EP0976163A1 - Source de tension electrique pour composants a semiconducteurs - Google Patents

Source de tension electrique pour composants a semiconducteurs

Info

Publication number
EP0976163A1
EP0976163A1 EP98928154A EP98928154A EP0976163A1 EP 0976163 A1 EP0976163 A1 EP 0976163A1 EP 98928154 A EP98928154 A EP 98928154A EP 98928154 A EP98928154 A EP 98928154A EP 0976163 A1 EP0976163 A1 EP 0976163A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
layer
semiconductor
doped
thermally conductive
doped layer
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP98928154A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Robert Aigner
Christofer Hierold
Frank Schmidt
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Infineon Technologies AG
Original Assignee
Siemens AG
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Siemens AG filed Critical Siemens AG
Publication of EP0976163A1 publication Critical patent/EP0976163A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10N—ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10N10/00—Thermoelectric devices comprising a junction of dissimilar materials, i.e. devices exhibiting Seebeck or Peltier effects
    • H10N10/10—Thermoelectric devices comprising a junction of dissimilar materials, i.e. devices exhibiting Seebeck or Peltier effects operating with only the Peltier or Seebeck effects
    • H10N10/17—Thermoelectric devices comprising a junction of dissimilar materials, i.e. devices exhibiting Seebeck or Peltier effects operating with only the Peltier or Seebeck effects characterised by the structure or configuration of the cell or thermocouple forming the device
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L23/00—Details of semiconductor or other solid state devices
    • H01L23/58—Structural electrical arrangements for semiconductor devices not otherwise provided for, e.g. in combination with batteries
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10N—ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10N10/00—Thermoelectric devices comprising a junction of dissimilar materials, i.e. devices exhibiting Seebeck or Peltier effects
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10N—ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10N10/00—Thermoelectric devices comprising a junction of dissimilar materials, i.e. devices exhibiting Seebeck or Peltier effects
    • H10N10/80—Constructional details
    • H10N10/85—Thermoelectric active materials
    • H10N10/851—Thermoelectric active materials comprising inorganic compositions
    • H10N10/8556—Thermoelectric active materials comprising inorganic compositions comprising compounds containing germanium or silicon
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L2924/00—Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
    • H01L2924/0001—Technical content checked by a classifier
    • H01L2924/0002—Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a semiconductor component as a thermocouple or Peltier element which, using the thermoelectric effect (Seebeck-Peltier effect), converts temperature differences into electrical potential differences and vice versa.
  • Sensors that can be queried telemetrically are superior to conventional systems in a large number of applications.
  • the cost share of signal transmission with telemetric sensors can be significantly reduced.
  • Passive telemetric sensors do not require energy storage on the actual sensor, but they are limited in functionality and range.
  • Active telemetric sensors based on CMOS technology allow the construction of intelligent systems with low costs per measuring point.
  • a disadvantage so far has been the need for a battery as an energy source in every sensor. The battery incurs costs, limits the useful life and must then be disposed of separately.
  • the power required to operate the sensor is very low in modern low-power circuits; only slightly higher power is required for the signal transmission for a short time.
  • Peltier elements enable the direct conversion of thermal into electrical energy.
  • the removal of thermal energy is always possible if heat reservoirs are available at different temperatures.
  • a body with an elevated temperature and its temperature gradient towards the surroundings is sufficient to generate electrical energy.
  • the power flow in a thermocouple depends on material and geometry parameters as well as on the electrical current in the transition.
  • the Seebeck coefficient S (measured in V / K) describes the contact voltage per Kelvin of a material with respect to a reference material.
  • the Peltier coefficient ⁇ pn (measured in W / A) describes the heat transport caused by electrical current. If two different materials with different doping (p, n) are joined, the contact voltage per Kelvin is calculated from the difference between the two Seebeck coefficients. The heat transfer corresponds to this difference multiplied by the temperature T (measured in K) of the respective transition.
  • a Peltier element usually consists of a number m of transitions, which are thermally connected in parallel but electrically in series.
