SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURE AND METHOD FOR IMPROVING ITS ABILITY TO WITHSTAND ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE (ESD) AND OVERLOADS

摘要

A semiconductor structure comprises a base layer (IV) of a first type of conductivity, a first layer (III) also of the first type of conductivity, which is located on the base layer (IV) and which has a dopant concentration that is less than a dopant concentration of the base layer (IV), and comprises a second layer (II) of a second type of conductivity that interacts with the first layer (III) in order to form a transition between the first type of conductivity and the second type of conductivity. A coarse of the curve (B, C, D) of a dopant profile at the transition between the base layer (IV) and the first layer (III) is set so that, in the event of an electrostatic discharge (ESD), a space charge region, which is shifted to the transition between the base layer (IV) and the first layer (III), extends into the base layer (IV).