Lateral compensation structures can break the silicon limit

Power MOSFET design is based on solving the trade-off between breakdown voltage and on-resistance of the device. Standard vertical DMOS (Double Diffused MOS) devices show the following relation R_onA∝V_BD^2.5 wherein the drift region determines the on-resistance. This drift region resistance can be greatly improved by superjunction devices based on the compensation principle. Compensation structures also promise for lateral power MOSFETs an immense enhancement in the relation between on-resistance and breakdown voltage. Furthermore the advantage of lateral power MOSFETs consists in the easy integration in smart-power devices. We could prove in our work that lateral compensation structures decrease the on-resistance of the drift region while preserving the breakdown voltage. Therefore it is possible to break the silicon limit.