  • the warm (H) and cold (L) transitions are not ideally thermally insulated from each other, there is a thermal conductivity K t hH which causes a loss because the relevant amount of heat for the conversion is lost. Further losses arise because the electrical current in the transitions and the areas in between generates ohmic power loss. This power loss I 2 e ⁇ R_ . can be divided symmetrically between (H) and (L).
  • the heat flow in the two heat flow sources is as follows:
  • the electrical internal resistance results from the specific resistances p p , p n of the materials, the geometry and the number of elements m.
  • the thermal conductivity K thH L follows accordingly from the specific thermal conductivities ⁇ p , ⁇ n and the geometry.
  • the output voltage of the Peltier element is:
  • the output power of the Peltier element is the output power of the Peltier element.
  • Low-Voltage circuits require a supply voltage of at least 1 .. 1.5 V. Optimal are 3 .. 5 V, which can then be converted to DC voltage with high efficiency as required. By connecting a large number of thermal transitions in series, sufficient voltage can be generated even with small temperature differences, but this increases the internal resistance of the thermal generator considerably and ultimately limits the output power.
  • the target design must be composed of the smallest possible unit cells in order to ensure sufficient degrees of freedom to adapt the output voltage.
  • the price of the thermal generator is proportional to the chip area.
  • the achievable performance depends on the chip area, the thermal conditions and material parameters.
  • a small button cell (1.5 V) has a capacity of approximately 50 mAh and an energy content of less than 0.1 J. If you assume an operating time of only one year, an average power consumption of only 3 nW is permissible.
  • a lithium photo battery with 3 V has a capacity of 1.3 Ah and an energy content of 4 J. With an operating time of one year, the permissible average power consumption is 0.13 ⁇ W.
  • the average power requirement of circuits in which batteries are to be replaced by thermogenerators is therefore very low. While batteries can easily deliver higher power for a short time, a thermal generator (depending on the design) must be supplemented with an energy store for these cases. In addition to the average power, the short-term power required is also a dimensioning criterion.
  • the object of the present invention is to provide an electrical voltage source which is adapted to the operation of semiconductor components and which permits network-independent operation, in particular of telemetric sensor systems.
  • thermocouple arrangement has a layer of semiconductor material which is doped alternately in regions for electrical conductivity of different signs.
  • This layer is arranged perpendicular to the layer surface between thermally conductive layers in such a way that the transitions between two successive areas of different electrical conductivities are electrically insulated from the outside and alternately in thermal contact with one of the thermally conductive layers and against the other thermally conductive layer Layer are thermally insulated.
  • Load carrier transport only takes place internally half of the doped layer instead.
  • the transitions of the electrical conductivity in one direction from plus to minus are z.
  • thermoelectric voltage series Electrical temperature differences m of the doped layer are therefore caused by the temperature differences between the pn transitions and the np transitions.
  • thermoelectrically generated potential differences m of the doped layer add up, since the pn transitions and np transitions m of the layer m follow one another.
  • a greater potential difference can therefore be tapped on the outer sides of the doped layer than if only a pn or np junction is present which functions as a thermocouple with the connection contacts applied to the doped layer.
  • the component according to the invention can also be used as a Peltier element in order to generate a temperature difference between the thermally conductive layers by applying an electrical voltage to the sides of the doped layer.
  • thermocouple is a component that has a plurality of individual thermocouples
  • semiconductor thermocouple arrangement is used.
  • the component according to the invention can preferably be produced in the context of a CMOS process; however, the production is not based on this process
  • the specification of the preferred production is not to be regarded as a restriction of the exemplary embodiments of the component which are to be regarded as in accordance with the invention.
  • Figure 1 shows a section of a cross section through an inventive component.
  • Figure 2 shows an equivalent circuit of the above
  • FIG. 3 shows an equivalent circuit diagram for the overall system.
  • the cross section shown in FIG. 1 of a component according to the invention is to be understood as a typical and currently preferred embodiment.
  • the structure shown is the same in each coplanar cross-section of the component in front of or behind the plane of the drawing.
