Realization of high breakdown voltage (>700 V) in thin SOI devices

• Published in: [1991] Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices and ICs pp. 31 - 35
• Main Authors: Merchant, S., Arnold, E., Baumgart, H., Mukherjee, S., Pein, H., Pinker, R.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 1991
• Subjects: Avalanche breakdown; Breakdown voltage; Conductivity; Diodes; Doping; Epitaxial layers; Insulation; Laboratories; Silicon on insulator technology; Substrates
• ISBN: 9780780300095; 0780300092
• ISSN: 1063-6854; 1946-0201
• DOI: 10.1109/ISPSD.1991.146060

The avalanche breakdown voltage of silicon on insulator (SOI) lateral diodes is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Theoretically, a condition is derived for achieving a uniform lateral electric field and thus optimizing the breakdown voltage. Using this condition, it is shown that, for SOI thicknesses below about 1 mu m, diode breakdown voltage increases with decreasing SOI layer thickness. Experimentally, breakdown voltages in excess of 700 V have been demonstrated for the first time on diodes having approximately 0.1- mu m-thick SOI layers and 2- mu m-thick buried oxide layers. The results obtained demonstrate the feasibility of making high-voltage thin-film SOI LDMOS transistors and, more importantly, the ability to integrate such devices with high-performance ultra-thin SOI CMOS circuits on a single chip.< >