Scheme to align LDMOS drain extension to moat

1. A method of forming an integrated circuit containing an extended drain MOS transistor, comprising:

forming a field oxide hard mask layer over a substrate of the integrated circuit;

forming a field oxide photoresist pattern over the field oxide hard mask layer, so that an area in the field oxide hard mask layer for a drain field oxide element in the extended drain MOS transistor is exposed;

performing a field oxide hard mask etch process which removes at least half of material in the field oxide hard mask layer in the drain field oxide element area;

removing the field oxide photoresist pattern;

forming a drain implant photoresist pattern over the integrated circuit, so that a drain implant area overlapping the drain field oxide element area is exposed;

ion implanting a first set of drain dopants into a first drain implanted region in the substrate under the drain implant area, so that the field oxide hard mask layer under the drain implant area reduces a depth of the first drain implanted region under the field oxide hard mask layer by at least half a thickness of the field oxide hard mask layer compared to under the drain field oxide element area;

removing the drain implant photoresist pattern;

performing a drain thermal drive operation, which heats the substrate so that dopants of the first set of drain dopants in the first drain implanted region are diffused laterally and vertically to form a first diffused drain region, the first diffused drain region including a drift region adjacent to the drain field oxide element area; and

forming a drain field oxide element in the drain field oxide element area.

2. The method of claim 1 , including forming a pad oxide layer on the top surface of the substrate prior to the step of forming the field oxide hard mask layer, wherein the pad oxide layer is between 5 and 25 nanometers thick, so that the field oxide hard mask layer is formed on the pad oxide layer.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of performing the field oxide hard mask etch process includes removing all material in the field oxide hard mask layer in the drain field oxide element area.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of forming the drain field oxide element includes:

performing a field oxide trench etch process which removes material from the substrate to form a drain field oxide trench under the drain field oxide element area; and

performing field oxide fill and planarization operations to form a drain field oxide element in the drain field oxide trench, so that the first diffused drain region extends below the drain field oxide element.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein an average depth of the diffused drain region from a top surface of the substrate under the drain field oxide element is at least 50 nanometers deeper than an average depth of the diffused drain region in the drift region.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the extended drain MOS transistor is n-channel; and

the first set of drain dopants includes phosphorus at a dose between 1×10 12 atoms/cm 2 and 5×10 13 atoms/cm 2 .

7. The method of claim 6 , including ion implanting a second set of drain dopants into the substrate under the drain field oxide element area, the second set of drain dopants including arsenic be implanted at an energy less than 200 keV, so that less than 10 percent of the arsenic in the second set of drain dopants impacting the field oxide hard mask layer under the drain implant area is deposited in the substrate.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein more than 90 percent of the arsenic implanted into the substrate is disposed within 500 nanometers of the drain field oxide element.