Dielectrically isolated lateral merged PiN Schottky (LMPS) diodes

The concept of the RESURF DI lateral merged PiN Schottky (LMPS) diodes is introduced and experimentally demonstrated. The LMPS diode combines the advantages of fast switching times of Schottky diodes with the low forward drops exhibited by LPiN diodes. An increase in the ratio of Schottky area relative to the p-n junction area is shown to result in superior reverse recovery characteristics at the expense of an increase in the forward voltage drop. This tradeoff between forward drop and switching speed is achieved in a simple manner by varying the relative areas of the Schottky and p-n junction regions during device design. Since lifetime control is not a viable option in integrated diodes used in power IC's, the LMPS concept allows tailoring the characteristics of integrated power diodes to the application frequency for the first time.