IP Library Granted Patent US 12,733,235
Granted Patent B2
US 12,733,235 · App. 18/683,523 · Granted Sep 8, 2026

Semiconductor device and power conversion device

Inventors: Masaki Shiraishi (Hitachi, JP); Daisuke Kawase (Hitachi, JP); Tetsuo Oda (Hitachi, JP); Tomoyasu Furukawa (Tokyo, JP); Yutaka Kato (Hitachi, JP); Tsubasa Moritsuka (Hitachi, JP)
Assignee: MINEBEA POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE INC.
H10D64/111H02M7/5387H10D62/107
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,733,235
App. No.
18/683,523
Granted
Sep 8, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present invention provides: a semiconductor device which has higher resistance to bias at high temperatures and high humidities than ever before, while achieving good connection between a field limiting layer and a field plate; and a power conversion device which uses this semiconductor device. A semiconductor device according to the present invention is characterized by comprising a floating field limiting layer that is provided in a termination region and a field plate that is electrically connected to the field limiting layer, and is also characterized in that: the field plate is formed of a polysilicon; the field plate and the field limiting layer are connected to each other via an Al electrode; and the connection between the field limiting layer and the Al electrode and the connection between the field plate and the Al electrode are established at different contacts.

Claims (18)

1 . A semiconductor device comprising:

a floating field-limiting layer provided in a termination region; and

a field plate electrically connected to the field-limiting layer,

wherein

the field plate is made of polysilicon,

the field plate and the field-limiting layer are connected via an aluminum (Al) electrode,

a plurality of the field-limiting layers, a plurality of the field plates, and a plurality of the Al electrodes are disposed,

the plurality of the Al electrodes constitutes an electrode group in which adjacent Al electrodes are arranged alternately to prevent the Al electrodes from being aligned on a straight line when an upper surface of the semiconductor device is viewed,

for each Al electrode of the plurality of the Al electrodes, the field-limiting layer and the Al electrode are connected by a contact different from a contact by which the field plate and the Al electrode are connected,

for each Al electrode of the plurality of the Al electrodes, a number of the contact by which the field-limiting layer and the Al electrode are connected is only one, and a number of the contact by which the field plate and the Al electrode are connected is only one, and

for each Al electrode of the plurality of the Al electrodes, the contact by which the field-limiting layer and the Al electrode are connected and the contact by which the field plate and the Al electrode are connected are aligned in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the field plate extends when the upper surface of the semiconductor device is viewed.

2 . The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the electrode groups of the plurality of the Al electrodes alternately arranged is disposed.

3 . A power conversion device comprising:

a pair of DC terminals;

AC terminals, a number of the AC terminals being identical with a number of phases of an AC output;

switching legs to which two parallel circuits are connected in series, each of the parallel circuits including a switching element and a diode connected in antiparallel to the switching element, the switching legs being connected between the pair of DC terminals, a number of the switching legs being identical with the number of phases of the AC output; and

a gate circuit configured to control the switching element,

wherein at least one of the switching element or the diode is the semiconductor device according to claim 1 .

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Apr 30, 2025
From: HITACHI POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE LTD.
To: MINEBEA POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE INC.
Reel/Frame 071142/0232 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 14, 2024
From: SHIRAISHI, MASAKI; KAWASE, DAISUKE; ODA, TETSUO; FURUKAWA, TOMOYASU; KATO, YUTAKA; MORITSUKA, TSUBASA
To: HITACHI POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE, LTD.
Reel/Frame 066457/0015 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2021-201431 · Dec 13, 2021 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240355888A1 · Oct 24, 2024
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