Patent ID: 7244970

Claim:
A two-terminal unipolar short channel barrier controlled transient voltage suppression (TVS) diode for forward conduction at a predetermined clamping voltage level above a level associated with conventional semiconductor material doping level and junction type of a semiconductor diode, and comprising a semiconductor substrate including: (a) a backside anode electrode conductor layer formed along a back surface of the substrate; (b) an anode region extending to a predetermined thickness in the substrate next to the anode electrode conductor layer and being doped with majority carriers in a first concentration; (c) a transverse channel region extending in the substrate between a lower surface of the anode region and a frontside surface of the substrate, the transverse channel region being lightly doped with majority carriers in a second concentration much lower than the first concentration; (d) a cathode region formed in the substrate along the frontside surface to a predetermined thickness in the substrate and being doped with majority carriers of the first type in a third concentration much higher than the second concentration; (e) gate control regions formed in the substrate along the frontside surface and adjacently confronting the cathode region and being doped with minority carriers in a predetermined high concentration and to a predetermined depth into the transverse channel region; the predetermined depth of each of the gate control regions in the substrate being at least as great as a distance between the two gate control regions and including the cathode region; and (f) a frontside cathode electrode conductor layer formed along the topside surface of the substrate and electrically interconnecting the cathode region and the two gate control regions; the semiconductor structure being so arranged to create a depletion region barrier blocking majority carrier flow through the channel region at the vicinity of the cathode region at bias levels below the predetermined clamping voltage applied between the anode electrode and the cathode electrode.