growing demand of
power conversion equipment and they quickly became the focus of power electronics
growth. This started the second wave in the chronological evolution of power
semiconductor devices [5].

1950
1st Wave

[6]

(Uncontrollable
Latching
Devices)

2nd

1970

1980

Triac

RC
Thyristor

Thyristor

2000

2010

Light Trig. Thyristor

Wave

(Controllable
Non-Latching
Devices)

1990

GTO
JFET / SIT
Bipolar Tr. Module

Bipolar
Transistor

GCT

High
Bipolar Tr. Module

[7]
LIGBT
Sub-
CMOS

LDMOSFET
(EDMOS)

3rd Wave
(MOS-Gate
Controlled
Devices &
Power ICs)

Power
MOSFET

SOILDMOSFET

[8]

V-shape gate
MOSFET

RESURF
LDMOSFET

[9]

[11]
[10]

VDMOSFET

Superjunction
VDMOSFET

Trench
VDMOSFET

[12]
IGBT

[15]
FS-IGTBT
Trench [14]
IGBT

[13]
NPT-IGBT

Fig. 1.1 Evolution of power semiconductors.

In the early 1980s through late 1990s, the third wave started to build up focusing on
MOS-gated controlled devices. The introduction of power MOSFETs enabled compact
and efficient system designs particularly those based on low voltage (less than 200V)
applications. In order to improve both performance and reliability, the trench gate,
DMOS (Double-diffused MOS), IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor), and RESURF
(Reduced SURface Field) technologies were adopted. In particular, these efforts were
aimed at improving performances of MOS gated active switches relating to reduction of
conduction and switching losses for high current and fast switching operations, and
enhancement of Safe Operation Area (SOA) to withstand short circuit stresses [1].
Consequently, power MOSFETs became the predominant options for todays power
device manufacturers.
Power ICs (PIC) are one of the most active electronic devices in the market nowadays.
Their market growth rate is now faster than the overall semiconductor market. Fig. 1.2
presents iSupplis estimate and forecast for power semiconductor shipment revenue

during the period from 2006 to 2011 [16]. The power semiconductor market is expected
to increase at a cumulative average growth rate (CAGR) of 8% per year to $15.5 billion
in 2011. Among several different power device technologies, the switching regulator,
power management ASIC/ASSP (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits or Standard
Products), and low voltage power MOSFET applications are currently contributing more
than half of total market revenue. Especially, the switching regulator and low voltage
power MOSFETs are used in almost all portable electronics and automotive components.
In recent years, with the rising output of whole systems, these two products are
developing relatively faster than the others as demonstrated in this figure.
$16B

LV
LV
LV

SWR

LV

SWR

LV

SWR

LV

SWR

SWR

SWR

Fig. 1.2 Annual estimate and forecast of worldwide power semiconductor market.

1.2 Advantages of Power MOSFET Devices

In general, bipolar transistors are not suitable for high speed switching applications
because they saturate when their collector-base junctions is forward-biased. Saturation
greatly increases the amount of minority carrier charges stored in both the neutral base
and collector. A transistor cannot turn-off until these stored charges recombine or diffuse
across a junction. A typical power bipolar transistor therefore exhibits a saturation delay
of about a microsecond. This delay effectively places an upper limit on switching speeds

of about 500 kHz [3]. On the other hand, MOS transistors are majority carrier devices.
They do not exhibit any saturation delay, thus they can switch at speed in excess of multi
MHz [3]. Another advantage of power MOSFETs are their simple drive circuitry. The
average current through the gate drive of a typical one-amp power MOSFET is only a
few milliamps. Bipolar transistors generally require much higher drive currents due to a
low current gain ().
Power MOSFETs can also conduct large currents at very low drain-to-source
voltages. The behavior of a MOS transistor under these conditions can be derived from
the Shichman-Hodges theory for the linear region [17]. The simplified theory reveals a
linear relationship between the drain-to-source voltage and the drain current. The
transistor behaves as if it is a resistor whose value is known as the on-resistance. The onresistance can be reduced to arbitrarily small values by increasing the W/L ratio.
However, in practice, considerations such as die size, cost, metallization resistance, and
bond-wire resistance place practical limitation upon the on-resistance. In general, the
limitations are more severe in low voltage power MOSFETs (<100V) because they
require more precise circuit topologies and interconnections. Hence, there are many ongoing research projects to overcome those limitations at device design/fabrication, circuit
design, wafer, and package levels.

1.3 Application Fields for Current and Future Power MOSFETs

Power MOSFETs are ideally suited for use in many electronic applications, such as
automotive circuits, motor and solenoid drives, inverters in electronic ballast, consumer
appliances, telecommunications, display drivers, switching power suppliers, factory
automation, etc. as illustrated in Fig. 1.3. The applications for power semiconductor
technology stretch over a very wide range of power levels. The voltage and current
handling needs for both device technologies and applications are summarized in this
diagram. For many portable applications, the DC-DC converters are popular for
conversion of battery power to an appropriate DC output voltage [18-19]. Another fast
growing application field is the automotive industry; particularly in hybrid, electric, and

fuel cell vehicles. Low voltage power MOSFETs (<100V) are widely used in engine
control, vehicle dynamic control, vehicle safety, and body electronics subsystems in both

100

Thyristor
IGBT

10

Battery
control
Automation
Electronics

1
0.1

Triac

Power
Supply
Motor
Control
DC/DC converter
Lamp
Factory
Ballast Automation
Smart PIC
(BCD)

Linear IC
Bipolar
Digital IC
CMOS

HVDC

AD/DC
converter

Motor
Control

0.01
0.001

Device Current Rating (A)

1000

electric and conventional internal combustion engine vehicles [20-21].

Telecom
Circuits

GTO

Display
Driver
HVIC
DMOST/IGBT

10

100

1000

10000

Device Blocking Voltage Rating (V)

Fig. 1.3 Power device technologies and applications with respect to their voltages and
current ratings.
Although silicon devices have dominated power electronics, the performance limit of
silicon as a semiconductor material is starting to become a serious issue. This implies that
new materials are needed to satisfy the future requirements of high performance power
devices. Wide band gap semiconductors, such as SiC [22-25] and GaN [26-31], recently
gained much attention as novel power devices with certain advantages over silicon in
terms of higher critical field, mobility and operating temperature. However several issues
including process, reliability, interconnection and packaging need to be solved before
these new materials will enjoy a reasonable market share. Therefore, despite the
limitations of silicon as a semiconductor material, it still has plenty of thrust until the
wide band gap materials become popular.

1.4 Thesis Objectives and Organization

The objectives of the thesis are to design, implement, and optimize the next
generation of low-voltage silicon power MOSFETs. New device structure and layout
optimization techniques are proposed and analyzed for sub-100V applications. Both
approaches strive to minimize the power consumption of the output stage in DC-DC
converters.
Chapter 2 describes the state of the art of power semiconductor devices. It provides a
review of the recent developments in vertical and lateral power semiconductor
technologies. Also, it discusses the fundamental device physics concerning power
semiconductors, several of the important physical models for both circuit and device
simulations, and some of the related topics including layout techniques and superjunction concept.
In Chapter 3, the analytical layout modeling of three different layout structures is
presented. Specific attention is given to a new layout strategy named Hybrid Waffle
structure. Layout optimization and performance evaluation via simulations are also given.
In Chapter 4, experimental work such as the integrated circuit implementation on a DCDC converter, test circuit board design, and various electrical measurements are
presented for verification purposes.
In Chapter 5, a novel device structure that is suitable for practical implementation of
lateral superjunction FINFET (SJ-FINFET) is proposed, simulated and compared with
other conventional power MOSFETs. Both process and device simulation studies are
presented to extract and validate the specific processing conditions and the optimal
device characteristics, respectively. In Chapter 6, the performance advantage of the SJFINFET over the conventional SJ-LDMOSFET is verified experimentally. Detailed
fabrication process scheme is presented followed by various electrical measurement
results of the devices.
Finally, in Chapter 7, conclusions and suggestions for future work are discussed.

Chapter 2 Power MOSFETs a Brief Overview

2.1 Fundamentals of MOS Device
Metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) is a major class of integrated circuits. MOS
technology is used in microprocessors, microcontrollers, static RAM, and other digital
logic circuits. Also, it is used for a wide variety of analog circuits such as image sensors,
data converters, and highly integrated transceivers for many types of applications [3].
Two important characteristics of the Complementary MOS (CMOS) technology are high
noise immunity and low static power consumption. Significant power is only drawn when
the transistors are switching between on and off states. Consequently, MOS circuitry
dissipates less power and is denser than other implementations having the same
functionality. As this advantage has grown and become more important, the vast majority
of modern integrated circuit manufacturing is on CMOS processes.

The basic structure of MOS transistor (i.e. n-type MOSFET) is shown in Fig. 2.1,
where n+ represents heavily doped n-type silicon with low resistivity. The difference
between the source and drain is that the source n+ is shorted to the p-substrate by the
source metal. This is important for fixing the potential of the p-substrate for normal
device operation. For power device applications, the MOSFET is necessary to be off
when the voltage on the gate is zero. The turn-on of the MOSFET relies on the formation
of a conductive channel on the surface of the semiconductor, when a positive (or
negative) voltage is applied on the gate of the n-type (or p-type) MOSFET. For the n-type
MOSFET, as Vg increases, electrons gather at the interface between the oxide and silicon,
and a charged layer is formed to provide a "channel" for the current. When this
phenomenon occurs, the value of Vg is called the threshold voltage (Vth). In
semiconductor physics, the Vth is defined as the applied gate voltage required to make the
surface of the silicon strongly inverted (i.e. as n-type in terms of carrier concentration as
the p-type substrate. The threshold voltage can be written as [32]:

Qdep Qss
m s
Cox
kT N
fp ln a
q
ni

Vth 2 fp
where

Qdep 4q si fp Na
Cox

ox
Tox

(Eq.2.1)
(Eq.2.2)
(Eq.2.3)
(Eq.2.4)

The definitions of the other symbols are:

1)` k is the Boltzmann's constant: k =1.3810-23 J/K,
2)` T is the absolute temperature,
3)` q is the electronic charge: q =1.6010-19 C,
4)` N a is the acceptor doping concentration of the substrate,
5)` ni is the intrinsic carrier concentration of the silicon,
6)` si is the dielectric constant of silicon: si =1.0310-12 F/cm,
7)` Qss is the fixed charge located in the oxide close to the oxide-silicon interface,
8)` ox is the dielectric constant of oxide: ox =3.4510-12 F/cm, and
9)` Tox is the thickness of the gate oxide.

The resistance from drain to source of the MOSFET is determined by the property of
the charged layer in the channel, and can be expressed as [32]:

Rch

Lg Tox
Wg ch ox (Vgs Vth )

(Eq.2.5)

where nch is the carrier mobility in the channel. The definition of Lg (gate length) and

Wg (gate width) are shown in Fig. 2.1.

Wg
Gate

Source
Lg

Oxide
P+

Drain

N+

N+

P-substrate or P-well

Fig. 2.1 Basic Structure of a MOS transistor (n-type MOSFET)

Other important characteristics of a MOS transistor include its capacitance and gate
charge. A simple equivalent circuit of n-type MOSFET is illustrated in Fig. 2.2, where
the three capacitors, Cgd, Cds, and Cgs represent the parasitic capacitances. These values
can be manipulated to form the input capacitance (Ciss), output capacitance (Coss), and
reverse transfer capacitance (Crss).
Gate
Cgs

Rg

Cgd

Drain

Source
Rs

Rd

Cds
Fig. 2.2 An equivalent circuit for n-type MOSFET showing the parasitic capacitances and
resistances.

Among these capacitors, the gate-drain capacitance Cgd, known as a Miller

capacitance is the most important parameter because it provides a feedback loop between
the devices output and its input. The switching behavior of the MOSFET is also
governed by the charging and discharging of the input capacitance which is the sum of
the gate-to-source capacitance (Cgs) and the gate-to-drain capacitance (Cgd). The gate
resistance (Rg) is also important because the switching delay is directly proportional to a
product of the distributed gate resistance and its capacitance.

However, the nonlinearity of the parasitic capacitances and the incomplete data on
their variation over the full range of relevant voltages, make a gate circuit by
conventional methods exceedingly difficult. To overcome this problem, it has become
standard practice to specify the total gate charge, Qg that has to be supplied in order to
establish a particular drain current under given test conditions. Data sheets from most
manufacturers normally divide the Qg into that required to charge the gate-to-source
capacitance, Qgs, and that required to supply the gate-to-drain capacitance, Qgd. The merit
of the gate charge parameter is that it is relatively insensitive to the drain current and the
precise circuit conditions used, and it is quite independent of temperature [1]. It allows a
very simple design methodology for obtaining the desired switching time, and it enables
the total charge and the total energy required to be easily estimated. The resulting average
current and power needed from the gate circuit can be also obtained throughout a
multiplication of the operating frequency.

Another important parameter of a MOS transistor is the breakdown voltage. It is the

reverse biased voltage in which a substrate-drain (or body-drift) diode breaks down and
significant current starts to flow between the source and drain by the avalanche
multiplication process. For drain voltages below the rated avalanche voltage and with no
bias on the gate, the drain voltage is entirely supported by the reverse biased p-n junction.
With a poor MOSFET design and process, punch-through breakdown can be observed
when the depletion region from the drain (or drift) junction reaches the source region at
drain voltages below the avalanche voltage. This also provides a current path between
source and drain and causes a soft breakdown characteristic.

10

2.2 Types of Power MOSFETs

The simple MOS structure was initially not suitable for discrete power ICs, because
in order to achieve the low channel resistance, shorter channel length ( Lg ) and thinner
gate oxide ( Tox ) were mandatory. Since both Lg and Tox are related to the breakdown
voltage of the MOS device, the MOS structure is not considered for the choice of power
devices, especially in medium and high voltage power ICs. For instance, if Lg is too
small, the punch-through of n+pn+ (or p+np+) of N-type (or P-type) MOSFET will occur;
if Tox is too thin, the oxide directly adjacent to the drain can be damaged or destroyed by
the electric field. To alleviate the effect of the electrical field on the gate oxide, several
traditional power MOS device structures have been developed and commercialized, as
illustrated in Fig. 2.3. In terms of a device structure, the power MOSFET family can be
divided into two different categories: lateral and vertical power MOSFETs.

Minority carrier devices

Power Semiconductor Devices

Majority carrier devices

3-terminal devices

2-terminal devices
PiN diode Schottky diode

Power MOSFET

JFET

LDMOS

BJT

Thyristor

Vertical

Lateral

CMOS

IGBT

RESURF

UMOS

V-MOS

DMOS

Cool MOS

Traditional Power MOSFETs

Fig. 2.3 Types of Power Semiconductor Devices

11

Some well known examples of vertical power MOSFETs include V-MOS (V-shaped
MOS), DMOS (Double-diffusion MOS), UMOS (U-shaped MOS), and Cool MOS
(Vertical Super-junction MOS from Infineon Technologies). The common lateral power
devices include LDMOS (Lateral Double-diffused MOS), RESURF (Reduced SURface
Field) LDMOS and CMOS power transistors. In the following sections, both traditional
vertical and lateral power MOSFETs are briefly discussed in terms of their intrinsic
structures and associated operating principles.

2.2.1 Traditional Vertical Power MOSFETs

V-MOSFET

The name, V-MOSFET [33] is derived from the V-shaped groove along which
current flows, as shown in Fig. 2.4. Although the V-MOSFET was the first
commercialized structure of the power MOSFET, it was replaced by the Double-diffusion
MOSFET (DMOSFET) because of the drawback of high electrical field concentrated at
the tip of the V-groove. The diffusion refers to the manufacturing process: the P-well is
obtained by a diffusion process (i.e., actually a double diffusion process to get the P-body
and N+ regions, hence the name double-diffused).

Source

Source

Gate

N+
P-body

N+
P-body
Oxide

N-drift region
N+
Drain
Fig. 2.4 Structure of V-MOSFET.

12

DMOSFET

In Fig. 2.5, the cross-sectional vertical structure of the DMOSFET [33] is illustrated.
When Vg is higher than the threshold voltage and Vds is positive, the electron current of
the DMOSFET travels horizontally through the channel and then vertically down to the
drain. A more direct and shorter current path can be achieved if the channel is orientated
vertically instead of along the silicon surface. This idea is realized later by the structure
of the UMOSFET.

Gate

Source

Oxide

N+

Source

N+

P-body

P-body
N-drift region

N+
Drain
Fig. 2.5 Structure of DMOSFET.
UMOSFET

Similar to V-MOSFET, the UMOSFET is named from the U-shaped groove formed
in the gate region, as shown Fig. 2.6. In comparison with the DMOSFET structure, the
UMOSFET has no JFET effect, which is caused by the depletion of the region between
wells in the DMOSFET. The UMOSFET has higher channel density to significantly
reduce the on-resistance and also it has no sharp oxide tip (as in the V-MOSFET). This is
because that the corners of the gate oxide located in the n-drift region can be rounded by
isotropic etching. In order to prevent the catastrophic destruction of the gate oxide due to
the high electrical field at the corner of the trench, the p-body is usually designed to be

13

relatively deep. Also, the doping concentration at the bottom of the p-body is high
enough to ensure that the breakdown voltage occurs first at the junction of the p-body and
the n-drift region. As a result, the voltage can be clamped to save the gate oxide [34].

Source
N+
P-body
Oxide

Source

Gate
N+

Source

Gate
N+

P-body

N+
P-body

N-drift region

N+
Drain
Fig. 2.6 Structure of UMOSFET.

2.2.2 Traditional Lateral Power MOSFETs

Lateral Double Diffused MOSFET (LDMOSFET)

The lateral double diffused MOSFET is the predominant power device in the
implementation of PICs because of many attractive electrical characteristics such as high
input impedance, low on-resistance, high breakdown voltage and fast switching speed. A
typical LDMOSFET structure is as illustrated in Fig. 2.7. In this structure, the current
flows laterally on the surface from the source to the drain electrode and the channel
region is implemented using double implantation of the p-well and the n+ source regions
through the same opening window. One of the main advantages in the LDMOSFET is
that it can be easily integrated into a standard CMOS process. In the on-state, when a
positive voltage, higher than the threshold voltage is applied to the gate, a conductive
channel forms at the surface of the p-well and electrons flow from the n+ source through
the highly conductive channel and the n-drift layer to the n+ drain electrode. In the off-

14

state, the depletion region associated with the p-well and the n-drift region, mostly
extends through the drift region and determines the breakdown voltage of the structure.
The drift region length and resistivity should be optimized to achieve a higher BV. In
order to enhance the trade-off relationship between BV and Ron,sp, the drift region length
should be increased while its doping concentration is decreased. In the LDMOSFET, the
trade-off relationship is defined by the equation [35].

Ron, sp BV 2.5 cm2

(Eq.2.6)

This equation provides that the relationship between BV and Ron,sp. It is quadratic in
nature. Hence, a higher BV can result in a significant increase in the on-resistance of the
device. Therefore, the silicon area efficiency is low and the specific on-resistance is
relatively high for those applications that require a high current handling capabilities. In
vertical power MOSFETs, the n-drift region is located inside the silicon. Hence, a current
path can be elongated without sacrificing the silicon area.

Wg
Gate

Source
Lg

Oxide
P+

Drain

N+

N-drift region

N+

P-well
P-substrate

Fig. 2.7 Basic Structure of LDMOSFET

15

RESURF(Reduced SURface Field) LDMOSFET

In 1979, Appels and Vaes suggested the RESURF concept [36], which allows
significant improvement in the voltage blocking capability of lateral device. The cross
section of a RESURF LDMOSFET is as shown in Fig. 2.8. There are two different diodes
shown with the associated junctions such as a lateral junction at the n-drift/p-well
boundary and a vertical junction at the n-drift/p-substrate boundary. At an optimum
thickness and concentration of the n-drift layer, the depletion layer from both horizontal
and vertical n/p junctions allows the electric field at the surface to be lower than the
critical electric field. A higher breakdown occurs at the junction between the p-substrate
and n-drift layer when the electric field reaches the critical value, Ec.
Under the conditions, the thickness of the epitaxial layer, te must equal to the
depletion width, Wd in that layer as defined by the following equation [36].

Wd t e

2 s ( BV )
q( N e N s

(Eq.2.7)

where s denotes the dielectric constant of silicon, q is the electronic charge, and N e and
Ns are the doping concentration in the epitaxial layer and the substrate respectively. The
corresponding parallel plane breakdown voltage is then given by [36].

BV s

EC2
2 q (Ne N s )

(Eq.2.8)

where Ec is the critical electric field in silicon. The charge density, Ne te in the epitaxial
layer is given by [36].

Ne te s

EC
q

(Eq.2.9)

16

If Ne >> Ns, (Eq. 2.21) can be simplified to

Ne te 1 21012 cm2

(Eq.2.10)

A well designed silicon RESURF device, satisfying the above condition, can withstand
approximately 15 V/m of drift region length.

The RESURF structure allows the optimized performance at high voltages in the offstate, because the n-drift layer is fully depleted of charge carriers and the surface field is
reduced to a value of less than the critical electric field. The surface electric field profile
is uniform and has a flat shape at the surface. In the past decades, the RESURF
technology has been successfully commercialized for many lateral power semiconductor
devices such as diodes and LDMOS transistors for 20 1200V [37]. Although the
maximum blocking voltage of the RESURF LDMOSFET is greater than the conventional
LDMOSFET, this increase is limited to a few hundred volts because the lightly doped
epitaxial drift layer causes an increase in the on-resistance of the device.

E
Es < Ec
X
Gate
N+
P-well

N+

P+

te

N-drift region
Ec

P-substrate

Fig. 2.8 A RESURF LDMOSFET structure at full depletion

17

2.3 CMOS-based Power MOSFETs

The majority of todays VLSI chips are implemented with deep submicron CMOS
technologies. Therefore, the integration of other types of power MOSFETs into the
design requires additional fabrication process and time. In the following sections, the
monolithic integration of output power transistors and the associated layout techniques,
based on a standard CMOS technology is briefly discussed.

2.3.1 Monolithic Integration: Standard CMOS Process

Monolithic integration of output power semiconductors with digital and analog
circuitry includes power devices, signal processing, sensing, and protection circuits on
the same chip, as illustrated in Fig. 2.9. Monolithic solutions for power conversion and
amplification are highly desirable not only for the reduction of volume, weight and
electromagnetic interferences, but also for increasing efficiency, performance and
reliability of the overall system. A wide range of applications is predictable for these
monolithic solutions, since the power delivered by a power IC into a load can be several
to hundreds of watts. Many approaches are being investigated to search for new strategies
to reduce the cost and size of PICs [38-43].

Smart Power ICs

Power Devices Control Circuits

IGBT
LDMOS
VDMOS
SJ-MOS
Bi-CMOS
CMOS

HV Level Shifter
Gate Drive Circuit

Sensing &
Protection

Interface

Analog Circuits
Over Temperature
Over Current
Under Voltage
Over Voltage

Logic Circuits
CMOS LSI

Fig. 2.9 Functional elements of smart power technology

18

Monolithic integration is aimed at performing complex switching functions at high

frequencies, motivating progress in this area, and pushing manufacturers to launch
application-specific PICs into the market, especially for low-voltage power applications.
The impact of smart power technology on the recent advances in telecommunication and
automobile industries is remarkable because the drastic cost and size reductions are
possible by applying these monolithic solutions. For examples, a significant performance
gain and cost reduction can be easily achieved by implementing a standard CMOS or
CMOS-compatible processes to build up all necessary blocks required in smart power ICs.

Previous smart power devices have always used design rules and technologies which
are less efficient than that used for CMOS devices. In the early 80s, the first smart power
devices were fabricated with 2.5 or 4m design rules while CMOS used 1m design
rules. When CMOS devices used submicron IC design rules, smart power devices were
fabricated with 1 or 2m design rules [5]. This difference was essentially linked (i) to the
more complex fabrication that must be taken into account: isolation, edge terminations
for power devices and combination of different kinds of devices, and (ii) to the rapid
development of CMOS devices driven by larger market forces. Recently, the design rules
for smart power devices went down to 0.35-0.13m, which offers a greater possibility of
integrated CMOS-based power ICs. This strong drive towards integration leads to a
single chip system for low voltage power applications. Some manufacturers prefer a
mixed technology (e.g. Bi-CMOS); however, overall design rules do not help to reduce
the device area, because most of the chip size is determined by the on-chip power devices.
Since low voltage power MOSFETs implemented in a deep submicron CMOS process
exhibit much shorter switching delays than those in conventional power MOSFETs, this
allows the CMOS devices to operate in the MHz range for high-efficient mobile
applications. Nevertheless, one of the drawbacks is that more advanced CMOS
technology is accompanied with larger parasitic interconnect resistances and capacitances.
Without any processing and device structural changes, performance improvement can be
only gained by introducing a new layout structure. In the next section, several different
layout techniques for CMOS power device applications will be discussed in detail.

19

2.3.2 CMOS Layout Techniques for Power Integrated Circuits

As the switching frequency of power converters continues to increase, both switching

and gate-drive power losses start to limit the efficiency of output power stage.
Particularly, conventional vertical power MOSFETs have relatively large gate to drain
overlap area. This introduces a significant switching delay ( = RC) since a large input
capacitance requires more charging and discharging time for each turn on and off
transition of a power MOSFET. On the other hand, CMOS-based power MOSFETs have
much smaller input gate capacitance due to smaller gate-drain/source overlap capacitance,
gate oxide capacitance and parasitic fringing capacitance. Therefore, CMOS power
MOSFETs have been the best choice for mobile SMPS applications operating in the
multi-MHz range. However, the distributed parasitic resistance associated with metal
interconnects to the source and drain terminals strongly affect the total on-resistance of a
large CMOS device (with a high W/L ratio). The previous research by Kayayama et.al
[18] demonstrated that simple power device models, which do not consider the effects of
metal resistance, can produce more than 50% variation in the Ron simulation for large
power MOS devices. The impact of the parasitic resistance is extremely dependent upon
the layout style of the power MOSFETs and the positioning of external source/drain
connections. Many efforts [41-44] have been made in the past to optimize the CMOS
layout to provide minimum parasitic resistance and capacitance. Some examples are
summarized in the following sections.

Multi-Finger (MF) Layout Structure

The multi-finger (MF) CMOS layout structure has been widely used in almost all
smart PICs. In general, MOS transistor with large device widths are needed to achieve
low channel resistance, and to maximize the operating frequency, the minimum gate or
channel length is used. To reduce the distributed gate resistance, a common layout
practice is to decompose it into many parallel transistors of smaller widths. This
conventional layout technique is known as a multi-finger distribution, as shown Fig. 2.10.

20

Gate

Source: M-1 || Mtop

Source
Drain
Gate Poly
Contact
Metal-1

Drain: M-1 || Mtop

Fig. 2.10 A conventional multi-finger (MF) layout structure

This technique not only reduces Rg but it also reduces junction capacitances. Further
reduction in gate resistance can be obtained by using multiple contacted gates. However,
for power device applications, the disadvantages of multi-finger layout include: (i) the
increase in the total area of gate-source and gate-drain overlaps, (ii) the increase in gatebulk parasitics, and (iii) the increase in metal interconnect resistance [3]. Theoretically,
more transistors that are placed in a parallel configuration, the larger the active area and a
lower channel resistance is achieved at the expense of increasing total gate capacitance.

However, Ron does not continue to decrease as the number of parallel fingers is
increased. In fact, at some point, the interconnect resistance begins to dominate, causing
Ron to be saturated. Further increase in active area leads to higher total gate capacitance
without any Ron reduction. To minimize Ron, many different layout techniques have been
proposed and commercialized [44]. One of modified versions of MF layout [3] is
demonstrated in Fig. 2.11. Although the wider metal layers minimize the overall Ron in
this type of layout structure, there is a trade-off relationship between a number of
source/drain contacts and a width of metal layer. In addition, this layout structure has no
change in device active area; therefore the gate resistance and capacitance remain the
same as those of the conventional MF layout structure.

