Importance

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Abstract

Inner trenches (11) of a trenched Schottky rectifier (1a; 1b; 1c; 1d) bound a plurality of rectifier areas (43a) where the Schottky electrode (3) forms a Schottky barrier 43 with a drift region (4). A perimeter trench (18) extends around the outer perimeter of the plurality of rectifier areas (43a). These trenches (11, 18) accommodate respective inner field-electrodes (31) and a perimeter field-electrode (38) that are connected to the Schottky electrode (3). The inner field-electrodes (11) are capacitively coupled to the drift region (4) via dielectric material (21) that lines the inner trenches (11). The perimeter field-electrode (38) is capacitively coupled across dielectric material (28) on the inside wall (18a) of the perimeter trench 18, without acting on any outside wall (18b). Furthermore, the inner and perimeter trenches (11, 18) are closely spaced and the intermediate areas (4a, 4b) of the drift region (4) are lowly doped. The spacing is so close and the doping is so low that the depletion layer (40) formed in the drift region (4), from the Schottky barrier (43) and from the field-relief regions (31,21; 38,28) in the blocking state of the rectifier, may deplete the whole of the intermediate areas (4a, 4b) between the trenches (11, 18) at a blocking voltage just below the breakdown voltage. This arrangement reduces the risk of premature breakdown that can occur at high field points in the depletion layer (40), especially at the perimeter of the array of rectifier areas (43a).

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