IP Library Granted Patent US 12672343
Granted Patent B2
US 12672343 · App. 18/483,826 · Granted Jun 30, 2026

RC-IGBT and manufacturing method of RC-IGBT

Inventors: Matteo Dainese (Munich, DE); Ahmed Elsayed (Dresden, DE); Aleksander Hinz (Dresden, DE); Christian Philipp Sandow (Haar, DE)
Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AG
H10D84/811H10D12/481H10D62/393H10D64/231H10D62/102
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12672343
App. No.
18/483,826
Granted
Jun 30, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A reverse conducting insulated gate bipolar transistor (RC-IGBT) includes an active area in a semiconductor body. The active area includes an IGBT area, a diode area, a transition area laterally adjacent to the diode area, trenches extending into the semiconductor body from a first surface of the semiconductor body, and a drift region of a first conductivity type that includes lifetime killing impurities in the transition area. The active area further includes a barrier region of the first conductivity type between the drift region and the first surface. A maximum doping concentration in the barrier region is at least 100 times larger than an average doping concentration in the drift region. The barrier region laterally extends through at least part of the transition area, and laterally ends in or before the diode area. The RC-IGBT further includes an edge termination area at least partly surrounding the active area.

Claims (35)

1 . A reverse conducting insulated gate bipolar transistor (RC-IGBT), comprising:

an active area in a semiconductor body, the active area comprising:

an IGBT area, a diode area, and a transition area laterally adjacent to the diode area;

a plurality of trenches extending into the semiconductor body from a first surface of the semiconductor body, the first surface being opposite to a second surface of the semiconductor body;

a drift region of a first conductivity type, wherein the drift region includes lifetime killing impurities in the transition area;

a barrier region of the first conductivity type between the drift region and the first surface, wherein a maximum doping concentration in the barrier region is at least 100 times larger than an average doping concentration in the drift region, and wherein the barrier region laterally extends through at least part of the transition area, and laterally ends in or before the diode area; and

an edge termination area at least partly surrounding the active area.

2 . The RC-IGBT of claim 1 , wherein the lifetime killing impurities laterally extend through at least a predominant part of the diode area.

3 . The RC-IGBT of claim 1 , wherein the lifetime killing impurities laterally extend from the transition area into the IGBT area.

4 . The RC-IGBT of claim 1 , wherein a concentration of the lifetime killing impurities in the IGBT area is smaller than in the diode area.

5 . The RC-IGBT of claim 1 , wherein a lateral pitch between two adjacent trenches of the plurality of trenches in the diode area is larger than in the IGBT area.

6 . The RC-IGBT of claim 1 , wherein a lateral pitch between two adjacent trenches of the plurality of trenches in the diode area is equal to a lateral pitch between two adjacent trenches of the plurality of trenches in the transition area.

7 . The RC-IGBT of claim 1 , wherein a lateral extent of the transition area ranges from 10% to 30% of a thickness of the semiconductor body between the first surface and the second surface.

8 . The RC-IGBT of claim 1 , further comprising:

a cathode region of the first conductivity type arranged in the diode area between the drift region and the second surface, wherein the cathode region laterally extends into at least part of the transition area.

9 . The RC-IGBT of claim 8 , wherein the cathode region laterally extends into the entire transition area.

10 . The RC-IGBT of claim 1 , further comprising:

a collector region of the second conductivity type arranged in the IGBT area between the drift region and the second surface, wherein the collector region comprises an arrangement of first and second sub-regions alternating along a lateral direction, the first sub-regions having a larger maximum doping concentration than the second sub-regions.

11 . The RC-IGBT of claim 10 , wherein the collector region further includes a third sub-region in the IGBT area that is laterally confined by the transition area and the arrangement of alternating first and second sub-regions, and wherein the third sub-region has a smaller maximum doping concentration than the first sub-region.

12 . The RC-IGBT of claim 11 , wherein each of the first and second sub-regions is stripe-shaped along a first lateral direction in a first part of the IGBT area and is stripe-shaped along a second lateral direction in a second part of the IGBT area.

13 . The RC-IGBT of claim 12 , wherein the first lateral direction is perpendicular to the second lateral direction.

14 . The RC-IGBT of claim 1 , wherein the transition area is laterally confined by the diode area and the edge termination area.

15 . The RC-IGBT of claim 14 , further comprising a doped region of the second conductivity type in the transition area that is arranged between the drift region and the second surface, wherein the doped region laterally adjoins, at a first position, to a part of a cathode region of the first conductivity type arranged in the diode area between the drift region and the second surface, wherein the cathode region laterally extends into at least part of the transition area.

16 . The RC-IGBT of claim 15 , wherein a lateral distance between the first position and the edge termination area ranges from 30 μm to 100 μm.

17 . The RC-IGBT of claim 15 , wherein the doped region laterally extends into the edge termination area.

18 . The RC-IGBT of claim 14 , wherein the edge termination area further includes a doped well region of the second conductivity type adjoining to the first surface, wherein a depth of the doped well region is larger than a depth of the plurality of trenches.

19 . The RC-IGBT of claim 14 , wherein a lateral pitch between two adjacent trenches of the plurality of trenches in the transition area decreases toward the edge termination area.

20 . The RC-IGBT of claim 1 , wherein the lifetime killing impurities extend through an entire thickness of the drift region.

21 . A method of manufacturing a reverse conducting insulate gate bipolar transistor (RC-IGBT), the method comprising:

forming an active area in a semiconductor body, the active area comprising:

an IGBT area, a diode area, and a transition area laterally adjacent to the diode area;

a plurality of trenches extending into the semiconductor body from a first surface of the semiconductor body, the first surface being opposite to a second surface of the semiconductor body;

a drift region of a first conductivity type, wherein the drift region includes lifetime killing impurities in the transition area;

a barrier region of the first conductivity type between the drift region and the first surface, wherein a maximum doping concentration in the barrier region is at least 100 times larger than an average doping concentration in the drift region, and wherein the barrier region laterally extends through at least part of the transition area, and laterally ends in or before the diode area; and

forming an edge termination area at least partly surrounding the active area.