21

Source: M-2 || Mtop

Gate
Source
Drain
Gate Poly

M-1

Contact
Metal-1
Via-1
Metal-2

Drain: M-2 || Mtop

Fig. 2.11 A modified version of MF layout structure with wider metal layers
Regular Waffle (RF) Layout

Although the conventional MF layout arrangement possesses the virtue of simplicity,

it does not produce the densest possible layout. Other designs can achieve lower specific
on-resistances by tightly packing arrays of cleverly shaped source and drain element The
regular waffle (RW) layouts exemplifies this concept and its basic layout structure is
represented in Fig. 2.12.

Source: M1 || Mtop
Gate

Source
Drain
Gate Poly
Contact
Metal-1

Drain: M1 || Mtop
Fig. 2.12 A conventional Regular Waffle (RW) layout structure

22

The RW layout uses a mesh of horizontal and vertical poly gate stripes to divide the
source/drain implant into an array of squares. Each square contains a single contact. By
alternately connecting these contacts to the source and drain metallization, one can
arrange four drains around each source and four sources around each drain [44]. The
drain and source metallization consists of a series of diagonal stripes of metal-1 and
upper parallel metal layers as shown in this figure.

An analysis of the W/L ratios achieved for a given device area shows that the waffle
layout structure provides an increase in packing density equal to [3]:

2S gate
(W / L) RW

(W / L) MF Lgate S gate

(Eq.2.11)

where (W / L) RW of the waffle layout and (W / L) MF of the conventional multi-finger

layout are measured from two devices consuming equal die areas.

The RW layout offers a better packing density than the MF layout as long as the
spacing between the gates, Sgate exceeds the gate length, Lgate . Almost all power
MOSFET layout structures meet this requirement. For example, the layout rules specify a
minimum drawn gate length of 2m, a minimum contact width of 1m, and a minimum
spacing poly-to-contact of 1.5m. Using these rules, Eq.2.11 indicates that the waffle
transistor provides approximately 33% higher transconductance than the conventional
multi-finger transistor. By allowing the source/drain area to be shared by more polysilicon gates, the waffle layout minimizes the active area, leading to smaller junction
capacitance. A small parasitic capacitance has not only a beneficial effect on the speed
requirement, but also on the power consumption of the chip, which is one of the key
issues in integrated design nowadays. In addition, the characteristic (i.e. compactness) of
the waffle layout leads to the reduction of thermal noise because the gate resistance is
also decreased.

23

However, the waffle-type transistor has three crucial deficiencies. First, due to the
restriction of minimum CMOS design rules (e.g. minimum metal width and spacing) of
the first metallization level, the source/drain diffusion area should be larger than the
minimum dimension to accommodate the metal lines connecting the source/drain regions
through the contacts. The metallization invariably contributes a significant portion of the
Ron of the transistor, and in more recent CMOS process technology nodes, it often
becomes the dominant factor. If one assumes that the metallization contributes about half
the total Ron, then the improvement gained by using the waffle layout drops by half, or
from 33% to 16% for the previous example.

The situation is actually even worse, because the waffle layout is difficult to properly
route the metal layers. The metal-1 layer stripes must repeatedly cross the gate poly and
this introduces a significant step-induced metal thinning [44]. Second, the waffle
transistor contains a large number of bends in its channels. These bends produce sharp
corners in the source/drain regions that avalanche at lower voltages than the remaining
parts of the transistors. Such a localized avalanche limits the amount of energy in which
the waffle transistor can dissipate. This limitation becomes more apparent in high voltage
power applications. Third, the waffle layout structure makes no provision for backgate
contacts (e.g. p+ substrate contact or n+ contact for n-well). Unless the transistor is used
in combination with a heavily doped substrate or a buried layer to provide a substrate or
well contact, it is quite susceptible to de-biasing and latch-up issues. In Chapter 3, a new
waffle-type layout structure, named hybrid-waffle will be introduced. This new layout
strategy will provide a breakthrough to overcome those disadvantages of the conventional
waffle layout, described in this section.

24

2.4 Super-Junction (SJ) Power MOSFETs

A new device concept called Super-Junction (SJ) [11] was introduced about a decade
ago, to improve the trade-off relationship between the breakdown voltage and the specific
on-resistance in medium to high voltage devices. The SJ concept was first applied and
commercialized to vertical structures [45-48]. In the next sub-sections, the basic SJ
structure and its operating principle are reviewed and the current status of SJ vertical
power MOSFETs is briefly discussed followed by the status of fabrication technologies
and challenges.

2.4.1 Device Concept and Characteristics

Vertical superjunction DMOSFETs were introduced commercially and achieved a

significant improvement in the trade-off between Ron,sp and BV over conventional
VDMOSFETs. Vertical SJ devices such as COOLMOSTM [49] and MDmeshTM [50]
assume complete charge balance of the depletion layer. This can be achieved by
introducing alternating n- and p-pillars in the drift region, which allows drastically
increasing the doping in this region. Even though the current conduction area is reduced
by additional p-pillars, a significant reduction in Ron,sp of the devices is achieved by using
heavy doping concentrations in the n-pillar.

Fig. 2.13 shows a cross-section of a SJ-DMOSFET, which has a concept similar to a

multi-RESURF idea (refer to the section 2.2.2). The SJ-structure allows a doping level of
the n-drift region, which is typically one order of magnitude higher than that those in
standard high-voltage MOSFETs. The additional charge is counterbalanced by the
adjacent charges of the p-pillar, thus contributing to a horizontal electrical field without
affecting the vertical field distribution. The electric field inside the structure is fixed by
the net charge of the two oppositely doped pillars. As a result, a nearly flat electric field
distribution can be achieved when both regions counterbalance each other perfectly.

25

Gate

Source
N+
P-body
Ld
W

tepi

N-drift
pillar

P-drift pillar

N+
Drain

Fig. 2.13 Cross-section of a SJ-DMOSFET

For a higher blocking voltage, only the depth of the pillar has to be increased without
any changes of the doping. Considering the drift region of a SJ-DMOSFET has a length
Ld, the p-/n- pillar widths are WP = WN = WPN, and the corresponding doping
concentrations are NA and ND, respectively, and assuming that the both pillars are
completely depleted before breakdown with a perfect charge balanced condition, the BV
and the charge Q of the pillar are given by [51]:

BV EC Ld

N D WP N si E C

2
q

(Eq.2.12)

(Eq.2.13)

where the critical electric field, Ec is also increased by the increased doping concentration
of the pillar.

26

Because the current flows only through the n-pillar, the specific on-resistance can be
expressed as [51]:

R on,sp

Ld
W BV
PN 2
q n ND 2n si EC

(Eq.2.14)

This equation clearly shows the linear relationship between the BV and the specific onresistance of SJ-DMOSFETs instead of the power relationship for the case of
conventional power MOSFETs. To achieve the best performance in the SJ structure,
precisely charge balanced p- /n- pillars must be formed at exactly the same doping level
to have equal amount of positive and negative charges. By carefully choosing the suitable
pillar width, doping concentration and drift region depth, the SJ device can substantially
outperform over the conventional power MOSFETs, especially in the medium to high
voltage ranges.

2.4.2 Current Status and Challenges of SJ Power MOSFETs

Several fabrication technologies have been implemented to realize SJ power

MOSFETs. The technologies and issues are briefly discussed in the following sections.

Multi-epitaxy technology [52-55]

This is the first technology used to fabricate the SJ device (i.e. COOLMOSTM). The
devices were manufactured by multiple depositions of epitaxial layers and subsequent
boron and phosphorus implant process steps on a highly doped n+ substrate. The
diffusion process was followed to form vertically alternating n-/p- pillars. This is still
only available technology to fabricate the commercialized SJ power MOSFETs. Similar
to other SJ devices, it is quite difficult to achieve a perfect charge balance in the n-/ppillars. Any charge imbalance causes a degradation of the breakdown voltage. The
sensitivity of the BV to the charge imbalance is another difficulty in current

27

manufacturing environment. The multi-depositions of epitaxial layers are not compatible

with a standard CMOS process technology.

Deep Trench Etching with Vapor Phase Doping [56-58]

In this method, an n-type epitaxial layer was first grown on n+ substrates. After B+
ion implantation, a hexagonal trench was etched all the way down to the bottom of the
substrate and then boron is diffused into the sidewalls of the trench by using a Vapor
Phase Doping (VPD) process. A subsequent thermal annealing was required to drive-in
the boron impurities. The trenches were first deposited by thin dry oxide liners and then
gap-filled by TEOS deposition. Uniformity of p-pillar region formed by VPD process is
one of main processing issues. Also, the half of current conduction area in the drift region
is wasted by the TEOS gap-filling step.

Poly-Si Flanked VDMOS [59]

In this method, a thin thermal oxide liner was added between the n-/p- pillars as an
inter-diffusion barrier. Deep trenches were formed by etching n-epitaxial layer on the n+
substrate and then the thin oxide liner was grown inside the trenches. They were then
gap-filled with p-type polysilicon and then planarized by CMP process. Main issue
within this technology is that the quality of p-pillar region is even worse than the
epitaxial growth method. The polysilicon has a relatively high defect density in
comparison with a single crystalline Si-substrate or epitaxial layer. High temperature
annealing steps may reduce the defect densities (throughout the grain growth); however
the high thermal budget would result in the dopant redistribution. Also, it induces a stress
from various interfaces between the substrate and other deposited layers.

Deep Trench Etching and Selective Epitaxial Growth [60-62]

Similar to the deep trench etching with VPD process, the deep trenches were first
formed on the n-type epi wafer and then the trenches were filled by a selective epitaxial
growth (SEG) technique (e.g. p-type epi. silicon). The device was further improved with

28

the SEG process using chlorine source gases for filling the high aspect ratio trenches
without voids. Boron implantation was also used to reduce the leakage current and
improve the avalanche characteristics. It is noted that the SEG process step is currently
not compatible with a standard CMOS process technology. High off-state leakage current
and soft breakdown effects were observed for devices fabricated using this technique.

Fig. 2.14 demonstrates the BV-Ron,sp trade-off relationships of conventional power

MOSFETs in comparison with up-to-date SJ power MOSFETs fabricated in different
device technologies. Except for those data specified for lateral SJ structure, all the other
SJ devices have a vertical DMOS structure. According to this figure, the SJ power
MOSFETs are limited to a medium voltage rating (e.g. > 100V). This is due to the fact
that the channel resistance becomes comparable to the drift region resistance at low
voltage ratings. In Chapter 4 and 5, a CMOS-compatible low voltage lateral SJ structure
will be introduced and discussed to resolve the issue.

Specific On-resistance (mcm 2)

100
LDMOS
LDMOS-SOI
LDMOS-SJ
VDMOS
VDMOS-SJ
Si-limit

10

Low Voltage

0.1

0.01
10

100

1000

Breakdow n Voltage (V)

Fig. 2.14 Ron,sp versus BV for different power device technologies [62-70].

29

Chapter 3 Analytical Layout Modeling of Power MOSFET

3.1 Analysis of Basic MOS Finger Structure

Prior to detailed analysis and discussion of the proposed new CMOS layout structure,
it is more appropriate to review and analyze a finger of MOS layout structure since
almost all CMOS layout structures consist of several to millions of a unit MOS finger
transistor. Fig. 3.1 represents a basic MOS finger layout with interconnect resistive
components. However, for more precise simulation analysis; each transistor finger is
partitioned into several small unit transistors with one contact for each source/drain, as
illustrated in Fig. 3.1.

Source

Gate

Source
Rc
Drain

Rg

Rm1

Gate Poly
Metal-1
Contact

Drain
Fig. 3.1 A basic MOS finger layout with simple interconnect resistive components.
Several different circuit simulations have been performed by using this simple
resistance model for a better understanding of the effects of parasitic interconnect
resistances in CMOS layout structures. First, the contribution of parasitic interconnect
resistances, Rparasitic in a finger MOS layout with two different metal-1 widths has been
simulated by using TSMCs 0.25m CMOS HSPICE model (see Fig. 3.2). As the finger
length (or gate channel width) increases, both channel resistance and on-resistance
decrease initially. However, after a certain value of the finger length, the on-resistance
starts to increase gradually. This indicates that the interconnect resistance starts to
30

dominate the total on-resistance. The difference between intrinsic channel resistance and
total on-resistance corresponds to the parasitic interconnect resistance. For longer finger
lengths, this difference is even more pronounced.

(a)

Min. M-1 Width: 0.32m

Max. M-1 Width: 1.02m

Vs.

D
(b)

1000
Ron @ min. M-1 w idth

Rpar @ min. M-1 w idth

Ron @ max. M-1 w idth

Rpar @ max. M-1 w idth

100

Ron ()

Rparasitic
Ron
10

Rchannel

Rparasitic
1
0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000 1100 1200 1300

Finger Length, W (m)

Fig. 3.2 (a) Two different MOS finger layouts with min. and max. metal-1 widths,
(b) Simulation results of Rchannel, Ron, and Rparasitic for (a).
In addition, the on-resistance models for different numbers of multi-finger layouts
have been studied and the simulation results are given in Fig. 3.3. By increasing the
numbers of MOS layout fingers, both smaller values of Ron and Ron,sp have been observed.
Theoretically, the on-resistance for the same device width is constant; however, this
different observation can be understood that higher number of MOS fingers for the
similar device size leads to the smaller parasitic interconnection resistance. This explains

31

why many layout designers do not always use the maximum finger length allowed in the
design rule. It is also interesting to note that a smaller technology node of standard
CMOS process provides the smaller on-resistance characteristics for the same device size.
Advanced CMOS technologies have more metal layers and this allows a greater reduction
in parasitic interconnect resistance.

1000

(a)

Ref [71]
[48] (0.8um)
1 finger (TSMC 0.25um)
3 fingers (TSMC 0.25um)
10 fingers (TSMC 0.25um)

1 finger

20 fingers (TSMC 0.25um)

Ron ()

100

Ref. 0.8m CMOS [71]

3 fingers
10 fingers

10

20 fingers

1
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

Total Finger Length, W total (m)

40

(b)

[71] (0.8um)
Ref[48]

1 finger (TSMC 0.25um)

35

3 fingers (TSMC 0.25um)

10 fingers (TSMC 0.25um)

Ron,sp (mmm2)

30

20 fingers (TSMC 0.25um)

Ref. 0.8m CMOS [71]

25
20
15

10 fingers

1 finger 3 fingers

20 fingers

10
5
0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

Total Finger Length, Wtotal (m)

Fig. 3.3 (a) Ron and (b) Ron,sp vs. Wtotal for different numbers of MOS fingers.

32

3.2 Modeling of Conventional Multi-Finger (MF) Layout

As described earlier in section 2.3.2, multi-finger layout schemes of CMOS power
ICs are still widely used in many cost-sensitive applications including mobile DC-DC
converts. Although there are many different types of multi-finger layout structures
reported in the literature [17-19], one of the most common MF layout structures as
illustrated in Fig. 3.4 is studied. In order to extract the precise total on-resistance and gate
charge of a device. The MF layout structure with all possible interconnect resistive
components are investigated. A 0.25m standard CMOS process is used to implement the
output stage design. A total of 5 metallization layers with contacts/vias were considered
in the HSPICE circuit modeling. Detailed calculations method and schematic model are
described in the next paragraph.

Source: M1

Gate

Source
Drain
Gate Poly
Contact
Metal-1

Source: M1

Gate: Poly

Drain: M1

Si-Sub

JDRAIN

JSOURCE

Fig. 3.4 Conventional MF layout structure with parasitic resistors.

33

TSMCs 0.25m standard CMOS process provides two different types of transistors;
(a) 2.5V logic thin gate oxide MOSFETs and (b) 5V high-voltage I/O thick gate oxide
MOSFETs. Two important differences between transistors (a) and (b) are the breakdown
voltage (BV) and the minimum channel length, Lgate of the MOSFET. Since our target
specifications require an actual 7V-BV, the 5V thick gate oxide MOSFET was only
option for the final DC-DC converter output stage design. It is noted that the minimum
drawn channel length of the thick gate oxide transistor is 0.5m, which is the twice as
long as the minimum channel length of the 2.5V logic transistor in TSMCs 0.25m
standard CMOS process. By carefully examining the given minimum design rules of the
thick gate oxide transistors, a MF layout structure with 10 gate fingers was first
constructed and then a corresponding model with various resistive components was
developed as demonstrated in Fig. 3.5 and Fig. 3.6, respectively.

The calculation methods for these resistors are quite straight forward since there are
only two different directions of current flowing; lateral and vertical. For the vertical
direction, the corresponding resistive component can be estimated by contact/via
resistances. By adding more number of contacts (or vias) in parallel, the vertical
resistance between top and bottom layers can be simplified as: Rvertical = (Rcontact for a
contact) / (# of contacts). For the lateral direction, the corresponding resistance is mainly
from a metal layer. Since the sheet resistance of each metal layer is provided from the
foundry technology file, the lateral resistance on each metal layer can be simplified as:
Rlateral = Rsheet (Lmetal/Wmetal). Based on these two simple calculation methods, each
interconnect resistor denoted in Fig. 3.6 was extracted for the model. More detailed
information on all these calculations can be found in Appendix-I.

34

Source
Gate
Source
Drain

Spoly
S
Sad

Gate Poly

Metal-1
Metal-2

Lg
SM1

Scp
Sc

Scd

Contact

Wc
W
c

Via-1

Lex

N+ S/D

WM1

Wv1

WM2

Drain

Fig. 3.5 A MF NMOS layout (10 MOS fingers) structure with minimum design rules.

Cadence Schematic

RM2-M5_out
(gate)

RV1
RM1_gate

Rc

Rc

Rm1

RG_out
RM1
RM2-M5_out
(Source)

RV1

RG
RM1c_out

RM2

Rg

RM1
RV1

RM1c
RM1c

RM2-M5_out
(Drain)

RM1c_out
RM2

RM1c
RM1c
RM1
RM1

Fig. 3.6 Corresponding schematic resistance model of the MF NMOS layout.

35

3.3 Modeling of Regular Waffle (RW) Layout

As previously discussed in the section 2.3.2, a regular waffle layout (RW) design was
invented to maximize the active channel width for a given area. By sharing a source/drain
contact with four surrounding transistors, the RW layout has offered a lower Ron in
comparison to that of MF. However, for large size RW devices, the metal lines used to
connect the source and drain are of very long and narrow dimensions, leading to
excessive parasitic series resistance. As a result, the advantage of RW layout structure is
quickly diminished.

To validate the performance differences between RW and MF structures in a standard

0.25m CMOS process, the resistance model for a RW layout structure was developed.
Fig. 3.7 represents a 4 4 RW layout structure with the corresponding resistance model.
The minimum width of a unit transistor in the RW layout was calculated as 0.74 m by
considering the minimum diffusion length, contact size, and gate poly width. The detailed
calculations for each interconnect resistor can be seen in Appendix-I. By analyzing the
minimum design rules, the actual device size and total width required for a specific RW
layout structure can be also extracted from the model. Different sizes of RW layout
structures are summarized in Table 3.1.

W
(m)

Table 3.1 Data for different N N matrix of RW layout structures

L
Wtotal
Die Size
Unit-cell
# of unit cells # of unit cells
(m)
(m)
Pitch (m)
(mm2)
in x-axis
in y-axis

0.74
0.74
0.74
0.74
0.74
0.74

0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50

133
562
3626
14652
58904
132756

0.0002
0.0006
0.0039
0.0155
0.0618
0.1388

1.24
1.24
1.24
1.24
1.24
1.24

10
20
50
100
200
300

10
20
500
100
200
300

Notes
Unit-cell Pitch = W + 2(L/2) = W + L = W + 0.5m = 1.24m
Wtotal = W (Total # of MOS Fingers) = W 2[(# of Unit-cells in x-/y-axis)2 (# of Unit-cells in y-axis)]
Die Size = [(Unit-cell Pitch) (# of Unit-cell in x-/y-axis) + 0.5]2 (0.001)2

36

(a)

Source: M-1 || M-5

Gate Poly
Lg

Scp
W
Wc,v1-v4

Unit-cell
Sc-c

WM1-M5

Drain: M-1 || M-5

Rroute

(b)

Source

4Rc
Rout

4Rv1-4

Rroute

Drain
Rout

Rroute

RM1 || M5

Fig. 3.7 Schematic of (a) 4 4 regular waffle layout and (b) the corresponding resistance
model.

37

3.4 Proposed Hybrid Waffle (HW) Layout

In the hybrid waffle layout as illustrated in Fig. 3.8(a), the unit transistor widths are
designed to be several times wider than the minimum contact size allowed. Similar to the
conventional waffle layout structures, the HW layout structure also maximizes the active
channel width by sharing a source/drain contact with four surrounding transistors,
however, the much of layout area is occupied by metal interconnection rather than the
active area. The basic idea of HW layout came from [72] such that the wider metal
interconnections can lower the overall on-resistance of the power transistors, especially
for low voltage CMOS devices. In addition, the reduced overall device width and
source/drain junctions will result in a lower gate and parasitic capacitance. Detailed
calculation methods for each parasitic resistor denoted in Fig. 3.8(b) can be seen in
Appendix-I. Also, Table 3.2 summarizes the total width and die size required for different
N N matrix of HW layout structures. Since all parameters are a function of the MOS
finger length, several different values were considered in the simulation to find out if
there exists an optimal Lfinger value or not. More details will be given in the next
following section.

W
(m)
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0

Table 3.2 Data for different N N matrix of HW layout structures

Unit-cell
# of unit
# of unit
L
Wtotal
Die Size
Pitch
cells in x- cells in y2
(m)
(m)
(mm )
(m)
axis
axis
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50

900
2100
3800
6000
8700
11900
15600
19800
24500
29700
35400

0.0049
0.0108
0.0191
0.0297
0.0426
0.0578
0.0754
0.0953
0.1175
0.1421
0.1689

6.82
6.82
6.82
6.82
6.82
6.82
6.82
6.82
6.82
6.82
6.82

10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60

10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60

Notes
Unit-cell Pitch = W + 2(0.22) + 2(0.14) + 2(0.3) + 0.5 = 6.82m
Wtotal = W (Total # of MOS Fingers) = W 2[(# of Unit-cells in x-/y-axis)2 (# of Unit-cells in y-axis)]
Die Size = [(Unit-cell Pitch) (# of Unit-cell in x-/y-axis) + 0.5 + 2(0.22) + 2(0.3) + 2(0.14)]2 (0.001)2

38

(a)

Ld

Lex
SC

Lg

LM3

WM3
SM3
W

(b)

Rc
Rroute

Rx1

S
Rout

= (Rv1 + RM2 +Rv2)

RM1-CtV
Rroute

RM3 || M5

Fig. 3.8 Hybrid waffle structure: (a) a layout and (b) a corresponding resistance model.
39

3.4.1 Lfinger-Optimization of HW Layout Structure

In order to compare the simulation results among MF, RW, and HW layout structures,
the optimum finger length (Lfinger) has to be extracted [73]. Depending on the finger
length, there could be different numbers of possible unit cells in a given chip area. Thus it
is necessary to find the optimum Lfinger prior to making a comparison plot. Fig. 3.9
represents the Ron, and Qg, with respect to seven different Lfinger (3.36m ~ 76.36m) for
both NMOS and PMOS of HW layouts. In this figure, the on-resistance is proportional to
Lfinger and the total gate charge is inversely proportional to Lfinger. This is because that the
larger Lfinger, the smaller number of units cells (or the smaller total channel width, Wtotal)
can be accommodated in a given area. To evaluate the overall performance of the power
MOSFET for different Lfinger values, the figure of merit (FOM), which is a generally
accepted performance and efficiency indicator for power MOSFETs, has been plotted
with respect to Lfinger as illustrated in Fig. 3.10.

2400

0.24
Ron: PMOS
Qg: PMOS

2000

0.2

1600

0.16

1200

0.12

800

0.08

400

0.04

QG (nC)

RON (m)

Ron: NMOS
Qg: NMOS

0
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Lfinger (m)
Fig. 3.9 Simulated Ron and Qg data for different Lfinger values of HW layouts.
40

80

24
FOM-1: PMOS
FOM-2: PMOS

70

21

60

18

50

15

40

12

30

20

10

0
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

FOM-2 (nCmmm2)

FOM-1 (nCm)

FOM-1: NMOS
FOM-2: NMOS

80

Lfinger (m)

Fig. 3.10 FOM-1 & FOM-2 versus different Lfinger of HW layout structures.
In Fig. 3.10, two different FOMs: FOM-1= Ron x Qg, FOM-2= Ron,sp x Qg, (Ron,sp =
Ron Area) are represented. Both NMOS and PMOS have the minimum FOM value
when Lfinger is close to 5 ~ 12 m. Although a small FOM value of the power MOSFET
generally leads to higher power efficiency, however it is suspected that this may not be a
good performance indicator for a low voltage CMOS technology since low voltage
CMOS processes have a much smaller total gate charge, Qg value. Hence, the optimum
Lfinger is more accurately verified from the power efficiency versus Lfinger plot for a
constant load current. The efficiency simulation results of both SPICE and MATLAB
give an optimal Lfinger of approximately 5 m. It is noted that all DC-DC converter
efficiency simulation and gate drive/controller design works for the final output stage
were done by Marian Chang [74], a MASc student whom I worked together for the same
research project from ON-Semiconductor Corp.

41

3.4.2 Performance Evaluation via FOM

In the previous section, the conventional FOM was suspected as not a good
performance indicator for a low voltage CMOS technology. As a result, the further
investigations on the suitability of this FOM for different power MOSFET structures are
carried out in this section. Conventional trench gate and lateral diffusion MOSFETs with
similar voltage ratings and operating conditions are carefully selected from several
manufactures for a comparative analysis of FOMs. For trench gate and other
conventional lateral diffusion power transistors, the high side and low side switches are
chosen separately as they are packaged individually. In this evaluation, a single p-channel
power MOSFET is selected as the high side switch in combination with different nchannel power MOSFETs as the low side switch. This simplifies the output stage
evaluation regarding the n-channel power MOSFET. The device specifications and
typical operating conditions stated in the datasheets are summarized in both Table 3.3 and
Table 3.4.
Table 3.3 Parameter Summary of Trench-Gate Power MOSFETs
Trench-Gate
power NMOS
Vds (V)
Vgs (V)
Ron @ 4.5V ()
Qg @ 4.5V (nC)
QRR (nC)
Vf (V)
IL (A)
FOM
Datasheet

Si5920DC

Si1450DH

Si8424DB

SiA414DJ

Si1050X

Si8404DB

8
5
0.032
7.3
3
0.8
4
234
[75]

8
5
0.047
4.24
3.6
0.8
4
199
[76]

8
5
0.031
20
88
0.6
12.2
620
[77]

8
5
0.011
19
20
0.8
12
209
[78]

8
5
0.086
7.1
3.7
0.8
1.34
611
[79]

8
5
0.031
20
88
0.6
12.2
620
[80]

Table 3.4 Parameter Summary of Lateral-Diffusion Power MOSFETs

n-type LDMOS
Vds (V)
Vgs (V)
Ron @ 4.5V ()
Qg @ 4.5V (nC)
QRR (nC)
Vf (V)
IL (A)
FOM
Datasheet

MGSF1N02LT1

MMBF0201NLT1

NTA4153N

NTK3134N

20
12
0.115
3
5
0.8
1
345
[81]

20
12
1
1.4
5
0.85
0.3
1400
[82]

20
6
0.127
1.82
3
0.67
0.6
230
[83]

20
6
0.2
1.16
3
0.75
0.89
232
[84]

42

From the datasheets, the dynamic characteristics of these conventional power

MOSFETs were evaluated at 1MHz and the efficiency simulation was performed with the
conditions summarized in Table 3.5. With these operating conditions, a currentprogrammed control loop was designed by Marian Chang [74] to achieve a phase margin
of around 60 degrees, and a cut-off frequency of one-fifteenth to one-tenth of the
switching frequency. The results were plotted in Fig. 3.11. As expected, an inversely
proportional relationship was found in those two different devices. This indicates that the
conventional FOM, which is a product of Ron and Qg, is an effective performance
indicator for output stages designed with trench gate and lateral diffusion MOSFETs.

