Patent ID: 7915704

Claim:
A Schottky diode having first and second terminals, comprises: a semiconductor (SC) substrate having a first region of a first conductivity type and first doping concentration proximate a first surface of the substrate; a Schottky contact forming conductor portion on the first surface of the first region forming a Schottky junction therebetween, with the Schottky contact forming conductor portion ohmically coupled to the first terminal; a second region of the first conductivity type and a second doping in the first region, laterally separated from the Schottky contact forming conductor portion and ohmically coupled to the second terminal; a third region of a second, opposite, conductivity type and third doping underlying the first region and ohmically coupled to the first terminal; a fourth region of the second conductivity type and fourth doping, located in the first region proximate the first surface and separated from the third region by a portion of the first region, and ohmically coupled to the first terminal; wherein the fourth region and a part of the second region separated by the portion of the first region form a junction field effect transistor (JFET) with the fourth region and the part of the second region acting as gates of the JFET and the portion adapted to contain a channel of the JFET through which a principal leakage current path extends between the first and second terminals when the Schottky diode is reverse biased, and wherein the channel of the JFET through which the principal leakage current path passes is adapted to automatically pinch-OFF as reverse bias voltage is increased beyond a predetermined level, thereby clamping a potential drop across the Schottky junction.