VMOS

This article is about a type of transistor. For the RCA computer operating system, see Virtual Memory Operating System.

For the virtual machine Android app, see VMOS (software).

A VMOS (/ˈviːmɒs/) (vertical metal oxide semiconductor or V-groove MOS) transistor is a type of metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). VMOS is also used to describe the V-groove shape vertically cut into the substrate material.^[1]

The VMOS structure has a V-groove at the gate region

The "V" shape of the MOSFET's gate allows the device to deliver a higher amount of current from the source to the drain of the device. The shape of the depletion region creates a wider channel, allowing more current to flow through it.

During operation in blocking mode, the highest electric field occurs at the N⁺/p⁺ junction. The presence of a sharp corner at the bottom of the groove enhances the electric field at the edge of the channel in the depletion region, thus reducing the breakdown voltage of the device.^[2] This electric field launches electrons into the gate oxide and consequently, the trapped electrons shift the threshold voltage of the MOSFET. For this reason, the V-groove architecture is no longer used in commercial devices.

The device's use was a power device until more suitable geometries, like the UMOS (or Trench-Gate MOS) were introduced in order to lower the maximum electric field at the top of the V shape and thus leading to higher maximum voltages than in case of the VMOS.

History

The MOSFET was invented at Bell Labs between 1955 and 1960.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]} The V-groove construction was pioneered by Jun-ichi Nishizawa in 1969,^[9] initially for the static induction transistor (SIT), a type of junction field-effect transistor (JFET).^[10]

The VMOS was invented by Hitachi in 1969,^[11] when they introduced the first vertical power MOSFET in Japan.^[12] T. J. Rodgers, while he was a student at Stanford University, filed a US patent for a VMOS in 1973.^[13] Siliconix commercially introduced a VMOS in 1975.^[11] The VMOS later developed into what became known as the vertical DMOS (VDMOS).^[14]

In 1978, American Microsystems (AMI) released the S2811.^[15][16] It was the first integrated circuit chip specifically designed as a digital signal processor (DSP), and was fabricated using VMOS, a technology that had previously not been mass-produced.^[16]

References

1. Holmes, F.E.; Salama, C.A.T. (1974). "VMOS—A new MOS integrated circuit technology". Solid-State Electronics. 17 (8): 791–797. Bibcode:1974SSEle..17..791H. doi:10.1016/0038-1101(74)90026-4.
2. Baliga, B. Jayant (2008), "Power MOSFETs", Fundamentals of Power Semiconductor Devices, Springer US, pp. 276–503, doi:10.1007/978-0-387-47314-7_6, ISBN 9780387473130
3. Huff, Howard; Riordan, Michael (2007-09-01). "Frosch and Derick: Fifty Years Later (Foreword)". The Electrochemical Society Interface. 16 (3): 29. doi:10.1149/2.F02073IF. ISSN 1064-8208.
4. Frosch, C. J.; Derick, L (1957). "Surface Protection and Selective Masking during Diffusion in Silicon". Journal of the Electrochemical Society. 104 (9): 547. doi:10.1149/1.2428650.
5. KAHNG, D. (1961). "Silicon-Silicon Dioxide Surface Device". Technical Memorandum of Bell Laboratories: 583–596. doi:10.1142/9789814503464_0076. ISBN 978-981-02-0209-5.
6. Lojek, Bo (2007). History of Semiconductor Engineering. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. p. 321. ISBN 978-3-540-34258-8.
7. Ligenza, J.R.; Spitzer, W.G. (1960). "The mechanisms for silicon oxidation in steam and oxygen". Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids. 14: 131–136. Bibcode:1960JPCS...14..131L. doi:10.1016/0022-3697(60)90219-5.
8. Lojek, Bo (2007). History of Semiconductor Engineering. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 120. ISBN 9783540342588.
9. Duncan, Ben (1996). High Performance Audio Power Amplifiers. Elsevier. pp. 178 & 406. ISBN 9780080508047.
10. U.S. patent 4,295,267
11. "Advances in Discrete Semiconductors March On". Power Electronics Technology. Informa: 52–6. September 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 March 2006. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
12. Oxner, E. S. (1988). Fet Technology and Application. CRC Press. p. 18. ISBN 9780824780500.
13. U.S. patent 3,924,265
14. Duncan, Ben (1996). High Performance Audio Power Amplifiers. Elsevier. pp. 177-8, 406. ISBN 9780080508047.
15. "1979: Single Chip Digital Signal Processor Introduced". The Silicon Engine. Computer History Museum. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
16. Taranovich, Steve (August 27, 2012). "30 years of DSP: From a child's toy to 4G and beyond". EDN. Retrieved 14 October 2019.