Table 3.5 Efficiency Simulation Conditions: Conventional Power MOSFETs

Parameters
Vds
Vgs
Vout
IL
fs

Simulator values for Trench MOS

4.5V
4.5V
1.8V
Nominal IL
400 kHz, 800kHz, and 1.2MHz

Simulator values for LDMOS

4.5V
4.5V
1.8V
Nominal IL
500 kHz, 1MHz, and 1.5MHz

95
Trench MOS
LDMOS

Efficiency (%)

90
@ fs = 1 MHz

85
@ fs = 800 kHz

80

75
70
0

300

600

900

1200

1500

FOM (nCm)
Fig. 3.11 FOM vs. Efficiency for conventional power MOSFETs.

43

A similar analysis of efficiency vs. conventional FOM was performed for CMOSbased power MOSFETs with different total gate widths implemented in Cadence
Virtuoso. Both Ron and Qg were extracted through HSPICE simulation and the detailed
simulation conditions are summarized in Appendix-II. The extracted values for different
NMOSFETs are listed in Table 3.6. For a comparison with efficiency, the conventional
FOM was first calculated for each NMOSFET. The efficiency simulation of these
converters was performed with test conditions summarized in Table 3.7. The simulation
results of power conversion efficiency are plotted in Fig. 3.12 with respect to the
conventional FOM.

Table 3.6 Parameter Summary of CMOS-based Power MOSFETs

CMOS Power NMOS
Total Gate Width (mm)
Vds Breakdown Voltage (V)
Vgs (V)
Ron @ 3.3V (m)
Qg @ 3.3V (nC)
QRR (nC)
Vf (V)
IL (A)
FOMConventional

#1
8.7

#2
11.9

#3
15.6

#4
19.8

#5
24.5

#6
29.7

165
0.086

149
0.106

147
0.129

14.16

15.82

18.92

7
5.5
330
0.038

245
0.052

195
0.068
1
0.6
0.4

12.44

12.63

13.18

Table 3.7 Efficiency Simulation Conditions: CMOS-based Power MOSFETs

Parameters
Vds
Vgs
Vout
IL
fs

Simulator values
3.3V
3.3V
0.8V
0.4 A
5 MHz, 10MHz, and 15MHz

In contrast to the simulated result in Fig. 3.11, the conventional FOM was found to be
clearly not a good performance indicator for CMOS-based power MOSFETs. The lower
FOM value no longer guarantees a higher efficiency or better design performance. This
observation can be understood through the difference in device structure. As illustrated in
Fig. 3.13, standard CMOS inherently has a much smaller overlap area between its polysilicon gate electrode and the source/drain diffusion area than the conventional power
MOSFETs. Therefore, CMOS-based power MOSFETs have a smaller Qg, and a different

44

power loss distribution from that of conventional power MOSFETs. Due to the difference
in power loss distribution, Ron and Qg no longer has comparative contribution to the
overall power loss. A new FOM was therefore required to characterize the performance
of CMOS-based power MOSFETs.

95
Standard CMOS @ 5 MHz
Standard CMOS @ 10 MHz
Standard CMOS @ 15 MHz

Efficiency (%)

90

85

80

75

70
10

13

16

19

22

25

FOM (nCm)

Fig. 3.12 Efficiency vs. Conventional FOM for CMOS-based Power MOSFETs.

G
n+
Cgs

p+

Cgs

G
Cgd

G
Cgd

p-sub

n+
n-

p+

nCgs

n+

Cgd

p-sub

n+

D
Fig. 3.13 Cross-sectional views of Trench-gate, LDMOS, and CMOS power MOSFETs.

45

New Figure of Merit (FOM)

From the literature review in [85], Colino and Schultz proposed a new FOM method
using different weighting factors for each FOM element which depends on a specific
topology and circuit conditions. However, they have not specified on how these
weighting factors can be chosen. In this section, a systematic approach is developed by
analyzing the major loss mechanisms in a synchronous buck converter to determine these
weighting factors.
For different DC-DC converter topologies, various power loss equations can be used
to determine the weighting factors of the new FOM. Although the weights of the
conduction loss and gate-drive loss for CMOS-based power MOSFETs are different from
those for conventional power MOSFETs, they are still two the major power loss
contributing factors [86]. Hence, Ron and Qg are also two important key parameters to be
considered for characterization. The new FOM equation can be defined as:

FOMNew A RON B Qg

(Eq.3.1)

where A and B are the weighting factors. To determine the values of these weighting
factors, the equation for conduction and gate-drive loss are stated [2]:

Pcond( HS) I L2 RON( HS) D

Conduction loss: HS switch

Pcond( LS) I L2 RON( LS) (1 D)

Conduction loss: LS switch

Pgate Vgg (Qg ( HS) Qg ( LS ) ) f S

Total gate-drive loss

Pcond is proportional to the square of output load current. By assuming that the HS and
LS switches have similar Ron as they are generally designed to be for CMOS power
MOSFETs, the constant A in Eq.3.1 is the square of the typical output load current. The
assumption of similar Ron for both the HS and LS switches is quite reasonable when the
duty cycle is not always much above or much below 50%. To further illustrate the design

46

decision, one can consider an application where Vout varies from 1.8 to 3.3V when Vin is
held at 5.5V. In this case, the duty cycle varies from 36% to 66%, thus the conduction
time for both the HS and LS switches would be comparable over the operating range.
This indicates that their on-resistances should also be designed to have comparable values.
When choosing an appropriate power MOSFET for a specific application, the designers
are usually aware of the operating switching frequency (fs) and the supply voltage level
(Vin). Hence, these two parameters can be used to calculate the weighting factor of Qg. In
order to account for the total Qg from both the HS and LS switches when only the Qg of
the LS switch is known, it is necessary to note that Qg of a PMOS is about three times
larger than that of an NMOS. Since the effective mass of a hole is much larger than that
of an electron, this results in a lower mobility for hole. By considering this fact, the
PMOS switch should be approximately three times larger than the NMOS to achieve
similar Ron. Therefore, the total Qg would be approximately four times of Qg (LS). This can
be reflected by defining the constant B in Eq.3.2.

B 4 f S Vin

(Eq.3.2)

Nevertheless, if Qg for the PMOS is known, it can be included as the total Qg, and the
constant B will not require a scaling factor of 4. Simultaneously, SPICE simulation for
Qg extraction may not produce an accurate value of Qg when the size of PMOS is too
large. When only Qg of NMOS is extracted, the new FOM equation can be defined as:

FOMNew I L2 RON( LS ) 4 f S Vin Qg ( LS )

(Eq.3.3)

To confirm the validity of the proposed FOM, the efficiency (as plotted in Fig. 3.12)
vs. the new FOM for the CMOS-based power MOSFETs is re-plotted in Fig. 3.14. In
contrast to the traditional FOM, the new FOM data trend represents the corresponding
power conversion efficiency more accurately [87]. This can be explained by the fact that
the new FOM reflects the conduction and switching power losses more effectively as it
has a unit in watt. Therefore, this new FOM developed for low voltage CMOS transistors
is a more accurate indicator of the overall device performance.
47

90
Std CMOS @ 5 MHz

88

Std CMOS @ 10 MHz

Std CMOS @ 15 MHz

Efficiency (%)

86
84

82
80
78

76
74
0.03

0.04

0.05

0.06

0.07

FOMNEW (W)
Fig. 3.14 Efficiency vs. New FOM for CMOS-based Power MOSFETs.

3.4.3 Simulated Characteristics of Different Layout Structures

The nonlinearity of the parasitic capacitances and the incomplete specification on
their variation over the full range of relevant voltages make the gate circuit design by
conventional methods exceedingly difficult. To resolve this problem, it has become
standard practice to calculate the total gate charge (Qg) that has to be supplied in order to
establish a particular drain current flow under a given test condition. Therefore, instead of
extracting parasitic capacitances, the gate charge waveforms for both MF and HW
structures were simulated based on the previous schematic models. In Fig. 3.15, the gate
charge waveform of RW layout structure was not included because the highest poly
silicon density from a tight mesh of horizontal and vertical poly gate stripes of the RW
structure would obviously result in the highest Qg. In this figure, as Vgs reaches a
threshold voltage (point A), its drain current starts to rise. At this point, the drain voltage
of the device starts to fall. Vgs is held to be relatively constant (point B) as the gate
current is used to discharge the Miller capacitance, Cgd [1]. Once Vds reaches it minimum

48

value, the Miller capacitance is fully discharged, the gate voltage will continue to rise
(point C). Since the time to discharge this parasitic capacitance is mainly depending on
the magnitude of Cgd, it is required to minimize the Qgd. However, the change in Ids
affects Qgs rather than Qgd. Nevertheless the total gate charge of HW structure was
approximately 3.6 times smaller than that for the MF structure at Vg = 3.3V. This is due
to the fact that the total W for the MF structure is more than 3 times wider than the HW
structure for the same chip area, thus smaller Qgd.

3.5

(a)

Vds
0.8

Vg
2.1

0.6

MF

I ds

1.4

0.4

@ Vg = 3.3V

0.7

Current (A)

Voltage (V)

2.8

0.2

0
0

40

80

120

160

200

240

Gate Charge (pC)

3.5

(b)

Vds
0.8

HW

Voltage (V)

Vg
2.1

0.6

I ds

1.4

0.4

Current (A)

2.8

@ Vg = 3.3V

A
0.7

0.2

0
0

20

40

60

80

Gate Charge (pC)

Fig. 3.15 Gate charge characteristics of (a) MF and (b) HW layout structures
: @ Ids=800mA, : @ Ids=400mA, : @ Ids=80mA.
49

Fig. 3.16 illustrates the Ron and Qg trends for the MF, RW and HW layout structures
as a function of power MOSFET active area. Unfortunately, both Ron and Qg plots for
RW layout structure were incomplete for the full range of device size. Since the larger
RW device contains too many transistor cells and resistive components, the simulation
was terminated after 40-50 hours of operation. It is interesting to note that Ron trends for
MF and HW structures cross over at Area = 0.066 mm2. This indicates that with a large
enough device area, the HW structure can minimize and achieve smaller overall Ron
although the W/L ratio of HW structure is smaller than that of the MFs and RWs. Since
small values of both Ron and Qg for a power MOSFET are always preferred to minimize
the overall power loss, HW structure is expected to have higher power conversion
efficiency than the other two layout strategies.
0.6

0.54

QG (MF)
0.5

0.45

RON (HW)
0.36

QG (RW)
0.3

0.27

RON (RW)
RON (MF)
0.2

0.1

0
0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09

QG(nC)

RON (Ohm)

0.4

0.18

QG (HW)

0.1

0.09

0.00
0.11 0.12 0.13

Area (mm2)
Fig. 3.16 RON and QG plots as a function of MF, RF and HW layout active areas.
For verification purpose, the power conversion efficiency was simulated as a function
of its operating switching frequency as shown in Fig. 3.17. As expected, the MF structure
provided a better power conversion efficiency at low switching operations where
conduction loss dominates. However, as the frequency increased to several MHz, there

50

was a cross-over point between MF and HW plots. This indicates that the HW structure is
a better layout scheme for power MOSFETs operating in the multi-MHz range. Also, the
HW structure provides higher efficiency at light load current because the switching and
gate drive losses (which are directly proportional to Qg) dominate over conduction loss.

100

(a)

Iload = 800mA

HW
MF

Efficiency (%)

80

60

40

Vin = 3.3V, Vout = 0.8V

20
1
100

(b)

10

Frequency
(MHz)
I
= 400mA
load

100
HW
MF

Efficiency (%)

80

60

40

Vin = 3.3V, Vout = 0.8V

20
1

10

100

100

(c)

8
Iload = 80mA

HW
MF

Efficiency (%)

80

60

40

Vin = 3.3V, Vout = 0.8V

20
1

10
Frequency (MHz)

100

Fig. 3.17 Comparison of power conversion efficiencies for both MF and HW layout
structures as a function of switching frequency and for different load currents:
(a) 800mA, (b) 400mA, and (c) 80mA.
51

In comparison with the MF and RW layouts, the HW structure demonstrates smaller

FOM even though its overall on-resistance at the small die area is higher than that of
MFs and RWs. This is due to a relatively smaller QG data of HW structures, as
summarized in Table 3.8.

Table 3.8 Simulation Data Summary of MF, RW, and HW Layout Structures
NMOS @ Vin=3.3V, Vdd=3.3V, Id=400mA

MultiFingers
(MF)

Regular
Waffle
(RW)

Hybrid
Waffle
(HW)

L
(m)

Wtotal
(m)

Area
(mm2)

Ton
(ps)

Toff
(ps)

RON
(m)

QG
(nC)

FOM
(nCm)

0.50

20172

0.0295

15.5

214.9

352

0.099

34.80

0.50

36388

0.0523

25.7

472.8

237

0.190

44.96

0.50

54582

0.0788

38.4

914.2

206

0.306

63.00

0.50

71354

0.0985

68.9

1452.2

199

0.393

78.16

0.50

86520

0.1175

118.1 2370.3

194

0.504

97.71

0.50

27981

0.0295

18.6

305.2

332

0.137

45.48

0.50

49835

0.0523

37.1

882.7

231

0.260

60.06

0.50

58904

0.0618

N/A

N/A

219

0.324

70.96

0.50

6000

0.0297

9.8

108.5

493

0.030

14.78

0.50

8700

0.0426

17.8

168.5

330

0.044

14.50

0.50

11900

0.0578

30.2

261.4

245

0.061

15.01

0.50

15600

0.0754

41.1

325.6

195

0.083

16.12

0.50

19800

0.0953

53.6

437.9

165

0.109

17.97

0.50

24500

0.1175

68.4

554.2

149

0.141

20.99

52

3.5 Summary
This chapter presented the simulation-based research on a low-voltage CMOS power
transistor layout technique, implemented in a 0.25m standard CMOS technology that is
suitable for high speed switching power devices. The proposed hybrid waffle (HW)
layout technique organizes MOSFET fingers in a square grid arrangement. It was
designed to provide an effective trade-off between the width of diagonal source/drain
metal and the active device area, allowing more effective optimization between switching
and conduction losses. In comparison with conventional multi-finger (MF) layout
geometries, the HW layout structure for the power MOSFET was found to exhibit
approximately 30% reduction in overall on-resistance with 3.6 times smaller total gate
charge for CMOS devices with a current rating of 1A. Moreover, it was found that the
conventional FOM was no longer a suitable indicator of overall device performance,
especially for the low voltage CMOS power transistors. Therefore, a new FOM was
proposed to model specifically the power loss distribution for the CMOS output-stages.
By adding two different weighting factors for both conduction and switching losses, the
new FOM could reflect the overall device performance more accurately. Lastly, the
integrated output-stage using the HW structure could achieve higher simulated power
conversion efficiencies at switching frequencies beyond multi-MHz. This performance
gain was obtained without additional processing step or changes in a device structure, and
will be very attractive for next generation low voltage integrated power converters.

53

Chapter 4 High Speed CMOS Output Stage for Integrated

DC-DC Converter
To increase the speed and decrease the power consumption of microprocessors, the
integrated DC-DC converter should operate with high efficiency. Although much effort
has gone toward improving the performance of the converter through advanced circuit
designs [17-21], the most convenient way to optimize the power MOSFET is most likely
by changing the layout structure without any variation of fabrication process. The
previous chapter has introduced a new layout strategy named Hybrid Waffle power
MOSFETs and compared the simulated performances of several different schematic
models. However, the best way to confirm actual device performance is by testing the
fabricated device. In this chapter, HW power MOSFET arrays with connection routing,
ESD protection, power clamps, and I/O pads are designed, fabricated and tested to
achieve the target specification list in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1 Target Specification

1.68mm2 (1.4mm x 1.2mm)

Maximum Die Size

MOSFET Features

Input Voltage Range (V)

Max. Output Current (mA)
Peak Current Limit (A)
Frequency Operating Range (MHz)
Min: 2
P-channel On-resistance (m)
VIN = 3.3, ILOAD = 400mA
N-channel On-resistance (m)
VIN = 3.3, ILOAD = 400mA
Absolute Maximum Ratings
Minimum Voltage All Pins (V)
Maximum Voltage All Pins (V)
Maximum Operating Voltage All Pins (V)
Operating Ambient Temperature Range (oC)
Storage Temperature Range
Junction Operating Temperature
ESD Withstand Voltage
Human Body Model (kV)
Machine Model (V)

2.5 to 5.5
800
1.2
Typical: 10

Max: 12

210
120
-0.3
6
6
-40 to 85
-55 to 150
-40 to 125
2.0
400

54

4.1 Output Stage Design based on 5V Hybrid Waffle Layout

Fig. 4.1 illustrates the layout and simplified schematic circuit of the final HW output
stage. This physical layout can be broken down into three major blocks: NMOS, PMOS,
and Local Connection Buses (i.e. VDD/GND/SW) as shown in this figure. The design
parameters and simulated Ron and Qg for the final output stage are also given in Table 4.2.

VDD

VDD

GND
PMOS
SW

PMOS

NMOS

NMOS

SW

GND

(b)

(a)

Fig. 4.1 Power MOSFET Output Stage: (a) Layout and (b) Schematic
Table 4.2 Summary of 5V power MOSFETs with Hybrid Waffle Layout Structure
W
(m)

L
(m)

NMOS

5.0

0.5

PMOS

4.2

0.5

Size
(mm2)
234 x 438
= 0.1024
501 x 435
= 0.2183

WTotal
(m)

Total # of
finger TRs

RON (m)
@ Ids=400mA
(Simulated)

QG (nC)
@ VG=3.3V
(Simulated)

21270

4443

148.0

0.113

49547

12100

214.6

0.303

Since the maximum allowable chip size was given as 1.68 mm2, several different
layout floor plans have been proposed and reviewed. In order to achieve the Ron target
specifications (see Table 4.1), a larger die size was required based on the simulation
results of the HW schematic models. However, the on-resistance close to the target
specification was possible to obtain throughout the optimization of Wtotal ratio between

55

NMOS and PMOS. Instead of using the optimal finger length of 5m, the PMOS was
constructed with a finger length of 4.2m. Although the size of PMOS was only twice
times larger than NMOS, this provided about 40% higher Wtotal than that of NMOS array.
Also, all ESD protection diodes were embedded underneath the I/O pads to save more
space in the given die size. In the following sub-sections, more detailed design
information on each power MOSFETs, power connection routings, ESD protection
diodes, power clamps, I/O pads, seal and guard rings will be briefly discussed.

4.1.1 Design of Low-Side Switch: N-channel MOSFETs

Fig. 4.2 presents the hybrid waffle unit-cell layout structure with different number of
layers. Similar to a regular waffle layout structure, it has a shared source/drain contact
with four neighboring transistors to offer a low on-resistance with higher W/A ratio. Also,
the PTAP region which consists of p+ diffusion region on p-substrate is drawn in the
middle of the HW_NMOS unit-cell to prevent the latch-up event.
W = 5M

Gate:M2

Gate:M2

PTAP
M1

M2

(b)

(c)

L = 0.5M
(a)

M3 || M4

M3

M3

M3 || M4

M3 || M4

M3
(d)

M3 || M5

M3 || M5

M3 || M5
(e)

(f)

Fig. 4.2 HW_NMOS unit-cell: (a) Active, (b) M1, (c) M2, (d) M3, (e) M4, and (f) M5.
56

The wider metal layers (e.g. M3 to M5 in parallel) were also implemented without
any design rule violations (i.e. DRC-clean layout). This is especially crucial for large
devices where the metal resistance is comparable to the channel resistance as previously
discussed in the section 3.1. Fig. 4.3 presents the corresponding schematic model of the
HW_NMOS unit-cell without any parasitic components.

Drain
Drain

Source

Source
Source

Drain

Drain
(a)

(b)

Fig. 4.3 HW_NMOS unit-cell: (a) Layout and (b) Schematic (w/o parasitics)
In Fig. 4.4, the full NMOS array is sub-divided into seven segments for power
efficiency optimization. This also provides an opportunity to analyze the influence of
parasitic components on the overall device performance since the size of the power
MOSFET (W/L ratio) can be changed. Also, a metal-2 layer is designed exclusively to
connect the entire poly-gate electrodes. This helps to avoid any cross-links with other
metal layers and further reduces the distributed gate resistance for a faster switching
operation. It is interesting to note that each NMOS segment contains a total 644
transistors in parallel but the last segment (i.e., Gate_N<6>) contains only 579 transistors.
This can be explained by the asymmetry of poly-gate distribution as illustrated in Fig. 4.5.
For instance, each segment contains five vertical sub-gate columns; however, the first
sub-column of Gate_N<6> segment in Fig. 4.5(a) has a different poly-gate distribution
from the others. Although the last segment contains 10% less transistors, there is only 1%

57

difference in the total number of transistors when all segments are being used, thus the
effect is assumed to be negligible.

M2

SW
Gate_N<6>
NM6<0:579>
Gate_N<5>
NM5<0:644>
Gate_N<4>

Gate_N<0>
Gate_N<1>
Gate_N<2>
Gate_N<3>
Gate_N<4>
Gate_N<5>
Gate_N<6>

NM4<0:644>
Gate_N<3>
NM3<0:644>
Gate_N<2>
NM2<0:644>
Gate_N<1>
NM1<0:644>
Gate_N<0>
NM0<0:644>

(a)

GND

(b)

Fig. 4.4 Gate Segmentations of NMOS array: (a) layout and (b) schematic.

Gate_N<6>

Gate_N<5>

Gate_N<0>

Gate_N<1>

More transistors

(a)

(b)

Fig. 4.5 Layout comparison between segments: (a) Gate_N<6> and (b) Gate_N<0>.

58

4.1.2 Design of High-Side Switch: P-channel MOSFETs

Similar to the hybrid waffle NMOS design, the unit-cell layout of the PMOS is
demonstrated in Fig. 4.6. Starting from the active device, each metal layer is sequentially
added to the top metal layer as shown in this figure. To satisfy the predefined W total ratio
between NMOS and PMOS, the finger length of the PMOS is drawn as 4.2 m, instead
of the optimal width of 5 m. Also, the NTAP region which consists of n+ diffusion
region on n-well is inserted in the middle of the HW_PMOS unit-cell to prevent the
latch-up event.
W = 4.2M

Gate:M2

Gate:M2

NTAP
M1

M2

N-Well
L= 0.5M
(a)

(b)

M3

(c)
M3 || M5

M3 || M4

M3 || M4

M3

M3 || M4

M3
(d)

M3 || M5

(e)

M3 || M5
(f)

Fig. 4.6 HW_PMOS unit-cell: (a) Active, (b) M1, (c) M2, (d) M3, (e) M4, and (f) M5
As illustrated in Fig. 4.7, the full PMOS array is also divided into seven segments to
analyze the overall device performance for different size of power MOSFETs. Again, a
metal-2 layer is used exclusively to connect the entire poly-gate electrodes. This further
reduces the distributed gate resistance and allows a faster switching operation. Each

59

PMOS segment contains a total 1739 transistors in parallel except that the last segment
(i.e. Gate_N<6>) contains only 1666 transistors. This asymmetry of poly-gate
distribution is illustrated in Fig. 4.8. Although the last segment contains 4% less
transistors, there is only 0.5% difference in the total number of transistors when all
segments are being used, thus the effect is negligible.
VDD

M2

PM0<0:1739>

Gate_P<0>
PM1<0:1739>
Gate_P<1>

Gate_P<6>

Gate_P<5>

Gate_P<4>

Gate_P<3>

Gate_P<2>

Gate_P<1>

Gate_P<0>

PM2<0:1739>
Gate_P<2>
PM3<0:1739>
Gate_P<3>
PM4<0:1739>
Gate_P<4>
PM5<0:1739>
Gate_P<5>
PM6<0:1666>
Gate_P<6>

(a)

(b)
Fig. 4.7 Gate Segmentations of PMOS array: (a) layout and (b) schematic.
Gate_N<0>

Gate_P<6>

More transistors

(a)

(b)

Fig. 4.8 Layout comparison between segments: (a) Gate_P<0> and (b) Gate_P<6>.
60

4.1.3 Power Connection Routings

Fig. 4.9 demonstrates the routing layouts with different number of metal layers. To
save the die space, the gate-driver block is overlapped with the top power connection
wires. Since it only requires three metal layers (i.e. M1-M3), the remaining M4 and M5
layers are used to extend the VDD and GND routings from each side. The routing metal
width is estimated to be the sum of all source/drain narrow metal wire widths (see the
source/drain lines in Fig. 4.3) in each power MOSFET array. Fig. 4.10 shows a metal
stress relief pattern, so called metal slots. These metal slots are placed for releasing
stress of wide metal lines (i.e. to avoid the electro-migration problem). According to
TSMCs 0.25m CMOS design rule, the wide metal is defined as a metal layer with
35m or greater width. Therefore, all three power routing layers whose widths are greater
than 100m have to be designed with those metal slots.

Gate-Driver (M1-M3)

PMOS

SW (M1-M3)

GND
(M4-M5)

NMOS

GND (M1-M5)

VDD (M1~M5)

GND (M1-M3)

VDD (M1-M3)

NMOS

PMOS

VDD (M4~M5)

SW (M1-M5)

(a)

(b)
Fig. 4.9 Power Connection Routing Layouts: (a) M1-M3 and (b) M4-M5 layers.
Metal-2/4 Vertical Slots

Metal-1/3/5 Horizontal Slots

Fig. 4.10 Metal stress relief pattern on a routing metal wire.

61

4.1.4 ESD Protection, Power Clamp, and Guard Rings

ESD (Electro Static Discharge) protection circuits are required for all IC components
that are likely to experience electro static discharges to the internal circuit, such as at an
input pad, an output pad, or a power rail. Fig. 4.11 shows the ESD protection diode and
power clamp layouts. In order to satisfy the 2kV HBM (Human Body Model) and 400V
MM (Machine Model) target specifications, several different components were combined
together. There were four main instances used in this layout; (i) esd_nclamp5v_500p4U,
(ii) resistor_172k, (iii) pad_io_100100, and (iv) pad_o_100100. More detailed
descriptions are given in the following sections.

(i)
(ii)

(iv)
(iii)
(a)
VDD

VDD

In: SP

Out: EN

In: EN

Out: SP

GND

GND
VDD

pad_io_100x100

Out: DPWM_N

In: DPWM_N

Out: DPWM_P

In: DPWM_P

VDD

GND

GND

VDD

VDD

pad_o_100x100
Out: PT

In: CLK
GND

VDD

GND

resistor_172k
esd_nclamp5v_500p4U
GND

(b)
Fig. 4.11 2kV HBM and 400 MM ESD protection circuit, (a) layout (b) schematic.
62

ESD Protection Circuits under I/O Pads

All ESD protection diodes are located underneath each input and output bond pads to
minimize the full chip size as illustrated in Fig. 4.12. Since an ESD protection circuit
always requires a path between a supply voltage (VDD) and ground (GND) nodes, it
often uses diodes between VDD and GND. For an input pad, an additional poly-resistor
with a minimum resistance of 1 k is required to protect the gate and it separates the
primary and secondary diodes. The primary protection diode is necessary to clamp the
ESD event voltage spike. The secondary protection diode with a resistor is then used as a
voltage-current converter. The secondary diodes are relatively small because they do not
need to carry as much current as the primary ones. In this layout, four and two p-n diode
structures (i.e. well diodes) are designed for the input and output pads, respectively.

GND
M2

VDD GND
M1/M3/M4

VDD

GND
M2

No Resistor
(c)

Resistor
(a)
VDD
pad_io_100100

VDD
pad_o_100100

Output

Output
GND

GND
(b)

VDD

OUTPUT PAD: M5
100m x 100m

INPUT PAD: M5
100m x 100m

Input

VDD GND
M1/M3/M4

(d)

Fig. 4.12 ESD Protection Circuit Under Input Pad: (a) layout and (b) schematic.
ESD Protection Circuit Under Output Pad: (c) layout and (d) schematic.

