Patent ID: 6509608
Filing Date: 2003-01-21
Classification: H01L

Abstract:
A trench-gate field-effect transistor comprising a semiconductor body into which an insulated gate electrode extends in a trench from a major surface of the body, successively through a drain region, a drain drift region, and a transistor body region to reach an underlying source region of the transistor, wherein the trench is lined with a gate dielectric that insulates the gate electrode from said drain, drain drift, body and source regions, the drain, drain drift and source regions are of a second conductivity type that is opposite to a first conductivity type of the body region, the drain region is adjacent to said major surface and has a higher doping concentration than the drain drift region, the gate dielectric is thicker adjacent to the drain region than adjacent to a channel-accommodating portion of the body region, the body region comprises an overlying layer that provides the channel-accommodating portion and that extends over a bottom portion of the body region that is more highly doped than the overlying layer, the highly doped bottom portion forms a leaky p-n junction with the underlying source region at an area that is separated laterally from the insulated gate electrode by an active portion of the source region, the active portion of the source region extends adjacent to the trench across the highly doped bottom portion of the body region to connect with the channel-accommodating portion of the body region, and the leaky p-n junction provides a buried electrical short that electrically shorts the body region to the underlying source region.