Semiconductor device having needle-shape field plate trenches and needle-shaped gate trenches

1. A semiconductor device, comprising:

a semiconductor substrate;

a plurality of needle-shaped field plate trenches and a plurality of needle-shaped gate trenches formed in the semiconductor substrate and interspersed with one another;

a first dielectric layer above the semiconductor substrate;

a gate interconnect structure comprising electrically conductive lines separated from the semiconductor substrate by the first dielectric layer and first conductive vias extending through the first dielectric layer to connect the electrically conductive lines to gate electrodes in the needle-shaped gate trenches; and

a field plate interconnect structure electrically isolated from the gate interconnect structure and comprising second conductive vias that extend through the first dielectric layer and connect to field plates in the needle-shaped field plate trenches.

2. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , further comprising:

a second dielectric layer on the first dielectric layer,

wherein the electrically conductive lines of the gate interconnect structure are sandwiched between the second dielectric layer and the first dielectric layer,

wherein the second conductive vias of the field plate interconnect structure extend through the second dielectric layer and the first dielectric layer to connect to the field plates in the needle-shaped field plate trenches.

3. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor substrate is a Si substrate.

4. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , further comprising:

grooves formed in the semiconductor substrate and intersecting one another at the needle-shaped field plate trenches; and

an electrically conductive material in the grooves and electrically connecting the field plates to one another.

5. The semiconductor device of claim 4 , further comprising:

body regions of a second conductivity type formed in the semiconductor substrate;

source regions of a first conductivity type formed in the semiconductor substrate above the body regions; and

a drift zone of the first conductivity type formed in the semiconductor substrate below the body regions such that the body regions separate the source regions from the drift zone,

wherein the needle-shaped field plate trenches and the needle-shaped gate trenches extend through the source regions and the body regions and into the drift zone,

wherein the grooves run through the source regions between adjacent ones of the needle-shaped gate trenches and extend to the body regions to form body contact regions.

6. The semiconductor device of claim 4 , wherein the electrically conductive material in the grooves comprises a metal silicide.

7. The semiconductor device of claim 4 , wherein each of the needle-shaped field plate trenches is intersected by a plurality of the grooves.

8. The semiconductor device of claim 4 , wherein the grooves are wider in a region where the grooves intersect the field plates and narrower between the needle-shaped field plate trenches.

9. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the needle-shaped field plate trenches are arranged in an orthogonal array.

10. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the needle-shaped field plate trenches are arranged in a non-orthogonal array.

11. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the electrically conductive lines of the gate interconnect structure intersect one another at right angles.

12. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the electrically conductive lines of the gate interconnect structure are connected in a honeycomb pattern.

13. A method of producing a semiconductor device, the method comprising:

forming a plurality of needle-shaped field plate trenches and a plurality of needle-shaped gate trenches in a semiconductor substrate and interspersed with one another;

forming a first dielectric layer above the semiconductor substrate;

forming a gate interconnect structure comprising electrically conductive lines separated from the semiconductor substrate by the first dielectric layer and first conductive vias extending through the first dielectric layer to connect the electrically conductive lines to gate electrodes in the needle-shaped gate trenches; and

forming a field plate interconnect structure electrically isolated from the gate interconnect structure and comprising second conductive vias that extend through the first dielectric layer and connect to field plates in the needle-shaped field plate trenches.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

forming a second dielectric layer on the first dielectric layer,

wherein the electrically conductive lines of the gate interconnect structure are sandwiched between the second dielectric layer and the first dielectric layer,

wherein the second conductive vias of the field plate interconnect structure extend through both the second dielectric layer and the first dielectric layer to connect to the field plates in the needle-shaped field plate trenches.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein forming the field plate interconnect structure comprises:

etching openings that extend through both the second dielectric layer and the first dielectric layer, the openings at least partly exposing the field plates in the needle-shaped field plate trenches;

depositing an electrically conductive material on a surface of the second dielectric layer, the electrically conductive material filling the openings to form the second conductive vias; and

removing the electrically conductive material from the surface of the second dielectric layer.

16. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

forming grooves in the semiconductor substrate that intersect one another at the needle-shaped field plate trenches; and

filling the grooves with an electrically conductive material that electrically connects the field plates to one another.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

forming body regions of a second conductivity type in the semiconductor substrate; and

forming source regions of a first conductivity type in the semiconductor substrate above the body regions, the body regions separating the source regions from an underlying drift zone of the first conductivity type,

wherein the needle-shaped field plate trenches and the needle-shaped gate trenches extend through the source regions and the body regions and into the drift zone,

wherein the grooves run through the source regions between adjacent ones of the needle-shaped gate trenches and extend to the body regions to form body contact regions.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein forming the grooves comprises etching the grooves into the semiconductor substrate such that each of the needle-shaped field plate trenches is intersected by a plurality of the grooves.

19. The method of claim 13 , wherein forming the gate interconnect structure comprises:

etching openings in the first dielectric layer, the openings at least partly exposing the gate electrodes in the needle-shaped gate trenches;

depositing an electrically conductive material on a surface of the first dielectric layer, the electrically conductive material filling the openings in the first dielectric layer to form the first conductive vias; and

etching the electrically conductive material deposited on the surface of the first dielectric layer to form the electrically conductive lines.

20. The method of claim 13 , wherein forming the plurality of needle-shaped field plate trenches comprises:

etching the needle-shaped field plate trenches into the semiconductor substrate as an orthogonal array; or

etching the needle-shaped field plate trenches into the semiconductor substrate as a non-orthogonal array.