63

Power Clamps with Poly-resistor

In order to satisfy 2kV HBM and 400 MM ESD requirements, eight power clamps
(i.e., esd_nclamp5v_500p4U) are added between VDD and GND. Power clamps are
designed as a MOS-based structure to introduce a RC delay to the input node and they
have a total width of 4000 m (8 500 m), as shown in Fig. 4.13. An extra resistor is
required for this protection circuit. Poly-resistor with R = 172 k is connected between
vsup and rvsup terminals. To minimize the die size, the p-type high resistance polyresistor (i.e. rphripoly) is used in a snake pattern, as illustrated in Fig. 4.14. Also, many
PTAPs (i.e., p+ substrate contacts) are added on the substrate to prevent the possible
latch-up event.

rvsup

GND

rvsup

vsup

Ctotal = 1.875 pF

vsup: M1/M3/M4
rvsup: M1
gnd: M5

GND

GND

vsup

vsup
(a)

vsup

Wtotal = 500 m

vsup
(b)

Fig. 4.13 Power Clamp, esd_nclamp5v_ 500p4U, (a) layout and (b) schematic.

64

vsup

p-type polysilicon
rvsup
GND

vsup
rvsup

(b)
(a)
Fig. 4.14 p-type high resistance poly-resistor, rphripoly, (a) layout and (b) schematic.
Seal and Guard Rings
For physical stress damage and additional latch-up preventions, seal and guard rings
are employed, respectively. For instance, the seal ring is essentially a huge substrate
contact around the outside of each chip. It is basically a chunk of metal. All metal layers
in the process are stacked on top of each other, in order to keep any cracks that occur at
the edge of the die from working their way into the circuitry inside. Also, to prevent the
latch-up, a guard ring is used to surround the die (i.e., p+ in p-well and n+ in n-well).
Both seal and guard rings used in the output stage are shown in Fig. 4.15.

Seal Ring
Guard Ring

Fig. 4.15 Seal and guard ring layout.

65

4.2 IC Fabrication and Packaging

The integrated HW output stage described in this thesis has been fabricated by using
TSMCs 0.25m 5-metal layers CMOS process. A micrograph of the output stage with
the final die size of 1442 m 1060 m is as shown in Fig. 4.16. This IC chip is
designed to be part of a monolithic DC-DC converter with an external FPGA controller
for demonstration purpose. Gate drivers, protection circuits, and a simple digital interface
are also included in this design. The diagonal source/drain metal runners are zoomed-in
as illustrated in Fig. 4.17. The metal runners are composed of stacks of 3 levels of
metallization (M3-M5) to reduce a de-biasing effects and the possibility of
electromigration. In addition, the output stage is configured in a segmented output stage
configuration as previously discussed in the section 4.1.1 and 4.1.2. A distributed set of
gate drivers were used to drive each transistor segment. No additional area overhead was
incurred.

1442 m
ESD Protection

CLK

PDRV

EN

NDRV
PT

S/P
PMOS Gate-Driver

NMOS Gate-Driver

PMOS

GND

NMOS

1060 m

Logic Controller

VDD

GND

VDD

SW

SW

Fig. 4.16 A micrograph of an integrated output stage using Hybrid Waffle layout in
TSMC 0.25m standard CMOS technology.

66

Source
(VDD)

Drain
(SW)

Fig. 4.17 A micrograph of source/drain metal runners (M3-M5).

To minimize both cost and parasitics, a QFN-12 package has been carefully selected
throughout a comparison with other available IC packages. The output stage chip was
packaged by ON-Semiconductor Corp. with their in-line facility. Table 4.3 summarizes
the detailed package information of the integrated HW output stage. The micrographs of
the actual package and the system overviews are also illustrated in Fig. 4.18 and Fig. 4.19,
respectively.

Table 4.3 Package Description of the Integrated HW Output Stage

Name of Package
Total Number of Pins
Die Size
Package Size
Bond Pad Opening Size
Bond Wire Material
Diameter of Bond Wire
Metal Overlap of Pad Opening
Package Resistance, R
Package Inductance, L
Package Capacitance, C
Junction-to-ambient RJA
Junction-to-multilayer board RJMA
Junction-to-board RJB
Junction-to-case RJC

QFN (Quad Flat No-lead)

12 (3pins at each side)
1060 m 1442 m (H W)
3.0 mm 3.0 mm 1.0 mm (H W T)
100 m 100 m
Gold (Au)
1.3 mil
2 m
0.033 [88]
0.738nH [88]
0.316pF [88]
213 C/W [89]
85 C/W [89]
56 C/W [89]
21 C/W [89]

67

Fig. 4.18 A micrograph of the packaged HW chip.

S/P

VIN

VIN

S/P

PDRV
PDRV
SW

CLK
SW

CLK

EN

EN

GND
GND

PT

PT

NDRV

NDRV

(a)

(b)

Fig. 4.19 a) System Overview and b) X-ray Image of QFN-12 package.

4.3 Test PCB Design

The test PCB has three main parts: a place for mounting the packaged output stage,
the output filter, and connections to the controller. The PCB layout was designed using
Eagle Layout Editor and its photograph are given in Fig. 4.20(a) and Fig. 4.20(b),
respectively. The optimal values for the output L-C filter are calculated with the
equations derived from [90] as shown below:

68

Lf

(Vin Vout) D
2 iL f S

(Eq.4.1)

Cf

iL
8 vC f S

(Eq.4.2)

where iL is a load current variation and vC is a tolerance of output voltage.

To control the output stage, an Altera Cyclone III FPGA development kit is used. The
controller code programmed into Cyclone III is scripted by Marian Chang. The
programmable electronic load, HP6051A, is connected to the output of the L-C filter as a
load for the output stage with current ranging from 10 to 800 mA. Standard lab
equipments are employed for power supply, and measurements of voltage and current.

Output
Filter

LDOs
ADC

Output Stage
Connectors to FPGA
Transceivers

(a)

(b)

Fig. 4.20 Test PCB: (a) layout (silkscreen-view) and (b) photograph.

69

4.4 Experimental Results and Discussion

4.4.1 On-Resistance Measurements
The overall resistances of the n- and p-type HW power MOSFETs were measured
with one to seven parallel segments by using a combination of HP E3631A DC Power
Supply and Agilent 3441A Digital Multi-meter. The test circuits for on-resistance
measurements for both the high-side and the low-side power MOSFETs are as shown in
Fig. 4.21. By attaching an external resistor to each test circuit, the on-resistances were
able to be measured. For NMOS, the Ron calculation method is following as:

R ON(LS)

Vsw
Vsw

I ds (Vx Vsw )/Rext

(Eq.4.3)

R ON(HS)

(Vsup Vsw ) (Vsup Vsw )

I ds
Vsw /R ext

(Eq.4.4)

For PMOS,

From these two equations, several Ron measurements for different number of each
PMOS and NMOS segments are calculated and the data are summarized in Table 4.4.
VSUP

VIN
Off

On

REXT
VSW

On

VGND
(a)

+ VX
-

VSW
Off

REXT

VGND
(b)

Fig. 4.21 Test circuits for on-resistance measurements: (a) NMOS and (b) PMOS

70

Table 4.4 Summary of on-resistance measurements.

VIN (V)
REXT ()
IDS (A)
VX (V)
VSW (V)
VGND (V)
RON ()
Ratio

NMOS: QFN-12

PMOS: QFN-12

# of Segment = 1

# of Segment = 1

2.5
19.25
0.098
1.999
0.111
0
1.134
4.85

3.3
19.25
0.099
1.998
0.086
0
0.870
4.38

5.0
19.25
0.100
1.998
0.066
0
0.662
3.91

VIN (V)
REXT ()
IDS (A)
VX (V)
VSW (V)
VGND (V)
RON ()
Ratio

# of Segment = 2
VIN (V)
REXT ()
IDS (A)
VX (V)
VSW (V)
VGND (V)
RON ()
Ratio

2.5
19.25
0.101
1.998
0.060
0
0.601
2.57

3.3
19.25
0.101
1.998
0.048
0
0.476
2.40

2.5
19.25
0.102
1.998
0.043
0
0.424
1.82

3.3
19.25
0.102
1.998
0.034
0
0.336
1.69

5.0
19.25
0.102
1.998
0.038
0
0.374
2.21

VIN (V)
REXT ()
IDS (A)
VX (V)
VSW (V)
VGND (V)
RON ()
Ratio

2.5
19.25
0.102
1.998
0.035
0
0.344
1.47

3.3
19.25
0.102
1.998
0.029
0
0.282
1.42

5.0
19.25
0.226
4.614
4.348
0
1.178
4.51

2.5
19.25
0.129
2.611
2.483
0
0.992
2.76

3.3
19.25
0.155
3.108
2.977
0
0.847
2.74

5.0
19.25
0.231
4.601
4.445
0
0.676
2.59

# of Segment = 3
5.0
19.25
0.102
1.998
0.028
0
0.275
1.62

VIN (V)
REXT ()
IDS (A)
VX (V)
VSW (V)
VGND (V)
RON ()
Ratio

# of Segment = 4
VIN (V)
REXT ()
IDS (A)
VX (V)
VSW (V)
VGND (V)
RON ()
Ratio

3.3
19.25
0.152
3.164
2.920
0
1.609
5.21

# of Segment = 2

# of Segment = 3
VIN (V)
REXT ()
IDS (A)
VX (V)
VSW (V)
VGND (V)
RON ()
Ratio

2.5
19.25
0.126
2.667
2.427
0
1.904
5.29

2.5
19.25
0.133
2.641
2.551
0
0.679
1.89

3.3
19.25
0.158
3.138
3.047
0
0.575
1.86

5.0
19.25
0.230
4.530
4.428
0
0.443
1.70

# of Segment = 4
5.0
19.25
0.103
1.998
0.024
0
0.230
1.36

VIN (V)
REXT ()
IDS (A)
VX (V)
VSW (V)
VGND (V)
RON ()
Ratio

2.5
19.25
0.133
2.630
2.558
0
0.542
1.51

3.3
19.25
0.159
3.124
3.054
0
0.441
1.43

5.0
19.25
0.235
4.615
4.531
0
0.357
1.37

71

# of Segment = 5
VIN (V)
REXT ()
IDS (A)
VX (V)
VSW (V)
VGND (V)
RON ()
Ratio

2.5
19.25
0.102
1.998
0.031
0
0.299
1.28

3.3
19.25
0.102
1.998
0.026
0
0.249
1.25

# of Segment = 5
5.0
19.25
0.103
1.998
0.021
0
0.207
1.23

VIN (V)
REXT ()
IDS (A)
VX (V)
VSW (V)
VGND (V)
RON ()
Ratio

# of Segment = 6
VIN (V)
REXT ()
IDS (A)
VX (V)
VSW (V)
VGND (V)
RON ()
Ratio

2.5
19.25
0.102
1.998
0.027
0
0.264
1.13

3.3
19.25
0.103
1.998
0.023
0
0.223
1.12

2.5
19.25
0.103
1.999
0.024
0
0.234
1.00

3.3
19.25
0.103
1.999
0.020
0
0.199
1.00

3.3
19.25
0.161
3.170
3.107
0
0.390
1.26

5.0
19.25
0.235
4.603
4.530
0
0.310
1.19

# of Segment = 6
5.0
19.25
0.103
1.998
0.019
0
0.188
1.11

VIN (V)
REXT ()
IDS (A)
VX (V)
VSW (V)
VGND (V)
RON ()
Ratio

# of Segment = 7
VIN (V)
REXT ()
IDS (A)
VX (V)
VSW (V)
VGND (V)
RON ()
Ratio

2.5
19.25
0.131
2.576
2.515
0
0.467
1.30
2.5
19.25
0.128
2.521
2.468
0
0.415
1.15

3.3
19.25
0.162
3.167
3.111
0
0.347
1.12

5.0
19.25
0.228
4.461
4.397
0
0.280
1.07

# of Segment = 7
5.0
19.25
0.103
1.999
0.017
0
0.169
1.00

VIN (V)
REXT ()
IDS (A)
VX (V)
VSW (V)
VGND (V)
RON ()
Ratio

2.5
19.25
0.128
2.518
2.472
0
0.360
1.00

3.3
19.25
0.162
3.168
3.118
0
0.309
1.00

5.0
19.25
0.234
4.558
4.497
0
0.261
1.00

The Ron measurements for three different voltage ratings are plotted in Fig. 4.22. The
overall on-resistance for each NMOS and PMOS is found to be decreased as the number
of segments in the output stage is increased. Since the higher number of segments refers
to the higher number of HW unit cells or the larger power MOSFET area, these results
confirm the functionality of the on-chip segmentation control logics.

72

2
NMOS, VDD = 5.0V

PMOS, VDD = 5.0V

NMOS, VDD = 3.3V

PMOS, VDD = 3.3V

NMOS, VDD = 2.5V

PMOS, VDD = 2.5V

1.8
1.6

RON ()

1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1

# of Segments

Fig. 4.22 Measured on-resistance vs. # of segments at different voltage ratings.

In comparison with the HSPICE simulated data obtained from the previous HW
schematic model (i.e., Fig. 3.8), the measured Ron data are plotted together with the
simulated data for each voltage rating. As illustrated in Fig. 4.23, the measurement is in
good agreement with the simulation results. The saturation of Ron data between five to
seven segments indicates the dominance of metal interconnect resistance.

Table 4.5 summarized both the simulated and measured on-resistance data. The
difference between the simulations and measurements is found to be less than 10%.
Without the package resistance consideration, the difference will be slightly higher. It is
noted that all simulated on-resistance data shown in Table 4.5 includes the 20m
additional source/drain package resistance to the HW schematic models.

73

2.4

(a)

NMOS, VDD = 2.5V (Measurement)

2.2

NMOS, VDD = 2.5V (Simulation)

PMOS, VDD = 2.5V (Measurement)

PMOS, VDD = 2.5V (Simulation)

1.8

RON ()

1.6
1.4

1.2

>90% Accuracy

1
0.8

0.6
0.4
0.2

0
1

# of Segments
2
NMOS, VDD = 3.3V (Measurement)

(b)

1.8

NMOS, VDD = 3.3V (Simulation)

PMOS, VDD = 3.3V (Measurement)

1.6

PMOS, VDD = 3.3V (Simulation)

RON ()

1.4
1.2

>93% Accuracy

1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1

# of Segments
1.4

(c)

NMOS, VDD = 5.0V (Measurement)

NMOS, VDD = 5.0V (Simulation)

1.2

PMOS, VDD = 5.0V (Measurement)

PMOS, VDD = 5.0V (Simulation)

RON ()

1
0.8

>92% Accuracy
0.6
0.4
0.2

0
1

# of Segments

Fig. 4.23 Comparison between simulated and measured on-resistances:

(a) Vdd= 2.5V, (b) Vdd= 3.3V, and (c) Vdd= 5.0V.
74

Table 4.5 Data comparison between simulated and measured on-resistances.

NMOS

RON @ VIN = 2.5V

RON @ VIN = 3.3V

RON @ VIN = 5.0V

# of Segments

Meas.
(V)

Sim.
(V)

Error
(%)

Meas.
(V)

Sim.
(V)

Error
(%)

Meas.
(V)

Sim.
(V)

Error
(%)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

1.134
0.601
0.424
0.344
0.299
0.264
0.234

1.048
0.559
0.401
0.321
0.273
0.239
0.216

7.6
7.0
5.6
6.5
8.8
9.4
7.7

0.870
0.476
0.336
0.282
0.249
0.223
0.199

0.829
0.458
0.335
0.273
0.234
0.207
0.188

4.8
3.9
0.4
3.2
6.3
7.2
5.6

0.662
0.374
0.275
0.230
0.207
0.188
0.169

0.655
0.375
0.281
0.232
0.201
0.179
0.164

1.0
0.2
2.2
1.0
2.9
4.8
3.1

PMOS

RON @ VIN = 2.5V

RON @ VIN = 3.3V

RON @ VIN = 5.0V

# of Segments

Meas.
(V)

Sim.
(V)

Error
(%)

Meas.
(V)

Sim.
(V)

Error
(%)

Meas.
(V)

Sim.
(V)

Error
(%)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

1.904
0.992
0.679
0.542
0.487
0.415
0.360

1.909
0.984
0.688
0.541
0.449
0.386
0.338

0.3
0.8
1.3
0.2
3.8
6.9
6.1

1.609
0.847
0.575
0.441
0.390
0.347
0.309

1.545
0.812
0.576
0.449
0.379
0.331
0.288

4.0
4.1
0.2
1.7
3.0
4.5
6.7

1.178
0.676
0.443
0.357
0.310
0.280
0.261

1.161
0.678
0.455
0.367
0.311
0.271
0.239

1.4
0.4
2.6
2.8
0.2
3.4
8.4

4.4.2 Gate-drive Loss Measurements

The total input gate charge measurement is also desirable to analyze the trade-off
relationship between Ron and Qg in a segmented output stage. However, Qg was not able
to be measured directly because there was no test point at the gate terminals of the power
MOSFETs. Therefore, the gate-drive loss, Pgate which is proportional to Qg, was
measured instead as part of the total dynamic power consumption, Pdyn. As shown in Fig.
4.24, the total Pdyn was measured during switching includes the gate-drive loss, diode
conduction and reverse recovery loss, switching loss, shoot-through loss, and power
consumed by the protection circuits and level-shifters in the switching mode [91-92].
Since the measurements are taken by setting the load current to zero, the diode and
switching losses which are proportional to the load current are approximately zero.
Moreover, the gate-drive loss should be theoretically zero when no segment is enabled.

75

However, there was a minimum power consumption of approximately 10 mW at no

segment. In order to extract the true Pgate, the dynamic losses of the level-shifter and overcurrent protection circuits were subtracted from the total Pdyn. The Pgate data for different
number of segments are summarized in Table 4.6. By considering the Wtotal ratio between
NMOS and PMOS, the Pgate data for different number of each NMOS and PMOS
segments could be estimated from the measured total Pgate.

25

Power (mW)

20

15

10

5
Pdyn_total
Pgate_total

0
0

# of Segments
Fig. 4.24 Total dynamic and gate-drive power measurements.

Table 4.6 Summary of Gate-Drive Power Calculated from Measurements

# of Segments
Pgate-Total (mW)
Pgate-PMOS (mW)
Pgate-NMOS (mW)
Ratio to 1-segment

1
1.89
1.32
0.57
1.0

2
4.08
2.85
1.23
2.2

3
5.83
4.08
1.75
3.1

4
8.45
5.91
2.54
4.5

5
9.81
6.86
2.95
5.2

6
12.19
8.53
3.66
6.5

7
13.38
9.36
4.02
7.1

76

4.4.3 Efficiency Measurements

The prototype IC was also used to implement a buck converter and the experimental
measurement of converter efficiency was first performed with all segments enabled at
6.25MHz to verify the experimental set-up. Fig. 4.25 demonstrates the corresponding
efficiency plot with a peak efficiency of approximately 85%.

90%

Efficiency (%)

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%
10

100

1000

Load Current (mA)

Fig. 4.25 Measured power conversion efficiency of HW output stage with a test
conditions: fs = 6.25MHz, Vin = 2.7V, Vout = 1.8V, L = 2.2 H, and C = 100nF.
At 10MHz switching frequency, the waveforms at the output node (Vout) and the
switching node (Vx) were measured at Iout = 158 mA, as shown in Fig. 4.26. All segments
in the output stage were enabled. The fast turn-on and turn-off times indicates the
converter is capable of switching at 10MHz with minimal ripples. All efficiency data of
selected segments were plotted together in Fig. 4.27. The maximum efficiency was found
as 82%. This result confirms that the CMOS power transistors using the HW layout
structure have a performance advantage at light-load conditions with segmented output
stage. The improvement was obtained with no processing or device structural changes.

77

HW layout is expected to be applicable to next generation power converters with high

switching frequencies.

Fig. 4.26 10MHz switching characteristic at Iout = 158mA.

90%

Efficiency (%)

80%
70%
60%
50%
40%

1 SEG
4 SEG

30%

6 SEG
7 SEG

20%
10

100

1000

Load Current (mA)

Fig. 4.27 Measured power conversion efficiency of HW segmented output stage at
10MHz switching frequency: Vin = 3.6V, Vout = 1.8V, L = 1H, and C = 56nF.

78

4.5 Summary
This chapter covers the HW layout technique for the design of CMOS power
transistors in a low voltage DC-DC buck converter. A prototype IC that contains
integrated gate drivers, protection circuits and CMOS output power transistors was
implemented in a standard 0.25m CMOS process. The experimental measurements of
the on-resistance and gate-drive loss confirmed the advantages of the HW structure in a
VLSI based process, making the MOSFET a suitable candidate for on-chip, high
frequency switch mode DC-DC converters. The performance improvement was obtained
with no processing or device structural changes. The measured overall on-resistances for
both the n- and p-type power MOSFETs were in good agreement with the earlier
simulation results. Also, the segmentation of the power MOSFET array enhanced the
converter efficiency at the light-load conditions. The maximum measured efficiencies of
the converter switching at 6.25 MHz and 10MHz were 85% and 82%, respectively.

79

Chapter 5 Device Structure and Analysis of the SJFINFET on SOI

Double diffused MOS transistors (LDMOSFETs) are widely used for output devices
in smart power applications because they can easily be integrated in a standard CMOS
process flow. Considerable effort has been put into the development of LDMOSFETs for
automotive applications, consumer electronics, and industrial controls [93]. One of the
main issues concerning the design of these devices is the trade-off between the
breakdown voltage (BV) and specific on-resistance (Ron,sp). The super junction (SJ)
concept has been introduced to achieve a better trade-off between the BV and Ron,sp [11].
The high doping concentrations of the alternating n/p pillars in the SJ-drift region provide
a significant reduction in the overall on-resistance. Under the full depletion condition, the
pillars behave similar to very lightly doped drift layer and a nearly uniform electric field
(see Fig. 2.8) can be achieved for a high BV, allowing the physical device limitations
known as silicon limit to be overcome. However, the conventional SJ structure does not
have significant advantages for low voltage applications (e.g. < 200V) due to the fact that
the channel resistance becomes comparable to the drift region resistance at low voltage
ratings.
To resolve the issue, we present a novel device structure suitable for practical
implementation of lateral superjunction FINFET (SJ-FINFET) on SOI platform. In this
chapter, we briefly describe the device structure and demonstrate theoretically that a SJFINFET structure can minimize both channel and drift resistances without BV
degradation. The feasibility of the design concept on its structure is validated by process
and device simulations. The proposed SJ structure is then further investigated for
different trench gate depths and drift lengths in comparison with a conventional SJLDMOSFET. Three-dimensional numerical simulations with ISE-DESSISTM have been
performed to analyze the influence of device parameters on the charge imbalance and the
trade-off relationship between BV and Ron,sp.

80

5.1 Device Structure and Operating Concept

Lateral power devices have the advantages that it enables the easy integrate both high
and low voltage circuitries on the same die. However, most superjunction (SJ) devices
reported are based on vertical structure. This is because of the fact that the lateral SJ
structure implemented on the bulk-Si substrate is not only sensitive to the inter-diffusion
and charge imbalance issues [52-62], but it also suffers from the Substrate Assisted
Depletion (SAD) effect [94-95]. This effect makes the charge balance control between
the alternating n/p pillars more difficult and limits the performance of the SJ-LDMOS
device. Although several approaches have been proposed to modify the conventional SJLDMOS structure as previously mentioned in Chapter 2, they could not eliminate the
SAD completely. To eliminate this effect, a SOI (Silicon-On-Insulator) substrate with a
thick buried oxide layer is selected in this study.

The basic idea of the SJ-FINFET structure was originated from two existing
technologies: (a) superjunction principle [11] and (b) one of multi-gate transistor
architectures so called FINFET (Fin-Field Effect Transistor) [96]. By combining these
technologies, the SJ-FINFET device was first introduced as shown in Fig. 5.1.

(a)

(b)

Fig. 5.1 Basic idea of SJ-FINFET structure: (a) a fin-gate and (b) with a SJ-drift region
81

However, one of issues within this initial structure is that it needs to fill the trench with
an epitaxial layer, whose growth technique is generally not compatible with modern
CMOS processes. Also, it has a relatively poor crystalline quality due to a higher
dislocation density. To solve this problem, several attempts have been reported by using a
doped poly-Si as an alternative [97] but the inter-diffusion is another issue because a
dopant (e.g. boron) from the as-deposited poly-Si can easily diffuse into the n-pillar or
segregate at the interface during a high temperature thermal processing step.

In general, the on-resistance of a lateral SJ structure can be reduced by increasing the

n/p-drift region doping concentrations (ND, NA), narrowing the n/p-drift region pillar
widths (WN, WP) and increasing their height (Tepi). Normally, the minimum n/p-drift
region pillar widths are limited by the processing rules. Therefore, increasing Tepi is an
effective way to reduce the on-resistance of lateral SJ structures however this should be
followed by the deep n/p pillar formations in the drift region. Since the project range (Rp)
of a high energy ion implantation can only reach up to approximately 1m depth, a
sidewall doping of the trench by a tilted implantation is only a conventional technique to
form a deep uniform p-pillar layer without any major processing changes (i.e. CMOScompatibility issues).

The overview of the proposed lateral SJ-FINFET is illustrated in Fig. 5.2(a). The
proposed device structure has an embedded trench gate on the side wall and a channel on
the top surface. It is designed to increase the total channel width (i.e. Wtop + Wside) and
provide a more effective conduction path to the drift region. The cross-sections of the
proposed device structure are also demonstrated in Fig. 5.2. It can be seen that the crosssectional area of n-drift (Sn) is larger than that of p-drift (Sp) within the SJ unit-cell. This
asymmetric SJ drift structure are analyzed for different voltage rating in order to examine
its effect on the on-resistance and the sensitivity of the BV due to charge imbalance. To
achieve fully depleted SJ-drift region where Sn is larger than Sp, the doping concentration
of the p-drift layer (NA) should be greater than the n-drift doping concentration (ND). For
trench depths of 2 and 3 m, NA is calculated to be about 23% and 16% greater than ND,
respectively. This indicates that the increase in NA is less pronounced for a deeper trench

82

structure since the difference between Sn and Sp becomes smaller for a deeper trench
structure. Also, the difference between ND and NA can be even smaller as the bottom ndrift layer is not directly connected to the channel. Hence, a full charge balanced
characteristic is mainly required near the sidewall of the drift trench region.
(a)

(b)

Cross-section: A-A

Cross-section: B-B
Wtop

2 or 3

Wside

n-drift

2 or 3

p-drift

Poly-Si

Wtop

0.3 W p W n 0.3 0.3 0.3

DTI

0.3 0.3

Wside

0.6

TGox
0.03

p-body

0.6

(Sp) (Sn)

0.3
0.3

BOX

BOX

SJ unit-cell SJ unit-cell

SJ unit-cell SJ unit-cell

Fig. 5.2 (a) Overview of the proposed lateral SJ-FINFET structure and (b) Schematic
cross-sections along the cut-lines: A-A and B-B

83

Lgate

(c)

Lch

Ldrift

n
+
n+

n-drift

Tepi

n+

p-body
p+
BOX
p-substrate
Lgate

(d)
Ldrift

n
+ Wside
n+

p-drift

WP
WN

p+ p-

Tepi

n+

n-drift

BOX
p-substrate
Lgate

(e)

Ldrift

n
n+
+ Wside

p+ p-

DTI

WP
WN

Tepi

n+

p-drift
n-drift

BOX
p-substrate
Fig 5.2 Schematic cross-sections along (c) n-drift region, (d) p-drift region, and (e) drifttrench region

84

The initial n-drift doping concentration for d = 0.3 m was calculated by [11].

N D 1.411012 7 / 6 d 7 / 6 (cm3 )

(Eq.5.1)

1/2 or 1/3 for vertical or lateral SJ device

where d is the width of n/p drift layer (only if d Wn Wp ) and is the optimal doping
coefficient (0 < < 1).
Dividing the unit-cell along the center of the structure as shown in Fig. 5.2(a), the
widths of n/p pillars within the SJ unit-cell are the same (i.e. 0.3 m). The charge
imbalance between n-drift and p-drift layers directly affects the value of breakdown
voltage (BV). Thus, it is important to evaluate the effect of charge imbalance in order to
achieve the maximum BV. Based on the calculated ND (= 7.4 x 1016 cm3), the charge
imbalance simulations with several NA are performed for different trench depths and drift
lengths later in the section 5.3. The ideal SJ-FINFET structure is given as a reference in
Fig. 5.3. Lastly, Table 5.1 represents the technological and geometrical parameters
considered for both process and device simulation works in this chapter.

Fig. 5.3 Ideal device structure of the proposed SJ-FINFET.

85

Table 5.1: Parameters considered for both process and device simulations
Parameter

Value

Drift length, Ldrift (m)

3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 6.0, 8.0, and 12.0

n-drift width, 2Wn (m)

0.6

n-drift doping concentration, ND (cm-3)

7.4 1016

p-drift width, Wp (m)

0.3

p-drift doping concentration, NA (cm-3)

9.8, 9.2, 8.7, 8.2, 7.8, and 7.4 1016

p-body doping concentration, Np-body (cm-3)

5.0 1017

p-substrate doping concentration, Nsub (cm-3) 2.0 1014

n+ source/drain contact, Ns/d (cm-3)

1.0 1020

p+ contact, Np+(cm-3)

5.0 1019

Gate oxide thickness, TGox (nm)

35

Top channel width, Wtop (m)

0.6

Side channel width, Wside (m)

2.0 and 3.0

Gate length, Lgate (m)

1.0

Channel length, Lch (m)

0.5

SOI thickness, Tepi (m)

2.6 and 3.6

Buried oxide thickness, TBOX (m)

2.0

86

5.2 Process Simulations

Process simulations are performed based on 2D process simulator, TSUPREM4 [99]
to extract the specific processing conditions (e.g. dopant, does, energy, angle,
temperature, time, etch rate, gas, etc.) required for the SJ-FINFET structure. Three
important process modules such as a) P-body formation, b) SJ-drift formation, and c) N+
source/drain contact formation were mainly investigated to validate the SJ-FINFET
device concept and optimize the device parameters. The cross-sections along B-B and CC cut lines (shown in Fig. 5.2(a)) were simulated to evaluate the feasibility of those
process modules. The dose and energy of the multiple high energy ion implantations were
optimized to meet their specifications. The accurate numerical models, i.e. diffusion
model PD. TRANS, oxidation model VISCOELA and ion implantation MONTE CARLO
model were used in process steps to get more accurate process simulation results. More
detailed descriptions are given in the following sub-sections.

5.2.1 Simulation of P-body Formation

As shown in Fig. 5.2(c)-(e), the proposed SJ-FINFET structure requires an embedded
trench gate on the side wall and a channel on the top surface to provide a more effective
conduction path to the drift region. Since the minimum n/p-drift region pillar widths are
dictated by process limitations, increasing the trench gate depth (i.e., Wside) is a promising
solution to reduce the overall on-resistance. However, this requires a deep uniform Pbody formation under the gate region. In Fig. 5.4(a), the photo-mask defines the location
where the deep trench structure should be created. The reactive ion etching (i.e.
anisotropic etching) is the next process step to form the deep source/drain trench structure
with 0.6m width and 3m depth. In order to meet its specification (i.e. dimension), the
precise etching rate, over-etch, and time were needed for both screen oxide and Sisubstrate with a fined mesh structure. After a 45 tilted B+ ion implantation was
simulated, the photoresist was then removed prior to a thermal diffusion step. Throughout
the optimization of several different annealing conditions (i.e. temperature and duration),

87

it was possible to obtain the target lateral diffusion length and its peak doping
concentration. The optimized doping profiles along both X-cut and Y-cut lines from Fig.
5.4(b) are clearly demonstrated in Fig. 5.4(c) and (d), respectively.

Trench Etch

B, 2.2e14 cm-2, 180 keV, 45

Photoresist
@X=2

Boron

8e17 cm-3

p-type
Distance (microns)

log (doping conc.)

Phosphorus
n-type

N-epi.

Distance (microns)

Distance (microns)

(a)

(c)

Boron Implant

@ Y = -3

8e17 cm-3

X-cut (X=2)

p-type

log (doping conc.)

Distance (microns)

Y-cut (Y=-3)

Boron
n-type

Phosphorus

P-body
N-epi

Distance (microns)

Distance (microns)

(b)

(d)

Fig. 5.4 P-body formation of the SJ-FINFET: (a) a trench formation by reactive ion
etching process, (b) after 45 tilted B+ ion implantation and thermal annealing process,
(c) a doping concentration profile along X-cut line at X=2, and (d) a doping concentration
profile along Y-cut at Y=-3.
88

5.2.2 Simulation of SJ-drift Formation

The process simulations of the SJ-drift formation were carried out for the crosssections along the line B-B cut line, as shown in Fig. 5.2(a), to determine the optimized
process parameters. The simulated structure for the cross-section through B-B is also
given in Fig. 5.5(a)-(d). Similar to the P-body formation, a deep trench structure is
created by anisotropic dry-etching, but the silicon nitride (Si3N4) hard-mask layer was
considered instead of using the photoresist. Since the width of the drift trench limits the
device performance, a narrow deep trench structure is always preferred in the SJ-drift
region. However, this causes an issue as the sidewall doping process becomes more
difficult due to the shadowing effect [98]. To minimize this effect in a practical
implantation situation, a thin Si3N4 hard-mask layer with a thickness of 2000 was
grown on a sacrificial oxide rather than using a relatively thick photoresist itself.

Together with the trench etch and tilted ion implantation processes, the SJ-drift
structure can be integrated on the SOI platform. By considering the aspect ratio of the
trench structure, the P-pillar formation was simulated by a 12 tilted B+ ion implantation
with maximum energy of 45 KeV and dose of 4 1013 cm-2. After removing the Si3N4
hard-mask, it was followed by a 250-min annealing for drive-in, as shown in Fig. 5.5(e).
The doping profiles of the SJ-drift region with different implant doses were also extracted
as illustrated in Fig. 5.5(f)-(h) because the condition of exact charge balance is important
in obtaining the stable high breakdown voltage during a blocking mode. Since the width
of the alternating n/p pillars was chosen as 0.3 m and the corresponding optimal doping
concentration (ND) was calculated as 7.4 1016 cm3, as described in the section 5.1, the
doping profile of the P-pillar region in Fig. 5.5(g) demonstrates a best match. It has a
fairly uniform doping concentration with some considerably low distortion at the
junctions due to lateral diffusion and at the surface due to charge segregation into the
field oxide. It is noted that these simulation results are validated with the fabricated
devices later in Chapter 6.

89

After annealing

Boron Impt.

After annealing

After annealing

(c)

Distance (microns)

Y-cut (Y=-3)

(d)

Distance (microns)

Y-cut (Y=-3)

Distance (microns)

Distance (microns)

Y-cut (Y=-3)

Distance (microns)

Distance (microns)

Distance (microns)

P-pillar

Boron Impt.

(b)

(a)

Si3N4

Distance (microns)

Boron Impt.

After annealing

Y-cut (Y=-3)

Boron Impt.

N-epi

Distance (microns)

Distance (microns)

Distance (microns)

Distance (microns)

Distance (microns)

B, 4e13 cm-2, 45 keV, 12

Distance (microns)

Distance (microns)

B, 6e13 cm-2, 45 keV, 12

@ Y = -3
log (doping conc.)

log (doping conc.)

@ Y = -3

Boron
5.5e16 cm-3
n-type

p-type

Distance (microns)

8e16 cm-3
n-type

Boron

p-type
Phosphorus

Phosphorus

Distance (microns)

Distance (microns)

(f)

(e)

B, 1e14 cm-2, 45 keV, 12

B, 8e13 cm-2, 45 keV, 12

1e17 cm-3

@ Y = -3
log (doping conc.)

log (doping conc.)

@ Y = -3

Boron

p-type
n-type

1.3e17 cm-3

Boron

p-type
n-type
Phosphorus

Phosphorus

Distance (microns)

(g)

Distance (microns)

(h)

Fig. 5.5 P-pillar formation of the SJ-FINFET structure: (a)-(d) are the cross-sections
along the B-B cut line after 12 tilted B+ ion implantation (left) and thermal diffusion
(right) steps and (e)-(h) are the corresponding doping profiles for different B+ ion
implantation doses.
90

5.2.3 Simulation of N+ Source/Drain Contact Formation

The process simulations of the N+ source/drain contact formation were carried out for
the cross-sections along the line C-C cut line, as shown in Fig. 5.2(c). To achieve more
uniformly distributed electron current flow in the n-drift region of the SJ-FINFET, the
formations of deep trench source/drain are necessary as illustrated in Fig. 5.6(a). The side
wall doping of the trench was simulated by a 45 titled dual-implant of n-type dopant
species such as arsenic and phosphorus, followed by a 15mins thermal activation at
1000C. Since the two implants are identically masked, the greater diffusivity of the
phosphorus means that it can diffuse laterally in advance of the arsenic during annealing
of the implant. Therefore, the arsenic provides low contact resistance, while the
phosphorus provides a more gentile junction curvature as simulated in Fig. 5.6(b).
P, 5e14 cm-2, 180 keV, 45

@ Y = -3

As, 9e14 cm-2, 200 keV, 45

Phosphorus

log (doping conc.)

Distance (microns)

Y-cut (Y=-3)

N+

P-body

Boron

N-epi

N+

Arsenic

P-body
N-epi.

Distance (microns)

(a)

Distance (microns)

(b)

Fig. 5.6 N+ source/drain contact formation of the SJ-FINFET: (a) after 45 tilted dualimplant of n-type dopant species (i.e. arsenic and phosphorus) and thermal diffusion steps,
and (b) a doping concentration profile along Y-cut line at Y=-3.
91

5.3 Device Simulations

After the process simulation, the full device structure and doping profile were created
by ISE-MESH and imported to ISE-DESSIS to obtain the electrical characteristics. ISEMESH is a three dimensional grid generation tool. The device simulator, ISE-DESSIS
accepts the three dimensional device structure exported from ISE-MESH. Various
physical and numerical models [100], e.g. Shockley-Read-Hall recombination model,
Conwell-Weisskopf model for carrier-carrier scattering, Canali model for velocity
saturation, Lombardi model for mobility degradation at interfaces, Bennet-Wilson model
for band gap and electron affinity, Overstraeten-de Man model for impact ionization and
avalanche generation model were used to get more accurate device simulation results. A
constant n-doped SOI substrate of 7.4 1016 cm3 with a 2um thick buried oxide layer
was considered in the simulations. A highly doped polysilicon gate was specified in ISEDESSIS by including a metal electrode with a barrier of -0.55 eV defined as the
difference in eV between the polysilicon Fermi level and the intrinsic Fermi level. The
detailed simulation results of the SJ-FINFET structure will be discussed in the following
sub-sections.

5.3.1 Mesh Structure and Grid Refinement

In Fig. 5.7, the unit-cell (i.e. repetitive structure) of the SJ-FINFET device is
illustrated with or without any oxide layers. The device structure was constructed by ISEMESH, a dimension independent and modular grid generator which generates a highquality spatial discretization for 3D devices. For more efficient simulations, the initial
mesh structure of the SJ-FINFET was re-fined (or re-meshed) as many times as possible
when required. It is important to note that a mesh should be created with a minimum
number of vertices to achieve a desired level of accuracy. To avoid a convergence issue,
the mesh had to be denser in some critical areas where both high current density (e.g.
channel and drift region) and high electric field (e.g. channels, drains, and depletion
regions) were expected. As shown in Fig. 5.7(b), the SJ-FINFET contains very tiny
vertical mesh spacing in the channel at the oxide interface (i.e., in order of 1). For the

92

reliable simulation of breakdown at the drain junction, the mesh was also more
concentrated inside the junction depletion region for a better resolution of avalanche
multiplications. In addition, the boundary between the n- and p-pillars was re-fined many
times to obtain more accurate full charge-balance condition between them.

Drain
SJ-drift
Gate
DTI
Source

p-body

BOX
p-sub
(a)
Drain

channel
Source

p-drift

n-drift

p-body

p-sub
(b)

Fig. 5.7 Unit-cell of the SJ-FINFET: a) w/ and b) w/o any oxide materials
93

5.3.2 Off-State Simulations

The simulated SJ-FINFET device had several different drift region lengths with a
trench gate depth (i.e. Wside) of 2 m. The widths of the alternating n/p pillar were W n =
Wp = 0.3 m and because in actual device operation each pillar is depleted by two
neighboring pillars, only one half of the SJ-FINFET structure was considered in the
simulations. In the device simulations, the optimal doping concentrations of the pillars
were initially calculated as ND= 7.4 1016 cm3 and NA = 9.25 1016 cm3 from the Eq.
5.1 and subsequently optimized by simulations.

The off-state equi-potential and electric field contour plots of the SJ-FINFET with
Ldrift = 3.5 m at the breakdown point are shown in Fig. 5.8 and Fig. 5.9, respectively. As
avalanche breakdown begins, free electrons are accelerated by the electric field to very
high speeds. If their velocity is high enough, when they strike an atom, they knock an
electron free from it (i.e. ionization). Both the original electron and the newly freed one
are then accelerated by the electric field and strike other atoms. As this process continues,
the number of free electrons moving through the material increases exponentially, thus
avalanche breakdown can result in the flow of very large current. Fig. 5.9 demonstrates a
relatively uniform electric field distribution over the entire drift region. This indicates
that the pillars are depleted mutually and charge compensation is in effect. A breakdown
voltage of 65V was achieved for this SJ-FINFET on SOI corresponding to an average
lateral electric field of 18.5V/m.

The operating principle of the SJ device is based on charge compensation. The charge
imbalance between n-drift and p-drift layers directly affects the value of BV. Thus, it is
important to evaluate the effect of charge imbalance in order to achieve the maximum BV.
Fig. 5.10 presents the relationship between BV and charge imbalance. It can be seen that
the variation of Ldrift has no effect on the charge imbalance but the increase of trench
depth from 2 m to 3 m gives a 5% positive shift of the charge imbalance (%) for the
optimal BV. This can be explained by the fact that the areas of n-/p- pillars (i.e. Sn and Sp
from Fig. 5.2(b)) are always constant at a fixed trench depth whether Ldrift increases or

94

not. However, the ratio between Sn and Sp becomes smaller for a deeper trench structure.
Therefore, the difference between ND and NA would also be smaller as the trench depth is
increased. In this figure, the BV of SJ-FINFET is highly sensitive to the charge
imbalance in the pillars. If charge imbalance between the pillars exists, the gradient of the
electric field in the drift region is proportional to the pillars doping concentrations for a
specific charge imbalance (%) with the resultant p-p-n+ (for NA > ND) or p-n-n+ (for ND >
NA) diode having effectively highly doped drift region. Such high sensitivity imposes
stringent requirements for a precisely controlled fabrication process.

The BV simulations of the SJ-FINFET were also carried out for several different drift
lengths while the optimum charge balanced conditions were maintained in all cases. In
this analysis, Ldrift was varied from 3 m to 12 m and all other parameters were kept the
same. In Fig. 5.11, the BV is found to increase linearly with a slope of about 18 V/m
while Ldrift is increased from 3 m to 6 m. As the drift length becomes greater than 6
m, the slope begins to reduce; eventually reaching about 15 V/m at Ldrift = 12 m.
Since the avalanche failure mechanism occurs near the gate edge on the drain side, this
result suggests that a further optimization of field plate is necessary for drift lengths
greater than 6 m.

95

Drain

2V/div

Field oxide
Gate
Source

DTI

BOX
p-sub
(a)
2V/div
Drain

Gate

SJ-drift

Source

p-body
BOX
p-sub
(b)
Fig. 5.8 Contour plots of the electrostatic potential distribution in off-state for a proposed
SJ-FINFET with p-pillar impurity concentration of 9.25 x 1016 cm3 under charge
balance: a) w/ and b) w/o any oxide materials

96

Drain
n
p
Gate
Source

n
p
p-body

BOX
BOX
p-sub
(a)

Drain
n
p
Gate
Source

n
p
p-body

BOX
p-sub
(b)

Fig. 5.9 Contour plots of the electric field distribution in off-state for a proposed SJFINFET with p-pillar impurity concentration of 9.25 x 1016 cm3 under charge balance:
a) w/ and b) w/o refined mesh structure.

97

120
Wside / Ldrift = 2m / 6m
Wside / Ldrift = 3m / 6m

BV (V)

100

80
Wside / Ldrift = 2m / 3m

60

Wside / Ldrift = 3m / 3m

40
-30

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

Charge imbalance (N n-Np)/Np (%)

Fig. 5.10 The relationship between BV and charge imbalance for the proposed SJFINFET with Ldrift of 3.0 m and 6.0 m, Wn = Wp = 0.3 m and trench depths (Wside) of
2.0 m and 3.0 m.

1E-04

1E-05

Ld=3.0m

Id (A/cm 2 )

Ld=3.5m

1E-06

Ld=4.0m
Ld=4.5m
Ld=5.0m

1E-07

Ld=6.0m
Ld=8.0m

1E-08

Ld=12.0m

1E-09
0

50

100

150

200

Vds (V)
Fig. 5.11 I-V characteristics of the proposed SJ-FINFETs during off-state for various drift
region lengths.

98

5.3.3 On-State Simulations

The simulated transfer characteristic of the SJ-FINFET with Ldrift = 3.5 m was
obtained in the on-state and are shown in Fig. 5.12 for Vds = 5V. The threshold voltage of
the device was approximated by the extrapolated intercept of the linear portion of the
Ids(Vgs) curve with the Vgs axis. The threshold voltage was estimated to be 1.75V. Given
that the devices have same gate length, gate oxide thickness and channel doping
concentration, it is expected for their threshold voltages to be identical. A higher
threshold voltage can be possible but it will require an extra mask and a dedicated
channel implantation process inside the p-body region.

ND = 7.4 x 1016 cm3

NA = 8.7 x 1016 cm3
Vds = 5 V
TGox = 35 nm
Ldrift = 3.5 m
Wside = 2 m

0.9
0.8

Ids (A)

0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2

Vth ~ 1.75 V

0.1
0
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

Vgate (V)

Fig. 5.12 Transfer characteristics of the SJ-FINFET with Ldrift = 3.5 m.

The electron current density distribution of the SJ-FINFET with Ldrift = 4.5 m was
simulated at Vds = 0.1V and Vgs=10V in Fig. 5.13(a). It was found that the e-current
mainly flows on the top and side channels through the n-drift pillar region. The output
characteristics of the same SJ-FINFET structure were also simulated for different gate
voltages as shown in Fig. 5.13(b). The on-resistance determines the conduction power

99

dissipation. In a linear region, the device acts as a resistor with almost a constant onresistance, Ron defined by Vds / Ids. To extract the specific on-resistance (Ron,sp), the area
factor which implies how many unit-cells can be substituted into the final device, should
be defined in the device input file. The simulated Ron,sp of the device was 0.498 mcm2
at VG = 10V. Since the BV is independent of the SJ depth, the greater pillar height is
preferred for a higher electron current density, however the shadowing effect from the
tilted ion implantation (as addressed in the section 5.2) should be minimized along with
other process limitations such as etching selectivity, trench profile (i.e. aspect ratio),
minimum processing rule, high dislocation density in the n-epi, etc.

In Fig. 5.14, the I-V characteristics of the SJ-FINFETs with Wside = 2 m were
simulated in the on-state for different Ldrift while the optimum charge balanced conditions
(ND= 7.4 x 1016 cm3 and NA = 9.25 x 1016 cm3) were maintained in all cases. In this
analysis, Ldrift was varied from 3 m to 12 m and all other parameters were kept the
same. Note that the specific on-resistance for each Ldrift can be calculated from the plot.
As the drift length of the SJ-FINFET increases, the drain-to-source current is found to be
decreased. Since the drift resistance is proportional to the drift length, it is obvious that a
smaller amount of current flows through a longer current path.

Lastly, Fig. 5.15 plots BV and Ron,sp as a function of Ldrift for two different trench gate
depths (i.e. Wside = 2 m or 3m). This confirms that a low Ron,sp can be achieved by
using high aspect ratio trench. This fact can be utilized to overcome the problem of BV
sensitivity to the charge imbalance. A recommended solution is that first one should
determine a required increase of the drift region length to offset the degradation in BV
and finally to negate the resulting increase in Ron,sp by adopting a higher aspect ratio
pillars.

100

VG = 10 V, VDS = 0.1 V

(a)
2.2
2

VG = 10 V

1.8

Ids (A)

1.6
1.4

VG = 5 V

1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4

VG = 3 V

0.2
0
0

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.1

Vds (V)
(b)
Fig. 5.13 On-state simulations: (a) electron current density distribution and (b) output
characteristics of the SJ-FINFET with Ldrift =4.5 m and device area = 1 mm2.

101

400
Ld=3.0m

Id (A/cm2 )

300

Ld=3.5m
Ld=4.0m
Ld=4.5m

200

Ld=5.0m
Ld=6.0m

100

Ld=8.0m
Ld=12.0m

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.1

Vds (V)
Fig. 5.14 I-V characteristics of the proposed SJ-FINFETs during on-state for various drift
region lengths.
200

2.5

160

2.0

120

1.5

80

1.0
BV @ Wside=2m
BV @ Wside=3m

40

R on,sp (mcm2 )

BV (V)

@ VG = 10 V

0.5

Ron,sp @ Wside=2m
Ron,sp @ Wside=3m

0.0
2

10

12

Ldrift (m)
Fig. 5.15 The trade-off relationship between BV and Ron,sp of the SJ-FINFET for different
drift region lengths.
102

5.4 Comparison with Conventional SJ-LDMOS and Si Limit

Traditional SJ devices have not yet been widely applied in low voltage (e.g. < 200V)
applications. One drawback associated with the low voltage SJ devices is that the onresistance is not strongly depending on the drift doping concentration because the channel
resistance starts to become comparable to the drift resistance. To resolve the issue, the SJFINFET was previously proposed and simulated to obtain its electrical characteristics. In
this section, the simulated results of the SJ-FINFET device are compared with
conventional SJ-LDMOS and the ideal silicon limit. Throughout the detailed comparison
analysis, e.g. the electric field distribution, mobility and specific on-resistance profiles,
the advantages of the SJ-FINFET structure have been verified and confirmed prior to the
actual device fabrication. A conventional planar gate SJ-LDMOS structure was designed
to be identical as the SJ-FINFET structure, except the 3D trench gate and its U-shaped
n/p pillars. The simulated performance of the SJ-FINFET structure was also compared
with the previously published data.

5.4.1 Specific On-Resistance and Mobility Profiles

Fig. 5.16 presents the specific on-resistance profiles along the SJ-FINFET cross
section with Ldrift = 3 m. In comparison with the conventional SJ-LDMOS structure, the
proposed SJ-FINFET devices with the trench depths of 2 m and 3 m demonstrate a
58% and 74% reduction in channel resistance, and a 44% and 60% reduction in driftresistance, respectively. This is due to the fact that the majority of electron current is
concentrated near the top surface of n-drift layer in the conventional planar gate SJ device.
However, the proposed SJ device uses an embedded trench gate not only to reduce the
channel resistance but also to relax the electron current crowding near the top of the ndrift region pillar. It also suggests that increasing the trench depth is not effective in
reducing the drift resistance of the conventional SJ-LDMOS transistor with short drift
region length. To achieve more uniformly distributed electron current flow in the n-drift
region of the SJ-FINFET structure, the formations of deep trench source/drain junctions
are necessary.

103

@ Lgate = 1 m, Lch = 0.5 m, Ldrift = 3 m

Gate

Rsource

Rn-drift

Rch

Rdrain

0.6

Ron,sp (mcm2 )

0.5
Conventional
SJ SOI-LDMOS

0.4
n-drift

source

drain

channel

0.3
Wside = 2m

0.2
Wside= 3m

0.1
SJ-FINFET

0
0

Ldrift (m)
Fig. 5.16 Specific on-resistance profile along C-C cut line during on-state for
conventional SJ SOI-LDMOS and the proposed SJ-FINFETs
Moreover, Fig. 5.17 demonstrates the corresponding carrier mobility (i.e. electron)
characteristics along the same cross-section. Since the electron mobility is well-known
as the ratio of carrier velocity in the field direction (i.e. drift velocity) to the magnitude of
the electric field, a high electric field near the gate edge (i.e. Y = 2m) makes both
devices to have a relatively decreased mobility. However, the SJ-FINFET employs the
triple gate concept not only to enhance the electron mobility in the channel but also to
relax both vertical and lateral electric field near the gate edge. Therefore, the decrease in
the electron mobility is much less than the conventional SJ-LDMOS structure, as

104

illustrated in the simulated result. It is also observed that the mobility is saturated as a
consequence of the velocity saturation of electrons in the n-drift region.

@ Lgate = 1 m, Lch = 0.5 m, Ldrift = 3 m

Gate

Rsource

Rn-drift

Rch

Rdrain

1200

Mobility (cm2/Vs)

Conventional SJ-LDMOS
SJ-FiNFET w/ Wside = 3m

1000

800
600
400
200
0
0

Y-distance (m)
Fig. 5.17 Mobility profile along C-C cut line during on-state for conventional SJ SOILDMOS and the proposed SJ-FINFET with Wside = 3 m.

5.4.2 Electric Field Distribution

Fig. 5.18 presents the electric field distribution of the SJ-FINFETs with two different
values of NA. The cross-section along the C-C cut line from Fig. 5.2(a) was also used to
obtain the electric field distribution shown in this plot. At the gate edge, a high electric
field can be observed with a low NA of 9.25 1016 cm3 and if the NA is increased to 9.87

105

 1016 cm3, a high electric field is moved toward the drain edge. The optimum electric
field strength distribution is obtained with the NA of 9.25 1016 cm3. This proves that
the optimum charge balanced condition of the SJ-FINFET can be obtained with NA lower
than ND. As previously discussed in the Section 5.3.2, the optimal doping concentration
of the p-pillar should be greater than that of n-pillar doping because of the smaller area of
p-drift region within the SJ-FINFET structure. This also indicates that the simulated
result is in a good agreement with the theoretical calculation from Eq. 5.1. It is important
to note that relaxing the electric field at the gate edge can achieve a higher breakdown
voltage. The avalanche breakdown occurs at the junction between the p-body and n-drift
layer when the electric field reaches the critical value, Ec of approximately 5105 V/cm.

5E+05

Electric Field (V/cm)

SJ-FINFET with Na = 9.25e16 cm-3

SJ-FINFET with Na = 9.87e16 cm-3

4E+05

3E+05

2E+05

1E+05

0E+00
0

Y-distance (m)
Fig. 5.18 Comparison of the electric field distribution (along the C-C cut line) for the SJFINFETs with two different values of NA at ND= 7.4 1016 cm3and Wside = 2 m.
Since the optimal doping concentrations of the SJ-FINFET with Wside = 2 m was
determined, the SJ-FINFET with Wside = 3 m also needed to be investigated in
comparison to a conventional SJ-LDMOS structure. In Fig. 5.19, all simulations were

106

carried out in the same doping of the SJ-drift region; ND = 7.4 1016 cm3 were and NA =
9.25 1016 cm3. The peak E-field comparison at the gate edge of the n-drift region
demonstrates that the SJ-FINFETs have approximately 10% lower values than the
conventional SJ-LDMOS structure. Since Ec is a function of the doping of n/p pillars
hence a fixed value for those devices, this simulation result indicates that the higher
breakdown voltage can be expected in the SJ-FINFETs. It is also interesting to note that
that the SJ-FINFET with the deeper trench gate (i.e. Wside = 3 m) shows a relatively less
uniform electric field distribution in the n-drift region than that of the other SJ-FINFET.
This can be explained by the fact that the optimal doping concentration (NA) of the ppillar is also a function of its height. The U-shaped geometry of the p-pillar was used in
the SJ-FINFETs, therefore the ratio between Sn and Sp (i.e. cross-sectional areas of n-/ppillars, as described in the section 5.1) becomes smaller for a deeper trench structure. As
a result, the difference between ND and NA should be smaller as the trench depth is
increased. By considering this fact, the optimal NA for the SJ-FINFET with Wside = 3um
is re-calculated as 8.7 1016 cm3.

6E+05
Conventional SJ-LDMOS
SJ-FINFET with Wside = 2m

Electric Field (V/cm)

5E+05

SJ-FINFET with Wside = 3m

4E+05

3E+05

2E+05

1E+05

0E+00
0

Y-distance (m)
Fig. 5.19 Electric field distribution comparison between the conventional SJ-LDMOS and
SJ-FINFETs at NA = 9.25 1016 cm3 and ND = 7.4 1016 cm3.

107

5.4.3 Trade-off Relationship between Ron,sp and BV

The simulated performance of the SJ-FINFETs is compared with the ideal Si-limit
and other SJ-LDMOS transistors in Fig. 5.20. The simulation results are extracted for
different Ldrift while the optimum charge balanced conditions were maintained in all cases.
The specific on-resistance is found to be linearly proportional to BV1.9-2.0, which indicates
a better device performance than the theoretical Si-limit (BV2.5) or similar to the ideal
lateral SJ-device limit (BV2.0). The smaller power factor of 1.9 can be understood due
to the presence of the channel resistance as this does not scale with the breakdown in the
same way as the drift region. Also, the theoretical limits are generally calculated based on
the ideal p-n diode structures rather than the full device structure. For the 2 m and 3 m
trench depth cases, the cross-over between the simulation data (i.e. fitted line) and Silimit was estimated to be 165V and 90V, respectively. In comparison with conventional
SJ-LDMOS transistors, the proposed SJ-FINFET (i.e. Wside = 3 m) exhibits a reduction
in specific on-resistance by up to 46.5% at BV = 72 V. This result is very remarkable for
the SJ-FINFET to be a competitive power device in the sub-200V rating.

Specific on-resistance (mcm2 )

[104]

[104]

[105]

Simulated conventional
lateral SJ-LDMOS

BV1.9-2.0
[105]

[105]

[102]

[104]

Simulated SJ-FINFET
(: 2m and : 3m)

[103]
[102]
[101]
[101]

0.1
10

Si-limit: BV2.5
90V

165V

100
Breakdown voltage (V)

Fig. 5.20 Performance comparison between SJ-FINFETs and previously published data.

108

5.5 Summary
In this chapter, a novel device structure suitable for practical implementation of
lateral superjunction FINFET (SJ-FINFET) on SOI platform was proposed and studied
for next generation of sub-200V rating power applications. The SJ-FINFET structure
with heavily doped alternating U-shaped n/p pillars was developed to minimize both
channel and drift resistances, and to mitigate electron current crowding near the top of ndrift region. The feasibility of the design concept was validated by a two dimensional
process simulator, TSUPREM-4TM for three important process modules such as a) P-body
formation, b) SJ-drift formation, and c) N+ source/drain contact formation. In comparison
with the conventional planar gate SJ-LDMOS device, the SJ-FINFET device was also
investigated for different trench gate depths and drift lengths. Three dimensional
numerical simulations with ISE-DESSISTM have been performed to analyze the influence
of device parameters on the charge imbalance and the trade-off relationship between BV
and Ron,sp. To summarize, the SJ-FINFET structure exhibits low Ron,sp with voltage
ratings below 200V. With the optimized charge balanced SJ-drift region, the SJ-FINFETs
were found to be able to overcome the Si-limit with the breakdown voltages of 165 V and
90 V, respectively. This is a positive indication that the SJ-FINFET can become a
competitive power device for sub-200V applications [106]. In the next chapter, the
detailed fabrication process of the SJ-FINFET would be presented followed by the
experimental measurement results of both SJ-FINFET and SJ-LDMOS devices. The
issues related to the optimization of the SJ structure and process integration would be also
discussed.

109

Chapter 6 Device Fabrication and Characterization of

the SJ-FINFET on SOI
The focus of this chapter is to explore the suitability of the SJ-FINFET in low voltage
applications. It presents a CMOS-compatible lateral SJ-FINFET on a SOI substrate.
Using tilted ion implantation and deep trench RIE techniques, a SJ-FINFET consists of a
corrugated 3D trench gate and SJ drift region was implemented in a submicron CMOS
technology. The performance advantage of the SJ-FINFET over the conventional SJLDMOSFET was also verified experimentally. The current work represents the first
experimental confirmation that the super-junction concept is advantageous for sub-100V
applications. In the following sub-sections, the detailed fabrication process scheme is
presented followed by various electrical measurement results of the devices. The issues
related to the optimization of the SJ-structure and process integration are also discussed.

6.1 Process Design Considerations

The first-generation lateral SJ-FINFET was developed at the Nanoelectronic
Fabrication Facility (NFF) in Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
(HKUST) to validate its performance advantages over the conventional planar gate SJLDMOS structure. The prototype devices were fabricated on a customized 4 SOI
(Silicon-On-Insulator) substrate from a wafer supplier, Ultrasil Corporation. As described
in the previous chapter, the charge balance between the alternating n-/p- pillars is
strongly affected by the substrate-assisted depletion (SAD) effect. To eliminate this
dependence, a high quality silicon fusion bonded (SFB) SOI wafer with a thick buried
oxide layer was selected as a starting material. The substrate consists of an n-type
epitaxial device layer with a <100> surface crystallographic orientation and a resistivity
of 0.1 to 0.2 cm. The resistivity was chosen to allow the doping concentration of the ndrift region to be as close as its optimal value (i.e. ND = 7.4 x 1016 cm3), as calculated
from the section 5.1. The thickness of the device layer, handle layer and buried oxide

110

layer were 3.5m, 500m, and 2m, respectively. The detailed specifications of the SOI
wafer are described in Table 6.1.

Table 6.1 Parameters and specifications of the SOI wafer used in the fabrication
Parameters
Specifications
SOI Wafer: Silicon Fusion Bonding (SFB)
Diameter
100 0.2 mm
Crystal Orientation
(100) 0.5 degree
Flat
Standard: <100>
Overall Thickness
505.5 25 m
Thickness Variation
< 2 m
Surface/Backside
Polished / Lapped
Device Layer (Epi.)
Type / Dopant
N-type / Phosphorus
Thickness
3.5 0.5 m
Resistivity
0.1 0.2 cm
Buried Oxide Layer (BOX)
Type of Oxide
Thermal Oxide
Thickness
2.0 0.1 m
Handle Wafer (Substrate)
Type / Dopant
P-type / Boron
Thickness
500 25 m
Resistivity
60 70 cm
The SJ-FINFET fabrication was compatible with a standard 0.5m CMOS flow. To
realize the SJ-FINFET, new optional process modules were developed that can be added
to the baseline CMOS technology. Fig. 6.1 represents a condensed flow chart for the SJFINFET process. For example, two different deep trench etches are necessary prior to the
formation of the gate electrode. The sidewall doping of the trenches can be performed by
a tilted ion implantation. With additional thermal diffusion steps, the doped trench
regions are activated as the P-body and P-drift (i.e. SJ-drift) regions, respectively. Gate
lithography and etch, gate oxidation, in-situ (n-doped) amorphous silicon deposition,
poly-crystallization, poly-silicon etch and doping annealing are then carried out to form
the gate electrode. When a positive potential higher than the threshold voltage is applied

111

to the gate electrode, an inversion layer is created along the sidewall of the trench and
underneath the top surface in the p-body region. The created channel allows electron
current to flow laterally from the source to the drain electrode. The formations of deep
trench source/drain are also necessary in order to achieve more uniformly distributed
electron current flow in the n-drift region. Similar to the P-body region, the sidewall
doping of each trench can be created by a tilted ion implantation. After a thick
passivation oxide layer is deposited, the contact lithography and oxide etching are
required to open the contact windows followed by a metallization process. Some of
process design considerations are described in greater detail in the following pages.

Standard CMOS Process

Additional Steps

SOI-substrate
Active & Isolation
P-body Trench Formation
P-well or N-well I/I
SJ-drift Formation
Gate Lithography
Trench Gate Formation
Gate Oxidation
S/D Trench Formations
Source & Drain I/I
Passivation & Contacts
Metallization

Fig. 6.1 Standard CMOS process flow with additional steps for the lateral SJ-FINFET
implementation.

112

Deep Trench Isolation (DTI) process

LOCOS (LOCal Oxidation of Silicon) isolation technique is the most popular scheme
in bulk CMOS technology. In this technique, active areas are protected by a silicon
nitride layer and the field oxide is thermally grown outside the active area. However, the
lateral encroachment of the field oxide, called birds beak, occurs at the edge of active
area and is proportional to the thickness of the field oxide [107]. One solution to this
problem is to use a STI (Shallow Trench Isolation) process. This process is generally
used on CMOS process technology nodes of 250 nanometers and smaller. However, a
deep trench isolation (DTI) technique starts to become more popular in the recent years,
especially for power electronic devices. Since the SJ-FINFET structure requires its
channel region on both top surface and the sidewall of the trenches, the DTI process was
chosen as an isolation technique. By connecting the isolation region to the thick buried
oxide layer, more complete isolation could be achieved. Fig. 6.2 demonstrates the
processing steps required to create the DTI region as an example. First, a trench is etched
into the substrate. After under-etching of the oxide pad, a thermal oxide is grown inside
the trench. After the formation of a thin oxide layer, the rest of the trench is filled with an
oxide followed by the thermal densification. The excessive oxide is removed with CMP
and then the nitride mask can be finally removed as shown in this figure.

Resist
Nitride

Pad
Oxide

Silicon

Resist

Liner
Oxide

Nitride
Silicon

(a) Stack and trench etching

(b) Pad oxide under-etching

(c) Liner oxidation

Isolat.
Oxide

Isolat.
Oxide

Isolat.
Oxide

(d) CVD oxide gap-fill

(e) CMP

(f) Nitride strip

Fig. 6.2 Six sequential processing steps required for the deep trench isolation region.

113

P-body and SJ-drift implantations

The P-body implantation was one of critical steps in the proposed SJ-FINFET
structure. The implantation dose must be high enough to degrade the parasitic BJT
structure while minimizing the damages to the surface silicon layer. Carrier lifetime
depends on the impurity dose and the thermal budge in later processing steps. Based on
the literature and process simulation results (refers to the section 5.2.1), a high angle B+
tilted ion implantation with an energy of 190 keV and doses between 21014/cm2 and
31014/cm2 were studied experimentally. This resulted in a projected range of 5100
with a standard deviation of approximately 900 . The projected range could be adjusted
by choosing different implantation energy, however 190 keV was the maximum
allowable implant energy offered from NFF at HKUST. Since the lateral diffusion length
of the P-body region (i.e. width of the p-body region) was targeted as 1.2m, the
cumulated thermal annealing period throughout the overall fabrication process had to be
considered. Also, the high dose implantation should be carried out before the gate
oxidation to avoid damaging the thin gate oxide layer. Another critical process step was
the SJ-drift formation by a low angle tilted implantation. Since the widths of alternating
n/p pillars were limited by the processing design rule, it was difficult to create the width
of the p-pillar narrower than 0.5 m. To overcome such a processing limit, the high
doped alternating U-shaped n/p pillars were formed by a combination of the B+ tilted ion
implantation and deep trench RIE techniques. With accurate control of the thermal
diffusion process, the width of the alternating pillars could be narrower than the
minimum processing rule. The tilted ion implantation with energy of 45 keV and four
different doses of 21013/cm2, 41013/cm2, 61013/cm2, and 11014/cm2 were examined
experimentally. The target width of the p-pillar was 0.3 m.

Short channel effect

As the channel length of a MOSFET is reduced, it starts to behave different from a

transistor with a long channel. The deviation arises as a result of two dimensional
potential distribution and high electric field in the channel region. In particular, a

114

threshold voltage rolls off as the channel length is reduced. The short channel effect
(SCE) complicates device operation and degrade device performance. As a result, this
effect needs to be minimized so that a short channel device can preserve the electrical
characteristics of a long channel device.

The minimum channel length, Lmin in which a long channel sub-threshold behavior
can be preserved can be calculated from the empirical relation [108].

Lmin 0.4[ X j t ox (WS WD ) 2 ]1/3

(Eq.6.1)

where X j is the junction depth in m, t ox is the thickness of gate oxide in , and

(WS WD ) is the sum of source and drain depletion width in m.

Thermal budget and wafer warpage

Dopant redistribution is one of the major concerns for the thermal budget in process
integration. In addition, the thermal budget induces a stress from various interfaces
between the substrate and other deposited layers. Since the SJ-FINFET fabrication
requires a deep trench isolation region filled with LTO and the silicon nitride layer as a
hard mask, the wafer warpage should be considered as another process design issue. To
minimize the degree of the wafer warpage, several methods had to be considered. First,
the low stress silicon-rich nitride was used as the hard-masking layer, instead of the
stoichiometric silicon nitride because it induces a less tensile stress. The thickness of the
deposited nitride layer was further reduced to obtain even less tensile stress. Another
method was that the thermal SiO2 liner (compressive stress) was grown inside the trench
prior to the LTO gap-filling and densification processes (tensile stress). This results that a
high tensile stress induced by LTO could be reduced. Also, all stress layers deposited at
the backside of the wafer were not completely removed for the stress neutralization
purpose. Lastly, the thermal budget was limited to 900 C after all high dose
implantations.

115

6.2 SJ-FINFET in a 0.5m Standard CMOS Process Flow

In this section, the process flow of the lateral SJ-FINFET will be briefly discussed
with reference to Fig. 6.3, which includes the three dimensional schematic view of each
major processing step. A total of nine masks were used in this fabrication.
MASK #1 Active / Isolation
The fabrication started with the dry oxidation of a 300 thin pad oxide on the SOI
wafer followed by a 2500 thick nitride deposition. As described in the previous section
(see Fig. 6.2), Mask #1 was then used to define active and isolation regions. First, a deep
trench (depth = 3.5 m) was etched into the n-epi device layer. After under-etching of the
oxide pad, a 300 thin dry oxide liner was grown inside the trench. After the formation
of the liner, the rest of the trench was filled with a 4.5 m thick of low temperature oxide
(LTO) at 425C by a CVD furnace. This was then followed by the thermal densification
at 900C for 30 minutes in N2 gas. Unlike PECVD or thermal SiO2 films, which have
compressive stress, LTO films are normally deposited with tensile stress, ranging from 1
x 108 to 3 x 109 dynes/cm2 [109]. Moreover, they exhibit lower film densities and high
etch rates in buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF). Therefore, the densification process was
necessary to obtain a higher film density and low HF etch rate. Not only this helps to get
more stable oxide but also it removes H contamination which is incorporated into the film
both during deposition, including PECVD, and post deposition through moisture
absorption. For the planarization purpose, the excessive oxide was removed with CMP
and then the nitride layer was completely wet-etched at 165C by H3PO4. Consequently,
this leads to define both active and isolation regions on the SOI wafer. Since our research
is mainly focused on the SJ-FINFET device fabrication, the active region will be only
considered in the next processing steps.
MASK #2 P-body
As illustrated in Fig. 6.3(a) to (e), another pad oxide of 300 was thermally grown on
the top of the SOI substrate and then Mask #2 was used to define the specific location

116

where a p-body trench would be formed by means of photolithography. The oxide film
was then etched by RIE using photoresist as a mask. In this RIE step, the etching had to
be carefully performed so as to prevent photoresist from burning-out. After the initial RIE
step, the n-epi silicon device layer was etched by ICP-RIE (Induced Coupled Plasma
RIE) to form a p-body trench structure followed by photoresist acid strip and RCA
cleaning steps (e.g. sulfuric clean + HF dip). This trench structure was required to form a
p-body region on the sidewall of the trench by 45 B+ tilted ion implantation. The
implant dose and energy were 2.21014/cm2 and 180keV, respectively. To prevent the
out-diffusion of boron during annealing, a 250 oxide liner was grown inside the trench
prior to the thermal diffusion step. Not only the liner helps to prevent the out-diffusion of
boron but also it minimizes the stress which induces a dislocation in the silicon layer. The
p-body annealing process was then carried at 850C for first 10 minutes and at 950C for
additional 30 minutes. By considering all thermal process steps greater than 850 C, the
specific annealing condition for the p-body region was extracted based on the process
simulation. After the initial p-body annealing step, the trench was gap-filled with a 3 m
thick of LTO at 425C in a CVD furnace (e.g. deposition rate: 115 /min, gas flow rate:
O2 = 50 sccm, SiH4 = 40 sccm). This was then followed by the thermal densification at
900C for 30 minutes. For the next processing step, the LTO deposited on the top surface
was completely removed by using a combination method of CMP and RIE with a high
selectivity of oxide and silicon (i.e. LTO: Si > 100).
MASK #3 SJ-drift
As illustrated in Fig. 6.3(f) to (h), a thin 250 sacrificial oxide was thermally grown
and then a 4000 thick low stress nitride was deposited on the top of the oxide by
LPCVD. The nitride layer was added as a hard-masking layer for the SJ-drift formation.
This was due to the fact that a deep and narrow trench structure (i.e. a high aspect ratio)
was required in the drift region and the sidewall of the trench had to be doped by a low
angle tilted implantation. To achieve a more uniform p-pillar junction profile, a thick
photoresist had to be replaced by a relatively thin and stable nitride layer. Not only it
helped to reduce the shadowing effect but also the nitride was able to protect the other

117

silicon active area from the high energy implantation. After Mask #3 was used to define
the drift trench pattern, the nitride layer was etched and stopped by an end-point detection
method. This was then followed by ICP-RIE to create the drift trench structure with a
depth of 2.6 m and a width of 0.6 m. After the trench formation, the sidewall doping of
the trench was carried out by a 12 B+ tilted implantation with energy of 45 keV and four
different doses of 21013/cm2, 41013/cm2, 61013/cm2, and 11014/cm2 for each different
SOI wafer. To obtain the optimal charge balanced condition in the SJ-drift region, it was
necessary for each SOI wafer to have a different charge imbalance (%) condition. Since
the p-drift region should be connected to the p-body and eventually to p+ body contact to
form a SJ-diode structure, a 45 B+ tilted implantation with energy of 80 keV and dose of
3.51013/cm2 was also carried out with 90 and 270 rotations of the SOI wafer, as shown
in Fig. 6.3(g). Similar to the earlier p-body trench structure, the drift trench was also
filled with LTO followed by densification and CMP planarization steps. After that, the
nitride hard mask was completely removed by H3PO4.
MASK #4 Trench Gate
As illustrated in Fig. 6.3(i) to (j), a thin 250 pad oxide was first grown and a high
resolution photoresist was spin-coated and soft-baked on the top of the oxide. After the
photoresist was patterned with Mask #4, another high aspect ratio trench was formed by
ICP-RIE. This was then followed by the pad oxide removal and gate oxidation steps. A
high quality 35nm thin oxide was grown as a gate oxide at 950C in dry O2. The quality
of the gate oxide is very crucial in determining the performance of the device. To
enhance the quality of the oxide, a small amount of NH3 was introduced into the thermal
growth cycle to reduce the amount of the mobile ionic charge in the oxide. After the gate
oxide growth, the substrate was immediately deposited by in-situ n-doped amorphous
silicon at 570C. In a conventional CMOS process, a polysilicon gate is doped
simultaneously with a source/drain implant step. However, the SJ-FINFET requires a
corrugated 3D trench MOS gate and this makes the polysilicon gate difficult to be doped
by an implantation technique. Hence, a polysilicon deposition step had to be replaced by
an n-doped amorphous silicon deposition and then re-crystallized into the n-doped

118

polysilicon gate by RTP (1000 C and 30 seconds). To avoid the wafer warpage issue, the
poly-silicon deposited at the backside of the SOI wafer was completely removed prior to
the RTP step.
MASK #5 Gate Poly
As illustrated in Fig. 6.3(k), the conventional gate mask (i.e. Mask #5) was used to
define the entire gate electrode. For a better step coverage, the polysilicon was etched by
ICP-RIE and stopped at the oxide interface by end-point-detection. For comparison
purpose, the planar gate SJ-LDMOS devices were also fabricated on the same wafer
without the previous trench gate mask (i.e. Mask #4).
MASK #6 N+ source / drain
As shown in Fig. 6.3(l) to (o), the formations of deep trench source/drain were
necessary to achieve more uniformly distributed electron current flow in the n-drift
region. Mask #2 was re-used to ensure that a high energy n+ source implantation do not
block the p-body tail underneath the n+ source region. Mask #6 was then used to define
the n+ drain region. The sidewall doping of each trench was carried out by a 45 titled
dual-implant of n-type dopant species such as arsenic and phosphorus. Since the two
implants were identically masked, the greater diffusivity of the phosphorus meant that it
would diffuse laterally in advance of the arsenic during annealing of the implant.
Therefore, the arsenic provides a low contact resistance while the phosphorus provides a
more gentle junction curvature.
MASK #7 P+ contact
As demonstrated in Fig. 6.3(p) to (r), the photoresist was patterned using the Mask #7.
This was followed by dry etching process using plasma, thereby forming a 3m depth of
trench structure as shown in Fig. 6.3(q). This trench structure was required for p+ contact
implant. Boron implantation with energy of 180keV and dose of 51014/cm2 was
implemented and then a 4m thick LTO passivation layer was deposited, densified, and

119

planarized. The passivation oxide should be thick enough to reduce the parasitic
capacitance between the metal pad and the substrate.
MASK #8 Contact openings
Mask #8 was used to open the contact windows for the gate and source/drain contacts,
as shown in Fig. 6.3(s). To open the contact windows, a 3m thick LTO filled in the
trenches was initially removed by RIE and then the oxide residues were completely
removed by a chemical etching to ensure a good electrical contact between the metal
wiring layer and the silicon.
MASK #9 Metallization
A 1 m of aluminum (Al-1wt% Si) layer was sputtered on the SOI wafer, at a
sputtering rate of 182 /sec. Mask #8 was used for metal patterning as illustrated in Fig.
6.3(t). Aluminum was dry etched at an etching rate of 1500 /min and the photoresist
was then removed by an O2 plasma ashing. In the final step, the wafer was annealed in a
forming gas (5% hydrogen, 95% nitrogen) for 30 minutes at 400 C to reduce the contact
resistance and the interface trapped charge in the gate oxide.

Process Specifications
More detailed information such as the process step number, processing condition, and
equipment are summarized in Appendix-V. The process was characterized at various
stages. The typical process and electrical parameters obtained from the fabrication test
structure are listed in Table 6.2. The layer thickness and step height were measured using
the NanoSpec 4000 and the Alpha-Step 200 surface profiler. The sheet resistance of the
poly gate was measured using a 4-pint probe. The contact resistance was obtained from
the measurement of the 6-terminal Kelvin structure [110].

120

(a)
Mask #1
Active definition
n-type SOI wafer (Phosphorus)
Resistivity = 0.1 0.2 cm
electron conc. ~ 7.4 1016 / cm3

(b)
Pad Oxide: Dry 300, 950C

(c)
Mask #2
P-body definition
Oxide etch: RIE, 10% over-etch
Deep-Si etch: RIE (depth = 2.7 m)
Inspection

(d)
B, 2.2e14 cm-2, 180 keV, 45
hole conc. ~ 5 1017 / cm3

Fig. 6.3 Process Flow of the SJ-FINFET (Part 1 of 5)

121

(e)
Photoresist removal: ash / acid strip
P-body diffusion: 950 C / 1050 C

(f)
Trench gap-filling: LTO, 425 C
LTO densification: 900 C
CMP (planarization)
Sacrificial oxidation: 250
Nitride deposition: 4000 , 780 C

(g)

Mask #3
P-pillar definition
Hard mask etching: RIE
Si etching: ICP-RIE (depth = 2.6 m)
Boron, dose: 2,4,6, and 8e13 cm-2
energy: 45 keV, titled angle: 12
rotation: 0 and 180
Boron, dose: 3.5e13 cm-2
energy: 80 keV, titled angle: 45
rotation: 90 and 270

(h)
Trench gap-filling: LTO, 425 C
LTO densification: 900 C
CMP (planarization)
LTO etch: dry and wet
Nitride strip: H3PO4, 165 C
Oxide removal: HF:H20 (1:50)

Fig. 6.3 Process Flow of the SJ-FINFET (Part 2 of 5)

122

(i)
Mask #4
Trench gate definition
High resolution photoresist
Sacrificial oxidation: 250
Si-etch: ICP-RIE (2.7 m)
Oxide removal: HF:H20 (1:50)

(j)
Gate oxide growth: Dry, 350
N2 annealing at 900 C
Amorphous-Si deposition: In-situ
Transformation to Poly-Si: 1000 C
Inspection: Rsh 25 / sq.
Backside etch: Poly-Si

(k)

Mask #5
Gate poly definition
Descum: O2 Asher
Poly-Si etch: ICP, End-point-detect
Photoresist: ash / acid strip
HF dip, rinse, and spin dry
Inspection: SEM

(l)

Mask #2
N+ source definition
Sacrificial oxide: Dry, 950 C
Photoresist: coat / develop / bake
Descum: O2 Asher
Oxide etch: 10% over-etch
LTO etch: Dry, 2.2 m
LTO etch: Wet, 0.3 m

Fig. 6.3 Process Flow of the SJ-FINFET (Part 3 of 5)

123

(m)

(n)

P , dose: 5e14 cm-2

energy: 180 keV, titled angle: 45
As , dose: 9e14 cm-2
energy: 200 keV, titled angle: 45
rotation: 90 and 270

Mask #6
N+ drain definition
Si-etch: RIE (2.7 m)
P , dose: 5e14 cm-2
energy: 180 keV, titled angle: 45
As , dose: 9e14 cm-2
energy: 200 keV, titled angle: 45
rotation: 90 and 270

(o)
Photoresist removal
Field oxide growth: 4 m
LTO densification: 900 C
S/D Activation: 1000 C
CMP (planarization)

(p)
Mask #7
P+ contact definition
Photoresist: coat / develop / bake
LTO etch: 3 m
Sulfuric clean / HF dip

Fig. 6.3 Process Flow of the SJ-FINFET (Part 4 of 5)

124

(q)
B , dose: 5e14 cm-2
energy: 180 keV, titled angle: 7
rotation: 90 and 270

(r)
Trench gap-filling: LTO, 4 m
LTO densification: 900 C
P+ annealing: 950 C
CMP (planarization)

(s)
Mask #8
Contact hole definition
Photoresist: coat / develop / bake
LTO etch: 3 m, 10% over-etch
Sulfuric clean / HF dip
Inspection: NanoSpec / Alpha-Step

(t)

Mask #9
Metallization definition
Al sputter: Al :1% Si, 1 m
Photoresist: coat / develop / bake
Al etch: Dry, 1m
Photoresist Ash: O2 asher
Inspection: optical microscope
Forming gas annealing: 400 C

Fig. 6.3 Process Flow of the SJ-FINFET (Part 5 of 5)

125

Table 6.2 Summary of SJ-FINFET process parameters

Parameters

Values

Starting material n-type (100) SOI

0.1 0.2 cm

Top Si device layer thickness

3.5 m

Buried oxide thickness

2.0 m

Substrate thickness

500 m

Gate oxide thickness

350

Effective gate channel length

0.6 m

Trench gate width

1.2 m

Trench gate depth

2.7 m

N+ poly gate thickness

5000

N+ poly gate sheet resistance

24.6 /

Source/Drain trench width

5.0 m

Source/Drain trench depth

2.7 m

N/P pillar width

0.3 m

P-body lateral diffusion length

1.2 m

N+ source/drain lateral diffusion length

0.5 m

Drift trench width

0.6 m

Drift trench depth

2.6 m

Photoresist thickness (P/R #1075)

1.1 m

Silicon nitride thickness

4000

Metal layer thickness

1.0 m

Passivation LTO thickness

1.2 m

DTI thickness

3.5 m

Metal-source/drain specific contact resistance

2.84 10-6 cm2

Metal-N+ poly specific contact resistance

24.31 10-6 cm2

Mask alignment tolerance

0.03 m

126

6.3 Layout, Mask and Test Structures

In this section, the layout design rules used in the implementation of the SJ-FINFET
structure are described and the mask information is given based on the 0.5m minimum
line width, necessitated by the high aspect ratio silicon etching to form the SJ structure in
the drift region of the SJ-FINFET. This requires trenches with a minimum width of 0.5
m and a depth of 2.8 m. The test structures are also discussed with a full chip layout
and some of process test structures are given as examples.

1.1
1.2

5.4
4.1

2.1

2.2
2.3
2.4

4.2
7.2
3.1

6.2

3.2
7.1

5.1
7.3

6.1, 8.1

3.3

4.3
3.4

8.2

5.2
5.3
3.5
9.2

9.3

ACTIVE

PWELL

DRIFT

FIN

POLY

9.1

NIMP

PIMP

CONT

METAL

Fig. 6.4 Layout design rules for the proposed SJ-FINFET device on a SOI platform.
127

Defining design rules involves the consideration of factors such as the lateral
diffusion, minimum device area and maximum misalignment of the equipment. Mask
alignment error can be defined as the mask alignment tolerance (0.03 m for ASML
Stepper 5000) multiplied by the square root of the number of alignment steps. In this
design, a minimum line width of 0.5 m and an alignment tolerance of 0.1 m were used.
The layout design rules for the low voltage SJ-FINFET devices are illustrated in Fig. 6.4
and summarized in Table 6.3.
Table 6.3 Summary of SJ-FINFET layout design rules
Mask
ACTIVE

PWELL

DRIFT

FIN

POLY

NIMP
PIMP
CONT
METAL

Layout
Rule No.

Description

1.1
1.2
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
4.1
4.2
4.3
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
6.1
6.2
7.1
7.2
7.3
8.1
8.2
9.1
9.2
9.3

Minimum width
Minimum clearance to contact opening
Minimum width
Minimum clearance to trench gate
Minimum clearance to gate poly
Minimum clearance to drift edge
Minimum width of drift trench
Minimum p-pillar diffusion length
Minimum spacing between p-pillars
Minimum spacing between drift trenches
Minimum length of drift trench
Minimum width
Minimum spacing between trench gates
Minimum overlap between FIN and DRFIT
Minimum width
Minimum overlap between FIN and POLY
Minimum overlap between POLY and drift edge
Minimum extension of poly to active
Minimum width
Minimum clearance to drift edge
Minimum width
Minimum overlap between PWELL and PIMP
Minimum clearance to trench gate
Minimum width
Minimum overlap between PIMP and CONT
Minimum width
Minimum spacing between metal lines
Minimum overlap between CONT and METAL

Dimension
(m)
12.2
0.3
3.6
0.6
0.5
1.4
0.5
0.25
0.6
1.2
3.0
0.9
0.6
0.1
1.4
0.1
0.2
0.5
3.6
0.6
3.6
0.6
1.5
3.6
0.6
5.0
5.0
0.5

128

Instead of a conventional contact aligner which loads the mask directly in contact
with the substrate and exposes the photoresist, a 5 i-line (=365nm) stepper was used as
a photolithography tool for a better resolution and tolerance. This corresponds to the fact
that the feature size on the mask will be five times larger than the drawn layout size. The
SJ-FINFET fabrication requires a total of nine masking layers and the mask information
is as summarized in Table 6.4.

Table 6.4 SJ-FINFET Mask Information

Mask Layer

Description

Polarity (layer #)

1. ACTIVE

Active and Isolation (DTI)

Clear (3)

2. PWELL

Trench for p-body & n+ source

Dark (237)

3. DRIFT

Trench for p-drift region formation

Dark (63)

4. FIN

Trench gate formation

Dark (4)

5. POLY

Polysilicon gate formation

Clear (13)

6. NIMP

Trench for n+ drain region

Dark (8)

7. PIMP

Trench for p+ contact

Dark (7)

8. CONT

Contact openings

Dark (15)

9. METAL

Al-Metallization

Clear (16)

The entire test chip layout is as illustrated in Fig. 6.5. The total area of the layout is
100,000 m 100,000 m (or 500,000 m 500,000 m for the mask). The test chip
contains various process and device test structures of different sizes. It consists of six
groups of test elements (A-F):

(A) This group includes a large inter-digitated (i.e. multi-finger) SJ-FINFET structure
with a total gate width of 111,600 m.

129

(B) This group includes a large inter-digitated SJ-LDMOS structure with a total gate
width of 111,600 m for a comparison purpose.

(C) This group includes various single and multi-finger SJ-FINFET and SJ-LDMOS
structures for different gate width (10, 20, 40, 80, 100, and 200 m) and SJdiodes with different drift lengths (3.5, 4.5, 6, 8, 10, and 12m). Each device has
connected to the test pads with size of 100 m 100 m for DC measurement.

(D) This group includes several multi-finger SJ-FINFET (W = 200 m) structures for
different n/p width ratios (0.67, 1.00, 1.33, and 1.67) and SJ-drift trench widths
(0.6, 0.8, 1.0, and 1.2). They are also subdivided into different drift length for a
comparison purpose.
(E) This group includes several multi-finger SJ-FINFET (W = 200 m) structures for
different source/drain trench width (3.6 - 5m), gate length (1-1.8m with a 0.1
m increment), and field plate length (0.1-0.9 with a 0.1 m increment). Also, it
contains the test structures for contact resistance, sheet resistance (a Kelvin cross
with 6 terminals), and open/short circuit (i.e. leakage current) measurements of
the various layers.
(F) Lastly, this group includes various process test structures required for film
thickness, step height and coverage (i.e. monitoring etching) measurements. The
alignment marks and critical dimension (e.g. SEM inspection) structures are also
included as illustrated in Fig. 6.6.

130

(C)

(B)

(A)

(D)

(F)

(E)

Fig. 6.5 A full test chip layout of both SJ-FINFET and SJ-LDMOS device.

(a)

(b)

(c)

Fig. 6.6 Some of the process structures: (a) critical dimensions and (b)-(c) alignment
marks.
131

6.4 Experimental Results and Discussion

In order to confirm the feasibility of the proposed SJ-FINFET device for sub-100V
applications and to compare its performances with other conventional power transistors,
the DC characterizations of the fabricated SJ-FINFET and SJ-LDMOS devices were
carried out by a HP4156 parameter analyzer. All process parameters for both devices
were the same except that the conventional planar gate SJ-LDMOS devices were masked
by photoresist during the trench gate formation (i.e. Mask #4). The micrographs of the
full test chip and the multi-finger layout of the SJ-FINFET structures are shown in Fig.
6.7 and Fig. 6.8, respectively. The SEM images of a transistor array and four important
trench structures (i.e. gate, p-pillar, source and drain) are also clearly observed in Fig. 6.9.

100 m

Fig. 6.7 Micrograph of the fabricated test integrated chip (Optical: 200).
132

Drain

Poly-Si: Top Gate

Poly-Si: Top Gate

Drain

Gate

Gate
P-pillar Trench

Poly-Si: Trench Gate

Source
(a)

P-pillar Trench

Poly-Si: Trench Gate

Source
(b)

Fig. 6.8 Top-view of SJ-FINFET device: (a) a layout and (b) a corresponding fabricated
structures.

P-pillar Trench
Poly-Si: Trench Gate
Source
Trench

Ldrift

Drain
Trench

Poly-Si: Top Gate

(a)

(b)

Fig. 6.9 SEM images of fabricated SJ-FINFET: (a) a transistor array and (b) a crosssection after Al and oxide etchings.

6.4.1 Transfer Characteristics

The threshold voltage was extracted by extrapolating the linear region on the Ids-Vgs
plot. Fig. 6.10 presents the transfer characteristic of the fabricated SJ-FINFET device
with Ldrift = 3.5 m and W = 200 m at Vgs = 0.1 V. The measured threshold voltage of
the SJ-FINFET was approximately 180 mV, which is in good agreement with the
previous device simulation result of the SJ-FINFET (see Fig. 5.12). Also, the drain to
source current Ids was found to be saturated for larger gate to source voltages. This
indicates that at high vertical field strengths (i.e. Vgs/tox), the electrons scatter more often

133

in the channel and this electron mobility degradation effect leads to less current than one
expected at high Vgs.

6E-03

Ldrift=3.5m, W=200m @ Vds =0.1V

5E-03

Ids (A)

4E-03

3E-03

2E-03

1E-03

VTH ~ 1.75 V
0E+00
0

10

11

12

13

14

15

Vgate (V)
Fig. 6.10 Ids - Vgs transfer characteristic of the fabricated SJ-FINFET at Vgs = 0.1 V.

6.4.2 Output Characteristics

The measured I-V characteristics of the fabricated SJ-FINFET and planar gate SJLDMOSFET with Ldrift = 3.5 m and W = 200 m are as presented in Fig. 6.11. The
specific on-resistance of the SJ-FINFET is approximately 30% smaller than that of the
conventional SJ-LDMOSFET. Furthermore, the saturation drain current of the SJFINFET over 380 mA/mm is attained at Vg = 10 V while the SJ-LDMOSFET exhibits the
saturation drain current of 325 mA/mm at the same voltage rating. This result indicates
the effectiveness of the 3D trench gate over the planar gate structure. The SJ-FINFET
structure maximizes the effective channel width and provides more current conduction
area to the drain. In Fig. 6.11(a), the saturation current at Vg 8V is slightly decreased as

134

Vds increases. This phenomenon can be understood by taking account of the self-heating
effect. Since the majority of electron current is concentrated near the top surface of ndrift region in the SJ-LDMOSFET, this may lead to the increase in the internal
temperature of the device. On the other hand, the SJ-FINFET employs the triple gate
structure not only to reduce the channel resistance but also to relax the electron current
crowding near the gate edge.
0.10

(a)

0.09

0.08

Vg= 10 V

0.07

Ids (A)

0.06

Vg= 8 V

0.05

Vg= 6 V

0.04
0.03

Vg= 4 V

0.02
0.01

Vg= 2 V

0.00
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

Vds (V)
0.10

(b)

0.09

Vg= 10 V

0.08
0.07

Vg= 8 V

Ids (A)

0.06

0.05

Vg= 6 V

0.04
0.03

Vg= 4 V

0.02

Vg= 2 V

0.01
0.00
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

Vds (V)

Fig. 6.11Output I-V characteristics of the fabricated (a) SJ-LDMOSFET and (b) SJFINFET devices, Ldrift = 3.5 m and Wtotal = 200 m.

135

6.4.3 Specific On-Resistance for Different N/P Pillar Width Ratio

Fig. 6.12 presents the measured Ron,sp data of the SJ-FINFET structures with different
n/p pillar width ratios for a given SJ-drift trench width. As the width of the drift trench is
increased, the shadowing effect of the tilted implant can be greatly reduced therefore
more uniform p-pillar profile is expected. However, the larger the trench width, the more
conduction area in the drift region was wasted and this resulted in a higher Ron,sp, as
shown in this figure. Another important parameter is a width of the n-drift region (Wn)
because the p-pillar formation requires a precise thermal control during the high
temperature annealing process steps. For instance, if the boron is diffused too much into
the n-epi layer, the n-drift region would be replaced by two neighboring highly doped ppillars. Therefore, several different widths of n-drift region were considered as a back-up.
Nevertheless, if the width of n-pillar is too large, the number of SJ-unit cells in a fixed
drift area will be significantly reduced. The specific on-resistance is reduced as the n/p
pillar width ratio is increased as illustrated in this figure. This indicates that the lateral
diffusion of p-pillar was greater than the process simulation result. Theoretically, the
ideal n/p pillar width ratio should be one.
1.6
@ DTI=0.6um

Ldrift = 3.5m @ VG = 10 V

1.4

@ DTI=0.8um
@ DTI=1.0um
@ DTI=1.2um

Ron,sp (mcm2)

1.2
1
0.8

0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

1.6

1.7

n/p pillar ratio

Fig. 6.12 The specific on-resistance of the fabricated SJ-FINFETs for different n/p pillar
width ratios and SJ-drift trench (DTI) widths.
136

6.4.4 Breakdown Voltage for Different SJ-drift Regions

The operating principle of the SJ device is based on charge compensation. The charge
imbalance between n-drift and p-drift layers directly affects the value of BV. Thus, it is
important to evaluate the effect of charge imbalance in order to achieve the maximum BV.
Fig. 6.13 presents the relationship between BV and p-pillar dose. Since the n-pillar
doping concentration is fixed (i.e. n-epi device layer), the variation of p-pillar dose has
the same effect of giving different charge balance conditions in the SJ-drift region. It can
be seen that the optimal breakdown voltage is obtained at the p-pillar dose of 8
1013/cm2. This can be explained by the fact that the cross-sectional areas of n-/p- pillars
are different from each other; therefore the ND and NA should be also different. In this
figure, the BV of SJ-FINFET is highly sensitive to the p-pillar or charge imbalance (%)
in the pillars. If charge imbalance between the pillars exists, the gradient of the electric
field in the drift region is proportional to the pillars doping concentrations for a specific
charge imbalance (%) with the resultant p-p-n+ (for NA > ND) or p-n-n+ (for ND > NA)
diode having effectively highly doped drift region. Such high sensitivity imposes
stringent requirements for a precisely controlled fabrication process.

100
Wside / Ldrift = 2.7m / 6.0m
80

BV (V)

60

Wside / Ldrift = 2.7m / 3.5m

40

20
B, 8e13 cm-2, 45keV,

12

3.0E+13

5.0E+13

7.0E+13

9.0E+13

1.1E+14

P-pillar Dose (cm-2)

Fig. 6.13 The relationship between BV and P-pillar dose for the fabricated SJ-FINFET
devices with Ldrift of 3.5 m and 6 m, Wn = Wp = 0.3 m and Wside of 2.7 m.
137

6.4.5 Comparison with Fabricated SJ-LDMOSFETs

The overall on-resistances of both fabricated SJ-FINFET and SJ-LDMOSFET are
compared as a function of a total gate width. In both cases, the on-resistance was found to
be inversely proportional to the gate width as illustrated in Fig. 6.14. Similar to the earlier
output characteristic comparison for Wtotal = 200 m (section 6.4.2), the SJ-FINFET
devices with smaller gate widths have also demonstrated approximately 30% smaller onresistance than that of the SJ-LDMOSFETs. For each SJ-device, at least 12% reduction in
on-resistance was observed as the gate voltage was increased from 8 to 10 V.
800
700

SJ-FINFET @ Vg=8V

SJ-FINFET @ Vg=10V

SJ-LDMOS @ Vg=8V

SJ-LDMOS @ Vg=10V

600

Ron ()

500
400
300
200
100
0
0

25

50

75

100

125

150

175

200

W (m)

Fig. 6.14 On-resistance data comparison as a function of the gate width (W) of the
fabricated SJ-FINFET and SJ-LDMOSFETS, Ldrift = 3.5 m.
The specific on-resistance is plotted as a function of Ldrift in Fig. 6.15. The fabricated
SJ-FINFET images with different Ldrift are shown in Fig. 6.16. The specific onresistances of the fabricated SJ-FINFET devices are 25-33% lower than that of the
fabricated SJ-LDMOSFETs. The Ron,sp is found to increase linearly with a slope of about
1 mcm2/m. However, as the drift length becomes greater than 6 m, the slope begins
to increase significantly. These results suggest that a further optimization of field plate
(F.P) is necessary for drift lengths greater than 6 m.

138

36

2.2

33

2.0

30

1.8

27

1.6

24

1.4

21

1.2

18

1.0

15

0.8

12

0.6

SJ-FINFET @ Vg=10V

0.4

Improvement (%)

Ron,sp (mcm2)

2.4

SJ-LDMOS @ Vg=10V

0.2

Improvement @ Vg=10V

0.0

10

11

12

Ldrift (m)
Fig. 6.15 Ron,sp data comparison between SJ-FINFET and SJ-LDMOS for different Ldrift.

Ldrift = 3.5 m

Ldrift = 6.0 m

(a)
Ldrift = 10.0 m

G
(b)

Ldrift = 12.0 m

G
(c)

S
(d)

Fig. 6.16 Micrographs of the SJ-FINFETs with different drift lengths: (a) Ldrift = 3.5 m,
(b) Ldrift = 6.0 m, (c) ) Ldrift = 10.0 m and (d) ) Ldrift = 12.0 m for Wtotal = 200 m.
139

Lastly, the BV-Ron,sp trade-off relationships of the both fabricated SJ-LDMOSFET

and SJ-FINFET are compared with the ideal silicon limit and other LDMOS transistors in
Fig. 6.17. The measured data is comparable with other published data and it shows a
good agreement in the data trend between the simulation and measurement. For the
similar BV ratings, the specific on-resistances of the fabricated SJ-FINFET devices are
29-33% lower than that of the fabricated SJ-LDMOSFETs. This is a positive indication
that the SJ-FINFET can become a competitive power device for sub-100V applications.
Further process and parasitic optimizations with a deeper trench gate structure and finer
lithography resolution will lead to a better performance and may overcome the ideal Si
limit of BV and Ron,sp.

1.4
Other published data

[114]

Simulated SJ-FINFET
1.2

Fabricated SJ-FINFET

Ron,sp (mcm2 )

Fabricated SJ-LDMOS

[113]

[104]

[102]

Fabricated
SJ-LDMOS

0.8

0.6

Fabricated
SJ-FINFET
[102]

0.4

[111]
Si[104]
Limi [112]
t
[103]

Simulated
SJ-FINFET

0.2

Si-Limit
0
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

BV (V)
Fig. 6.17 Performance comparison between the fabricated SJ-devices and previously
published data. Data from [102], [104], [114] are for conventional LDMOSFETs. Data
from [103], [111]-[113] are for conventional SJ-LDMOSFETs.

140

6.5 Summary
A novel lateral SJ-FINFET device, which employs a corrugated 3-D trench gate
structure with heavily doped alternating U-shaped n/p pillars was fabricated and
measured for next generation of sub-100V applications. The SJ-FINFET fabrication
required a total of nine masking layers and the process steps were compatible with a
standard 0.5m CMOS flow. To realize the SJ-FINFET, new optional process modules
were developed that can be added to the baseline CMOS technology. The inclusion of
these modules had no significant impact on the overall processing cost. The performance
advantage of the SJ-FINFET over the conventional planar gate SJ-LDMOSFET was
verified experimentally. The measured BV-Ron,sp trade-off relationships was comparable
with other published LDMOS transistors and it also demonstrated a good agreement in
the data trend between the simulation and measurement. For the similar BV ratings, the
specific on-resistances of the fabricated SJ-FINFET devices were 29-33% lower than that
of the fabricated SJ-LDMOSFETs. It is noted that there are no dynamic test results. This
was due to the fact that the test structures are too small to be able to extract the gate
charge. Nevertheless, the current work represents the first experimental confirmation that
the super-junction concept is advantageous for sub-100V applications. We believe that a
fabrication process with finer photolithography (i.e. better than the 0.5m used in this
work) and better control of the doping concentrations in the n+/p+ pillars will produce
even more encouraging performance.

141

Chapter 7

Conclusions

In this thesis, the development and experimental verification of the next generation
low-voltage power MOSFETs have been described. In the first part of the thesis, the
feasibility of monolithic integration of a high speed, high efficiency buck converter was
investigated in terms of the layout optimization. In particular, the unit-cell structure of the
hybrid waffle (HW) layout, implemented in a 0.25m, 5 metal layer standard CMOS
process was optimized for minimum specific on-resistance with enhanced switching
characteristics. Analytical layout models containing parasitic resistors and capacitors
were proposed. This allowed more accurate power loss calculations for the final output
stage design. The HW layout technique organized MOSFET fingers in a square grid
arrangement. It was designed to provide an effective trade-off between the width of
diagonal source/drain metal and the active device area, allowing more effective
optimization between switching and conduction losses. In comparison with conventional
layout schemes, the HW layout was found to exhibit a 30% reduction in overall onresistance with 3.6 times smaller total gate charge for CMOS devices with a current
rating of 1A. The performance improvement was obtained with no processing or device
structural changes. The measured overall on-resistances for both the n- and p-type HW
power MOSFETs were in good agreement with the simulation results. Also, the
maximum measured efficiencies of the converter switching at 6.25 MHz and 10MHz
were 85% and 82%, respectively.

The focus of the second part of this thesis was to explore the suitability of the superjunction (SJ) concept in low voltage power MOSFETs. Conventional SJ devices do not
have significant advantages over LDMOS devices in sub-100V rating applications. This
is due to the fact that the channel resistance becomes comparable to the drift region
resistance. A lateral super-junction FINFET (SJ-FINFET) with a corrugated 3-D trench
gate was presented to resolve this issue. Using highly doped alternating ultra thin n/p
pillars (the FINs) as the SJ drift region, the proposed devices could provide a new degree
of freedom in the trade-off between on-resistance and breakdown voltage. Threedimensional numerical simulations using ISE-DESSISTM was performed to analyze the
142

effect of various device parameters. Several prototype devices were fabricated in a 0.5m
CMOS process with nine masking layers. In comparison with conventional planar gate
SJ-LDMOSFETs, the fabricated SJ-FINFETs demonstrated approximately 30%
improvement in Ron,sp. This is a positive indication that the SJ-FINFET can become a
competitive power device for sub-100V applications. Further process and parasitic
optimizations with a deeper trench gate structure and finer lithography resolution will
lead to a better performance and may overcome the ideal Si limit of BV and Ron,sp.
Future work may take advantage of new developments in interconnects and contact
processes by incorporating Cu interconnects to reduce de-biasing effects and make use of
borderless contacts to increase the packing density. Consideration can be also given to
reduce the gate resistance using special silicide materials and new layout techniques to
further reduce the chip area for a given current carrying capability. Other future work
may consider modifying the existing process flow of the SJ-FINFET to achieve better
control of the doping concentrations between the pillars. In addition, the fabrication
process of the SJ-FINFET with finer photolithography should be considered in
combination with the HW layout strategy.

143

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153

APPENDIX-I: Calculation Methods of Parasitic Resistors

Multi-Finger (MF) Layout
Contact Resistance
Rc for NMOS = 7.4 / (# of contacts)
Rc for PMOS = 5.8 / (# of contacts)
Rc_gate for NMOS = 7.0 / (# of gate contacts)
Rc_gate for PMOS = 6.1 / (# of gate contacts)
Via-1 Resistance
Rv1 = (4.0) / (# of vias)
Metal-1 Resistance
Rm1 = (0.076 /sq.) x (# of squares) = 0.076 x (W c + Sc) / W M1 = 0.169
RM1 = 0.076 x [(W c + Sc + 2Lex + 2W M1 + SM1)/2] / W M1 = 0.544
RM1c = 0.076 x (W c/2 + Sc/2 + Lex + W M1/2) / W M1 = 0.204
RM1c-out = 0.076 x (W M1/2 + SM1/2) / W M1 = 0.341
RM1-gate = 0.076 x (W c/2 + W v1/2) / W M1= 0.078
Poly-Resistance
Rg = (5.3 /sq.) x (# of squares) = 5.3 x (W c + Sc) / Lg = 4.60
RG = 5.3 x (W c + Sc + 2Lex + 2Lg + Spoly ) / Lg = 24.38
RG-out = 5.3 x (W c/2 + Sc/2 + Lex + Lg + Scp + W c+ 0.12 + 0.43 0.06) / Lg = 18.02
Metal-2 Resistance (same calculations for Metal-3 to 5)
RM2 = 0.076 x (SM1 + W M1) / W m2 = 0.567
RM2-out for Source = 0.076 x (0.43 + 0.12 + W C+ Scp + Lg + Scp + W c/2) / W M2= 0.488
RM2-out for Drain = 0.076 x (0.43 + 0.12 + W C+ Scp + Lg + Scp + W c + Scp + Lg + Scp + W c/2) / W M2 =
0.798
RM2-out for Gate = 0.076 x (LM1ex-0.06) / W M2 = 0.052
Device Area
Area = Width * Height = (2 x (0.43+0.12)+11W c+ 20Scp+10Lg) x [W+ 2(Lex+W M2)] = 12.72 x (1.06
+ W)

Regular-Waffle (RW) Layout

@ Lfinger= 0.74m (minimum width of a unit transistor width for a RW layout structure)
Contact and Via Resistances
Rc = 7.4 / # of contacts = 7.4 / (1) = 7.4
Rv1 = 4.0 / # of via-1 = 4.0 / (1) = 4.0

154

Rv2 = 4.0 / # of via-2 = 4.0 / (1) = 4.0

Rv3 = 4.0 / # of via-3 = 4.0 / (1) = 4.0
Rv4 = 4.0 / # of via-4 = 4.0 / (1) = 4.0
Metal-1 Resistance
W M1 = SQRT(2 x (W+0.6)^2)/2-0.4= 0.55 m
LM1= SQRT(2 x (W+0.6)^2)= 1.90 m
RM1= 0.076 x (W M1 / LM1) = 0.263
Metal-2 Resistance
W M2 = SQRT(2 x (W+0.6)^2)/2-0.4= 0.55 m
LM2= SQRT(2 x (W+0.6)^2)= 1.90 m
RM2= 0.076 x (W M2 / LM2) = 0.263
Metal-3 Resistance
W M3 = SQRT(2 x (W+0.6)^2)/2-0.4= 0.55 m
LM3= SQRT(2 x (W+0.6)^2)= 1.90 m
RM3= 0.076 x (W M3 / LM3) = 0.263
Metal-4 Resistance
W M4 = SQRT(2 x (W+0.6)^2)/2-0.4= 0.55 m
LM4= SQRT(2 x (W+0.6)^2)= 1.90 m
RM4= 0.076 x (W M4 / LM4) = 0.263
Metal-5 Resistance
W M5 = SQRT(2 x (W+0.6)^2)/2-0.4= 0.55 m
LM5= SQRT(2 x (W+0.6)^2)= 1.90 m
RM5= 0.041 x (W M5 / LM5) = 0.142
Metal 1||5 Resistance
RM1 || M5 =1/(1/(8+(1/(1/(RM1+8)+1/ RM2))+1/RM3+1/(8+(1/(1/8+ RM5+1/ RM4)) = 0.247
External Routing Resistances
Rout =2 x RM1 || M5 + (1/(1/0.076+1/0.076+1/0.076+1/0.076+1/0.041))*(70/(SQRT(2) x W M1)) = 1.668

Rroute=(1/(1/Rsh_m1 + 1/ Rsh_m2 + 1/ Rsh_m3 + 1/ Rsh_m4 + 1/ Rsh_m5) x (2 W / 100)) = 0.0002

Hybrid-Waffle (HW) Layout

@ Lfinger = 12.36 m (a MOS finger size of the HW layout structure)
Contact and Via Resistances
Rc = 7.4 / # of contacts = 7.4 / (20) = 0.370
# of contacts = (W-2(LOD-CO)) / W c,
If = odd, then # of contacts = (+1)/2

155

If = even, then # of contacts = /2

Rv1 = 4.0 / # of via-1 = 4.0 / (309) = 0.0129
2
2
# of via-1 [(W-2(Sm2)) / (W v1) ] x 30%
Rv2 = 4.0 / # of via-2 = 4.0 / (246) = 0.0163
2
2
# of via-2 [(SQRT(2(W-2(Sm2)) )-W m3/2) x W m3] / (W v2) x 30%
Rv3 = 4.0 / # of via-3 = 4.0 / (268) = 0.0149
2
2
# of via-3 [(SQRT(2(W )-W m4/2) x W m4 / 2 ] / (W v3) x 30%
Rv4 = 4.0 / # of via-4 = 4.0 / (268) = 0.0149
2
2
# of via-4 [(SQRT(2(W )-W m5/2) x W m5 / 2 ] / (W v4) x 30%
Metal-1 Resistance
RM1 = 0.076 x [(W/2) + LOD-CO + W c / 2] / (W/2) = 0.0796
RM1-CtV = RM1 + RC = 0.4496
Metal-2 Resistance
RM2 = [Resistivity of Al / (W-0.8)] x [thickness of M2 / (W-0.8)]
@ t = 0.57m, Resistivity = 2.82e-8 Ohmm
Therefore,
RM2 =[(2.82e-8*1000000)/(W-0.8)] x [0.57/(W-0.8)] = 0.00012028
Metal-3 Resistance
2

W M3 = SQRT[2(W+2Lex + Lg) ]/2 0.4 = 9.63 m

2
LM3 = SQRT[2(W+2Lex + Lg) ] = 20.05 m
RM3 = 0.076 x (W M3 / LM3) = 0.158
Metal-4 Resistance
2

W M4 = SQRT[2(W+2Lex + Lg) ]/2 0.4 = 9.63 m

2
LM4 = SQRT[2(W+2Lex + Lg) ] = 20.05 m
RM4 = 0.076 x (W M4 / LM4) = 0.158
Metal-5 Resistance
2

W M5 = SQRT[2(W+2Lex + Lg) ]/2 0.4 = 9.63 m

2
LM5 = SQRT[2(W+2Lex + Lg) ] = 20.05 m
RM5 = 0.041 x (W M5 / LM5) = 0.085
Metal 3||5 Resistance
RM1 || M5 =((2xRv4+RM5)x(RM4)x(2*Rv3+RM3))/((RM4)x(2xRv3+RM3)+(2xRv4+RM5)x(2xRv3+RM3)+(2xRv4+
RM5)x(RM4)) = 0.049
External Routing Resistances
Rout =2 x RM3 || M5 + (1/(1/0.076+1/0.076+1/0.041)) x (70/(SQRT(2) x W M5)) = 0.200
Rroute= (1/(1/ Rsh_m3 + 1/ Rsh_m4 + 1/ Rsh_m5) x (2 W / 100)) = 0.005

156

APPENDIX-II: Parameter Extractions for Power MOSFETs

In order to extract the on-resistance (Ron), input gate charge (Qg), and turn-on and
turn-off delays (Ton and Toff) of the output transistors used in efficiency simulations in
Chapter 3, the following circuits were constructed in Cadence Schematic and simulated
with TSMC 0.25m HSPICE model.

A. On-Resistance (Ron) Extraction

The Ron of both NMOS and PMOS used in the CMOS-based power output stage are
extracted with the test circuit shown in Fig. A.

Ids

Ids

Vds

Vds
D

Vg
G

Vg
CMOS-based
Power NMOS

CMOS-based
Power PMOS

GND

GND

Bias Conditions for NMOS

Bias Conditions for PMOS

Ids = 100 / 400 / 800mA

Ids = 100 / 400 / 800mA

Vg = 2.5 / 3.3 / 5.5V

Vg = -2.5 / -3.3 / -5.5V

Vds = Measured

Vds = Measured

Therefore, Ron = Vds / Ids

Therefore, Ron = Vds / Ids

Fig. A. On-resistance extraction circuit from Cadence schematic

157

B.

Input Gate Charge (Qg) Extraction

The Qg data are extracted with the test circuit shown in Fig. B. In order to provide the

constant current (Id1) to DUT, the value of Vg1 is first extracted through a parametric Vds
vs. Ids plot to determine the gate voltage at which the current through the MOSFET is
equal to 100/400/800mA. M1 then acts as a current load to M2 from which we extract the
Qg. It is also noted that M1 and M2 are the same CMOS-based power MOSFET devices.

Vdd
Bias Conditions for NMOS (PMOS)

Id1
M1

Vg1

Vdd = 3.3V(-3.3V)

Vg1 = 1.682 / 1.342 / 0.972V for NMOS

Vg1 = -2.254 / -1.765 / -1.194V for PMOS

for Id1 = 800 / 400 / 100mA, respectively.

Vds
Vg2
Ig

DUT

Id2

Ig = 1.1mA (-2.2mA)

Pulse Width = 50ns

Period = 100ns

Vg2 = Measured in Transient Simulation

Vds = Measured in Transient Simulation

Id2 = Measured in Transient Simulation

M2
Therefore, Qg = Ig x time @ Vg2 = 3.3V (-3.3V)

GND

Fig. B. Input gate charge extraction circuit from Cadence schematic.

158

C.

Switching Delay (Ton /Toff) Extraction

The Ton and Toff of the power MOSFETs were extracted with the test circuit shown in

Fig. C(a), which was modified from Fig. 13 of [92], by plotting the Vds and Vgs
waveforms. The pre-driver shown in Fig. C(a) was constructed with the gate-driver
design by Marian Chang. The resistance, R, is chosen such that the sum of R and R on
(extracted in part A) will force a current of 400mA to pass DUT when it is turned on Fig.
C(b) also shows how the delays are defined [92].

(a)
Vds

Vdd GND

Pre-driver

Vdd

Vgs
Ids

DUT
Vg
GND
Bias Conditions for NMOS (PMOS)

(b)
-

Vdd and Vg = 3.3V(-3.3V)

Pulse Width = 50ns

Period = 100ns

R = 4.13 / 8.25 / 41.25

for Id1 = 800 / 400 / 100mA, respectively.

Vgs and Vds = Measured in Transient Simulation

Therefore, Ton = Td(on) + Tr and Toff = Td(off) + Tf

Fig. C. Turn-on and turn-off delay extraction circuit from Cadence schematic.

159

APPENDIX-III: Process Flow of SJ-FINFET

Fabrication Steps on 4 N-type SOI Wafer
Step
No.

Process

Alignment Mark

0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
0.10
0.11
0.12
0.13
0.14
0.15
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
1.10
1.11
1.12
1.13
1.14
1.15
1.16
1.17
1.18
1.19
1.20
1.21
1.22
1.23
1.24
1.25

Sulfuric clean
HF dip
DI rinse / Spin dry
Photoresist coating
Pre-bake
Photoresist exposure
Soft-bake
Photoresist develop
Hard-bake
Descum
Inspection
Silicon plasma etch
Photoresist O2 ashing
Photoresist acid strip
Inspection

Equipment

Requirements

WET-A1: Standard Clean

WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
SVG Coater Track
SUSS Hot Plate
ASML Stepper 5000
SUSS Hot Plate
SVG Developer Track
Imperial V
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
Optical microscope
LAM 490 (Front)
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
WET-E4: Resist Strip
Alpha-Step

120C, 10min
1min
4 cycles
Program 1-4-7, P/R=1075
90C, 1min
Energy: 350 (i-line)
110C, 1min
Program 1-7
120C, 10min
2min
Check the mask pattern
Etch = 120nm
20min
120C, 10min, P/R inspect
Depth measurement

WET-A1: Standard Clean

WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
D1: Dry Oxidation
B2: CVD Furnace Nitride
SVG Coater Track
SUSS Hot Plate
ASML Stepper 5000
SUSS Hot Plate
SVG Developer Track
Imperial V
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
AME-8110 Etcher: P2
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
AME-8110 Etcher: P3
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
DRY-ICP-Si
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
WET-E4: Resist Strip
WET-A1: Standard Clean
WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
D1: Dry Oxidation
B4: CVD Furnace LTO

120C, 10min
1min
4 cycles
300, 950C
2500 , 780C
Program 1-4-7, P/R=1075
90C, 1min
Energy: 350 (i-line)
110C, 1min
Program 1-7
120C, 10min
2min
End-point detection
Step-thickness
10% over-etch
Step-thickness
S011, Etch = 3.6m, 70 cycles
Step-thickness
20min
120C, 10min, P/R inspect
120C, 10min
1min
4 cycles
500 , 1000C
4.5m, 425C, 115 /min,
O2:50 sccm SiH4: 40 sccm

Active / Isolation
Sulfuric clean
HF dip
DI rinse / Spin dry
Pad oxide growth
Nitride Deposition
Photoresist coating
Pre-bake
Mask #1: Active
Soft-bake
Photoresist develop
Hard-bake
Descum
Nitride Etch
Inspection
Oxide Etch
Inspection
Deep-Si Etch
Inspection
Photoresist Ash
Photoresist acid strip
Sulfuric clean
HF dip
DI rinse / Spin dry
Liner Oxidation
Isolation Oxide Depo.

160

Step
No.
1.26
1.27
1.28
1.29
1.30
1.31

DTI Densification
CMP: Planarization
Post-CMP Cleaning
LTO Dry-etch
LTO Wet-etch
Nitride Removal

D4: Annealing
CMP1: Strasbaugh 6EC
CMP2: USI wafer washer
AME-8110 Etcher: P3
WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
WET-C1: Nitride Strip

1.32
1.33

Pad Oxide Removal

DI rinse / Spin dry

WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)

DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2

Process

Equipment

Requirements
900C, 30min
4.0m removal
DI wafer
Etch: 4000
Etch: 1000 , 16min
H3PO4 @ Temp=165C,
Selectivity: Si3N4:LTO > 25
25C, 5min
4 cycles

PBODY: P-Body

2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4

Sulfuric clean
HF dip
DI rinse / Spin dry
Sacrificial Oxidation

WET-A1: Standard Clean

WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
D1: Dry Oxidation

2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.9
2.10
2.11
2.12
2.13
2.14
2.15
2.16
2.17
2.18
2.19
2.20
2.21
2.22
2.23
2.24
2.25

Nitride Deposition
Photoresist coating
Pre-bake
Mask #2: PBODY
Soft-bake
Photoresist develop
Hard-bake
Descum
Nitride Etch
Inspection
Oxide Etch
Inspection
Deep-Si Etch
Inspection
Photoresist Ash
Photoresist acid strip
Sulfuric clean
HF dip
DI rinse / Spin dry
Inspection
Tilted Implant: 45deg.

B2: CVD Furnace Nitride

SVG Coater Track
SUSS Hot Plate
ASML Stepper 5000
SUSS Hot Plate
SVG Developer Track
Imperial V
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
AME-8110 Etcher: P2
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
AME-8110 Etcher: P3
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
DRY-ICP-Si
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
WET-E4: Resist Strip
WET-A1: Standard Clean
WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
SEM: Cross-section
Varian CF3000

2.26

Nitride Removal

WET-C1: Nitride Strip

2.27
2.28
2.29

Pad Oxide Removal

DI rinse / Spin dry
Trench Ox. Liner

WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)

DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
D1: Dry Oxidation

2.30
2.30

P-body diffusion
LTO Gap-Filling

D4: Annealing
B4: CVD Furnace LTO

2.31
2.32
2.33
2.34

LTO Densification
CMP: Planarization
Post-CMP Cleaning
LTO Dry-etch

D4: Annealing
CMP1: Strasbaugh 6EC
CMP2: USI wafer washer
AME-8110 Etcher: P3

120C, 10min
1min
4 cycles
250 , 850C, 10min, 950C,
35min
4000 , 780C
Program 1-4-7, P/R=1075
90C, 1min
Energy: 350 (i-line)
110C, 1min
Program 1-7
120C, 10min
2min
End-point detection
Step-thickness
10% over-etch
Step-thickness
S011, Etch = 2.2um, 36 cycles
Step-thickness
20min
120C, 10min, P/R inspect
120C, 10min
1min
4 cycles
Cross-section by test wafer #1.
Species=Boron,
Energy(keV)=180,
Dose(/cm2)=2.2E14, Tilt=45deg
H3PO4 @ Temp=165C,
Selectivity: Si3N4:LTO > 25
5min, 25C
4 cycles
250A, 850C, 10min, 950C,
35min,
950C, 10min, 1050C, 45min
3.0m, 425C, 115 /min,
O2:50 sccm SiH4: 40 sccm
850C, 10min, 900C, 30min
2.5um LTO removal
DI wafer
Etch: 5000

161

Step
No.
2.35
3

Process
LTO Wet-etch

Equipment

Requirements

WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)

Etch: 1000 , 16min

SJ-drift

3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4

Sulfuric clean
HF dip
DI rinse / Spin dry
Sacrificial Oxidation

WET-A1: Standard Clean

WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
D1: Dry Oxidation

3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.10
3.11
3.12
3.13
3.14
3.15
3.16
3.17
3.18
3.19
3.20
3.21
3.22
3.23
3.24
3.25

Nitride Deposition
Photoresist coating
Pre-bake
Mask #3: IP
Soft-bake
Photoresist develop
Hard-bake
Descum
Nitride Etch
Inspection
Oxide Etch
Inspection
Deep-Si Etch
Inspection
Photoresist Ash
Photoresist acid strip
Sulfuric clean
HF dip
DI rinse / Spin dry
Inspection
Tilted Implant: 2 x L/R
and 2 x T/B

B2: CVD Furnace Nitride

SVG Coater Track
SUSS Hot Plate
ASML Stepper 5000
SUSS Hot Plate
SVG Developer Track
Imperial V
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
AME-8110 Etcher: P2
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
AME-8110 Etcher: P3
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
DRY-ICP-Si
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
WET-E4: Resist Strip
WET-A1: Standard Clean
WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
SEM: Cross-section
Varian CF3000

3.25A

Trench Ox. Liner

D1: Dry Oxidation

3.26

LTO Gap-Filling

B4: CVD Furnace LTO

3.27
3.28
3.29
3.30
3.31
3.32

LTO Densification
CMP: Planarization
Post-CMP Cleaning
LTO Dry-etch
LTO Wet-etch
Nitride Removal

D4: Annealing
CMP1: Strasbaugh 6EC
CMP2: USI wafer washer
AME-8110 Etcher: P3
WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
WET-C1: Nitride Strip

3.33
3.34

Pad Oxide Removal

DI rinse / Spin dry

WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)

DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2

120C, 10min
1min
4 cycles
250, 850C, 5min, 950C,
35min, 850C, 5min
5000 , 780C, 8Hrs
Program 1-4-7, P/R=1075
90C, 1min
Energy: 320 (i-line)
110C, 1min
Program 1-7
120C, 10min
2min
End-point detection
Step-thickness
10% over-etch
Step-thickness
S011, Etch = 2.2m, 36 cycles
Step-thickness
20min
120C, 10min, P/R inspect
120C, 10min
1min
4 cycles
Cross-section by test wafer #2.
Species=Boron,
Energy(keV)=80/45,
Dose(/cm2)=3.5E13/2,4,6,and
8E13, Tilt=45deg / 12deg
200, 850C, 10min, 950C,
20min,
3.0m, 425C, 115 /min,
O2:50 sccm SiH4: 40 sccm
850C, 10min, 900C, 20min
2.5m removal
DI wafer
Etch: 5000
Etch: 1000 , 16min
H3PO4 @ Temp=165C,
Selectivity: Si3N4:LTO > 25
25C, 5min
4 cycles

WET-A1: Standard Clean

WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
SVG Coater Track
SUSS Hot Plate

120C, 10min
1min
4 cycles
Program 1-4-7, P/R=1075
90C, 1min

4
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5

Trench Gate
Sulfuric clean
HF dip
DI rinse / Spin dry
Photoresist coating
Pre-bake

162

Step
No.
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
4.10
4.11
4.12
4.13
4.14
4.15
4.16
4.17
4.18

Process

Equipment

Requirements

Mask #4: OD2

Soft-bake
Photoresist develop
Hard-bake
Descum
Deep-Si Etch
Photoresist Ash
Photoresist acid strip
Sulfuric clean
HF dip
DI rinse / Spin dry
Inspection
Gate oxide growth

ASML Stepper 5000

SUSS Hot Plate
SVG Developer Track
Imperial V
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
DRY-ICP-Si
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
WET-E4: Resist Strip
WET-A1: Standard Clean
WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
SEM: Cross-section
D1: Dry Oxidation
CVD Furnace A3 Poly
RTP-600S: Rapid Thermal

1000C, 30sec, 900C, 30min

4.21
4.22
4.23

Amorphous-Si
deposition (In-situ)
Gate Transformation to
Poly-Si
Photoresist coating
Hard-bake
Backside Poly-Si Etch

Energy: 350 (i-line)

110C, 10min
Program 1-7
120C, 10min
2min
S011, Etch = 2m, 36 cycles
20min
120C, 10min, P/R inspect
120C, 10min
1min
4 cycles
Cross-section by test wafer #3.
300, 850C, 10min, 950C,
40min
5000, 570C

SVG Coater Track

Imperial V
LAM 490

4.24
4.25
4.26
4.27

Backside Gox Etch

DI rinse / Spin dry
Photoresist acid strip
DI rinse / Spin dry

WET-C3: BOE Etch

DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
WET-E4: Resist Strip
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2

Program 111, P/R 204

120C, 30min
Etch rate = 400nm/min, EPT by
Channel 12.
25C, 1min
4 cycles
120C, 10min, P/R inspect
4 cycles

SVG Coater Track

SUSS Hot Plate
ASML Stepper 5000
SUSS Hot Plate
SVG Developer Track
Imperial V
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
DRY-ICP-Poly
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
WET-E4: Resist Strip
WET-A1: Standard Clean
WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
SEM: Cross-section

Program 1-4-7, P/R=1075

90C, 10min
Energy: 350 (i-line)
110C, 10min
Program 1-7
120C, 10min
2min
Etch = 5000, EPD
20min
120C, 10min, P/R inspect
120C, 10min
1min
4 cycles
Step-thickness
Cross-section by test wafer #4.

250, 850C, 10min, 950C,

35min
4000, 780C
Program 147, P/R=1075
90C, 1min
Energy: 350 (i-line)
110C, 1min

4.19
4.20

5
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
5.9
5.10
5.11
5.12
5.13
5.14
5.15
6

Gate Poly
Photoresist coating
Pre-bake
Mask #5: POLY1
Soft-bake
Photoresist develop
Hard-bake
Descum
Poly-Si Etch
Photoresist Ash
Photoresist acid strip
Sulfuric clean
HF dip
DI rinse / Spin dry
Inspection
Inspection
N+ Source

6.1

Sacrificial Oxidation

D1: Dry Oxidation

6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6

Nitride Deposition
Photoresist coating
Pre-bake
Mask #2: PBODY
Soft-bake

B2: CVD Furnace Nitride

SVG Coater Track
SUSS Hot Plate
ASML Stepper 5000
SUSS Hot Plate

163

Step
No.
6.7
6.8
6.9
6.10
6.11
6.12
6.13
6.14
6.15
6.16
6.17
6.18

Photoresist develop
Hard-bake
Descum
Nitride Etch
Inspection
Oxide Etch
Inspection
LTO Etch
Inspection
Photoresist Ash
Photoresist acid strip
Tilted Implant: 45deg.

SVG Developer Track

Imperial V
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
AME-8110 Etcher: P2
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
AME-8110 Etcher: P3
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
AME-8110 Etcher: P3
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
WET-E4: Resist Strip
Varian CF3000

6.19

Trench Ox. Liner

D1: Dry Oxidation

6.20

LTO Gap-Filling

B4: CVD Furnace LTO

6.21
6.22
6.23
6.24
6.25
6.26
6.27
6.28

LTO Densification
CMP: Planarization
Post-CMP Cleaning
LTO Dry-etch
LTO Wet-etch
Sulfuric clean
HF dip
DI rinse / Spin dry

D4: Annealing
CMP1: Strasbaugh 6EC
CMP2: USI wafer washer
AME-8110 Etcher: P3
WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
WET-A1: Standard Clean
WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2

Process

Equipment

N+ Drain

7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
7.6
7.7
7.8
7.9
7.10
7.11
7.12

Photoresist coating
Pre-bake
Mask #6: NIMP
Soft-bake
Photoresist develop
Hard-bake
Descum
Oxide Etch
Inspection
Deep-Si Etch
Inspection
Tilted Implant: -45deg.

SVG Coater Track

SUSS Hot Plate
ASML Stepper 5000
SUSS Hot Plate
SVG Developer Track
Imperial V
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
AME-8110 Etcher: P3
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
DRY-ICP-Si
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
Varian CF3000

7.13
7.14
7.15
7.16
7.17
7.18

Photoresist Ash
Photoresist acid strip
Sulfuric clean
HF dip
DI rinse / Spin dry
Trench Ox. Liner

IPC-4000 O2 Asher
WET-E4: Resist Strip
WET-A1: Standard Clean
WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
D1: Dry Oxidation

7.19

LTO Gap-Filling

B4: CVD Furnace LTO

7.20

LTO Densification

D4: Annealing

Requirements
Program 17
120C, 10min
2min
End-point detection
Step-thickness
10% over-etch
Step-thickness
Etch = 1.8um
Measure the LTO thickness
20min
120C, 10min, P/R inspect
Species=Phosphorous,
Energy(keV)=180,
Dose(/cm2)=7E14, Tilt=45deg
200, 850C, 10min, 950C,
20min,
3.0m, 425C, 115 /min,
O2:50 sccm SiH4: 40 sccm
850C, 10min, 900C, 20min
2.5m removal
DI wafer
Etch: 4000
Etch: 1000 , 16min
120C, 10min
1min
4 cycles

Program 1-4-7, P/R=1075

90C, 1min
Energy: 350 (i-line)
110C, 1min
Program 1-7
120C, 10min
2min
10% over-etch
Step-thickness
S011, Etch = 2.1m, 36 cycles
Step-thickness
Species=Phosphorous/Arsenic,
Energy(keV)=180/200,
Dose(/cm2)=E, Tilt=45deg
20min
120C, 10min, P/R inspect
120C, 10min
1min
4 cycles
200, 850C, 10min, 950C,
20min,
4.0m, 425C, 115 /min,
O2:50 sccm SiH4: 40 sccm
850C, 10min, 900C, 20min

164

Step
No.
7.21
7.22
7.23

Process

Requirements

RTP-600S: Rapid Thermal

CMP1: Strasbaugh 6EC
CMP2: USI wafer washer

1000C, 15min
1.0m removal
DI wafer

Photoresist coating
Pre-bake
Mask #7: PIMP
Soft-bake
Photoresist develop
Hard-bake
Descum
LTO Etch
Photoresist Ash
Photoresist acid strip
Sulfuric clean
HF dip
DI rinse / Spin dry
Inspection
HF dip (optional)
Ion Implant: default

SVG Coater Track

SUSS Hot Plate
ASML Stepper 5000
SUSS Hot Plate
SVG Developer Track
Imperial V
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
AME-8110 Etcher: P3
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
WET-E4: Resist Strip
WET-A1: Standard Clean
WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step / SEM
WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
Varian CF3000

8.16

Trench Ox. Liner

D1: Dry Oxidation

8.17

LTO Gap-Filling

B4: CVD Furnace LTO

8.18
8.19
8.20

LTO Densification
CMP: Planarization
Post-CMP Cleaning

D4: Annealing
CMP1: Strasbaugh 6EC
CMP2: USI wafer washer

Program 1-4-7, P/R=1075

90C, 1min
Energy: 350 (i-line)
110C, 1min
Program 1-7
120C, 10min
2min
Etch = 2.8m
20min
120C, 10min, P/R inspect
120C, 10min
2min
4 cycles
Step-thickness, Cross-section
+ 1min until no LTO
Species=Boron,
Energy(keV)=180,
Dose(/cm2)=E, Tilt=7deg
200, 850C, 10min, 950C,
20min,
4.0m, 425C, 115 /min,
O2:50 sccm SiH4: 40 sccm
900C, 20min
1.0m removal
DI wafer

SVG Coater Track

SUSS Hot Plate
ASML Stepper 5000
SUSS Hot Plate
SVG Developer Track
Imperial V
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
AME-8110 Etcher: P3
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
WET-E4: Resist Strip
WET-A1: Standard Clean
WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
WET-A2: HF:H20 (1:50)
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step

Program 1-4-7, P/R=1075

90C, 1min
Energy: 350 (i-line)
110C, 1min
Program 1-7
120C, 10min
2min
Etch = 3m, 10% over-etch
20min
120C, 10min, P/R inspect
120C, 10min
2min
4 cycles
Step-thickness
+ 1min until no LTO
Step-thickness

Varian 3180: Al:1wt%Si

Thickness = 1m,
Rate = 18.2nm/sec.

8
8.1
8.2
8.3
8.4
8.5
8.6
8.7
8.8
8.9
8.10
8.11
8.12
8.13
8.14
8.14A
8.15

9
9.1
9.2
9.3
9.4
9.5
9.6
9.7
9.8
9.9
9.10
9.11
9.12
9.13
9.14
9.14A
9.14B
10
10.1

S/D Annealing
CMP: Planarization
Post-CMP Cleaning

Equipment

P+ Contact

Contact Openings
Photoresist coating
Pre-bake
Mask #8: CONT
Soft-bake
Photoresist develop
Hard-bake
Descum
LTO Etch
Photoresist Ash
Photoresist acid strip
Sulfuric clean
HF dip
DI rinse / Spin dry
Inspection
HF dip (optional)
Inspection (optional)
Metallization
Al Sputter Deposition

165

Step
No.
10.2
10.3
10.4
10.5
10.6
10.7
10.8
10.9
10.10
10.11
10.12
10.13
10.14
10.15
10.16
10.17

DI rinse / Spin dry

Photoresist coating
Pre-bake
Mask #9: M1
Soft-bake
Photoresist develop
Hard-bake
Descum
Inspection
Al Etch
Inspection
DI rinse / Spin dry
Photoresist Ash
Inspection
DI rinse / Spin dry
Forming Gas Anneal

DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2

SVG Coater Track
SUSS Hot Plate
ASML Stepper 5000
SUSS Hot Plate
SVG Developer Track
Imperial V
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
SEM: Cross-section
AME-8130
NanoSpec / Alpha-Step
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
IPC-4000 O2 Asher
Optical Microscope
DI rinse, Spin dry-1 and -2
ASM C4: FGA

10.18

Electrical Test

HP4156: Parameter Analyzer

Process

Equipment

Requirements
4 cycles
Program 1-4-7, P/R=1075
90C, 1min
Energy: 350 (i-line)
110C, 1min
Program 1-7
120C, 10min
2min
Cross-section by test wafer #5.
Etch = 1m, Rate = 150nm/min
Step and Oxide Thickness
4 cycles
20min
P/R removal inspect
4 cycles
Time=30min, Temp=400C,
N2:H2=20:1

166

List of Publication
Journal and Conference Papers

A. Yoo, J. C. W. Ng, J. K. O. Sin, and W. T. Ng, Sub-100V Lateral SJ-FINFETs in

a 0.5m CMOS-compatible Process, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Aug,
2010. (Submitted)
A. Yoo, J. C. W. Ng, J. K. O. Sin, and W. T. Ng, High Performance CMOScompatible Superjunction FINFETs for Sub-100V Applications, IEEE International
Electron Devices Meeting, Dec, 2010. (Accepted for oral presentation)
A. Yoo and W. T. Ng, Sub-200V Lateral SJ-FINFETs with Low On-Resistance,
IEEE 10th International Seminar on Power Semiconductors, ISPS10, Prague, Czech
Republic, September 1-3, 2010. (Accepted for oral presentation)
A. Yoo, Y. Onishi, H. P. E. Xu, and W. T. Ng, Low Voltage Lateral SJ-FINFETs
with Deep Trench p-Drift Region, IEEE Electron Device Letters, vol. 30, no. 8, pp.
858-860, 2009.
A. Yoo, M. Chang, O. Trescases, and W. T. Ng, Smart Power IC Design
Methodology Based on a New Figure of Merit (FOM) for Standard CMOS
Technology, IEEE 8th International Seminar on Power Semiconductors, ISPS08,
Prague, Czech Republic, Aug 27-29, 2008.
A. Yoo, M. Chang, O. Trescases, and W. T. Ng, High Performance Low-Voltage
Power MOSFETs with Hybrid Waffle Layout Structure in a 0.25m Standard CMOS
Process, IEEE 20th International Symposium on Power Semiconductors and ICs,
ISPSD08 Proceedings, pg.95-98, Orlando, Florida, USA, May 18-22, 2008.
A. Yoo, M. Chang, O. Trescases, H. Wang, and W.T. Ng, FOM (Figure of Merit)
Analysis of Low Voltage Power MOSFETs in DC-DC Converter, IEEE Electron
Devices and Solid-State Circuits, pg.1039-1042, Tainan, Taiwan, 2007.
W. T. Ng and A. Yoo, Advanced Lateral Power MOSFETs for Power Integrated
Circuits, Solid-State and Integrated Circuit Technology, ICSICT10, Shanghai,
China, Nov 1-4, 2010. (Submitted)
H. Wang, A. Yoo, H. P. E. Xu, and W.T. Ng, A Floating RESURF EDMOS with
enhanced Ruggedness and Safe operating Area, IEEE Internal Conference on
Electron Devices and Solid-State Circuits, Taiwan, 2007.
H. Wang, A. Yoo, H. P. E. Xu, and W.T. Ng, A Floating RESURF EDMOS with
enhanced Safe Operating Area, International Workshop on the Physics of
Semiconductor Devices, India, 2007.
W. T. Ng, M. Chang, A. Yoo, J. Langer, T. Hedquist, and H. Schweiss, High Speed
CMOS Output Stage for Integrated DC-DC Converters, Solid-State and Integrated
Circuit Technology, ICSICT08, Beijing, China, 2008.

Patents

A. Yoo, H.S. Kang, and H.J. Shin, Shared Contact Structure Having Corner
Protection Pattern, Semiconductor Devices, and Methods of Fabricating the Same,
US Patent Application No. US11/377,455, March 17, 2006.

167