  • the spatial structure of the component therefore essentially results from a displacement of the cross section shown perpendicular to the plane of the drawing.
  • the expansion of the unit cell perpendicular to the image plane can be varied depending on the number of elements required.
  • the thermoelectrically active areas form tracks to ensure electrical insulation.
  • the gap between the webs is at least 1 ⁇ wide. With a web width of z. B. 3 ⁇ m is the area of an elementary cell 4 ⁇ m x 4 ⁇ m, in this case 62500 elementary cells can be integrated per square millimeter of chip area.
  • the doped layer is polysilicon and in the figure it is identified by plus and minus signs which mark the differently doped regions.
  • the thermally conductive layers are Formation by a substrate, which is preferably silicon here, and a double layer of a further polysilicon layer facing the doped layer and an aluminum layer applied thereon. Instead of this double layer, only one layer consisting of a semiconductor material or a metal can be present.
  • the thin layers are made of silicon oxide (LOCOS, locally oxidized silicon) and made of silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ) between the doped layer and one of the thermally conductive layers.
  • LOCS silicon oxide
  • Si 3 N 4 silicon nitride
  • the material and the thickness of these electrical insulations are chosen so that there is sufficient thermal conductivity through these layers. If the thermally conductive layers are electrically insulating to a sufficient extent, the additional electrically insulating layers (LOCOS, Si nitride in FIG. 1) can be omitted.
  • the locations of the doped layer at which the p-doping (+) changes from left to right in FIG. 1 and are referred to as pn-junctions in the following are thermal with the substrate Contact and are separated from the upper thermally conductive double layer by thermally insulating intermediate areas, which are preferably designed as cavities.
  • the locations of the doped layer at which the n-doping (-) reads from left to right in the figure and changes to the p-doping (+), hereinafter referred to as np junctions, are with the upper thermally conductive double layer in thermal contact and are separated from the substrate by thermally insulating intermediate areas, which are also preferably formed as cavities. There is a partial vacuum in the cavities with a correspondingly low thermal conductivity; compared to the solid-state heat conduction of the thermoactive poly areas, the conductivity of the cavity is negligible.
  • cavities are e.g. B. produced in such a way that a sacrificial layer is applied from a selectively etchable material with respect to the material of the layers provided and structured according to the shape of the cavities to be produced.
  • a provided layer is applied to the sacrificial layer and the sacrificial layer is then selectively etched away from the layer through lateral openings or through etching openings made in the provided layer.
  • the same procedure is used for each level of cavities to be produced.
  • the corrugated structure of the doped layer continues to the left and right accordingly. Contacts are provided on the left and right sides of the doped layer, from which an electrical voltage can be tapped.
  • the doped layer can also be flat or less strongly corrugated if the thermally conductive layers are structured sufficiently strongly.
  • the upper (double) layer can e.g. B. be more wavy, while the top of the substrate facing the doped layer is not flat as shown in Figure 1, but is also wavy. The dimensions entered are only to be understood as typical examples.
  • the component according to the invention can be used as a voltage source for an active semiconductor component, ie. H. a component to be operated with an applied electrical voltage or an injected current. It can be integrated together with semiconductor components.
  • an active semiconductor component ie. H. a component to be operated with an applied electrical voltage or an injected current. It can be integrated together with semiconductor components.
  • FIG. 3 shows a thermal equivalent circuit diagram of the overall system.
  • the thermal conditions in the overall system are decisive for how high the temperature difference at the Peltier element and thus the maximum output power is.
  • Heat source Kthsub thermal conductivity through substrate thickness
  • KthHcond thermal conductivity (solid)
  • KthHair thermal conductance (gas) between (H) and (L)
  • K th ⁇ thermal conductance of (L) for
  • Kthll thermal parallel conductance between source and (L), all measured in W / K.
  • Kthcontact 1 W / K (assumption: thermal grease or adhesive)
  • Kt h ⁇ 0.08 W / K (e.g. IC heat sink for DIL24)
  • K th ll 0.1 W / K (assumption: same order of magnitude as K ⁇ h ⁇ )
  • the Seebeck coefficient can be determined from the electron concentrations in the contact materials.
  • the electron concentrations n p , n n are dependent on the dopants N D and N A.
  • Internal resistance is about 30 ⁇ wide.
  • the width is inversely proportional to the number of elements on a chip.
  • the total internal resistance of a thermal generator with a chip size of 4 mm x 4 mm results in:

Landscapes

  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Semiconductor Integrated Circuits (AREA)
  • Measuring Temperature Or Quantity Of Heat (AREA)
  • Cooling Or The Like Of Semiconductors Or Solid State Devices (AREA)

Abstract

Selon l'invention, un composant à semiconducteurs présente une couche de matériau semiconducteur, qui est dopée en alternance par zones pour présenter des conductivités électriques de signes différents. Cette couche est placée perpendiculairement à la surface entre des couches thermoconductrices de sorte que les jonctions entre deux couches successives présentant des conductivités différentes soient isolées électriquement vers l'extérieur et soient en alternance en contact thermique avec une des couches thermoconductrices et isolées thermiquement vis-à-vis de l'autre couche thermoconductrice.
EP98928154A 1997-04-18 1998-04-07 Source de tension electrique pour composants a semiconducteurs Withdrawn EP0976163A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE19716343A DE19716343C2 (de) 1997-04-18 1997-04-18 Halbleiter-Thermoelementanordnung
DE19716343 1997-04-18
PCT/DE1998/000982 WO1998048463A1 (fr) 1997-04-18 1998-04-07 Source de tension electrique pour composants a semiconducteurs

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0976163A1 true EP0976163A1 (fr) 2000-02-02

Family

ID=7826976

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP98928154A Withdrawn EP0976163A1 (fr) 1997-04-18 1998-04-07 Source de tension electrique pour composants a semiconducteurs

Country Status (6)

Country Link
US (1) US6310280B1 (fr)
EP (1) EP0976163A1 (fr)
JP (1) JP2001520806A (fr)
KR (1) KR20010006523A (fr)
DE (1) DE19716343C2 (fr)
WO (1) WO1998048463A1 (fr)

Families Citing this family (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE10004390C2 (de) * 2000-02-02 2002-05-02 Infineon Technologies Ag Thermoelektrischer Generator und Verfahren zu seiner Herstellung
US6487515B1 (en) * 2000-08-18 2002-11-26 International Business Machines Corporation Method and apparatus for measuring thermal and electrical properties of thermoelectric materials
US6717225B2 (en) * 2001-12-11 2004-04-06 Texas Instruments Incorporated Integrated thermal difference sensor for power dissipating device
AU2002356667A1 (en) * 2002-01-10 2003-07-24 Bundesdruckerei Gmbh Valuable document or security document comprising a switch
DE20200358U1 (de) * 2002-01-10 2003-05-22 Bundesdruckerei GmbH Rechts- und Patentangelegenheiten, 10969 Berlin Wert- oder Sicherheitsdokument mit LED-Elementen
DE102005043771A1 (de) * 2005-09-13 2007-03-15 Endress + Hauser Flowtec Ag Verfahren zur Energieversorgung eines Feldgerätes der Automatisierungstechnik
DE102006015492A1 (de) * 2006-04-03 2007-10-04 Robert Bosch Gmbh Mikromechanisches Bauelement, insbesondere Thermogenerator, und Verfahren zur Herstellung eines Bauelementes
DE102011054739A1 (de) * 2011-10-24 2013-04-25 O-Flexx Technologies Gmbh Thermoelement und Herstellungsverfahren

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE1082311B (de) 1955-08-08 1960-05-25 Siemens Ag Thermoelement
NL7111653A (fr) * 1971-08-25 1973-02-27
US5156688A (en) * 1991-06-05 1992-10-20 Xerox Corporation Thermoelectric device
JPH08204242A (ja) * 1995-01-27 1996-08-09 Matsushita Electric Works Ltd 熱電気変換装置
US5956569A (en) * 1997-10-24 1999-09-21 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. Integrated thermoelectric cooler formed on the backside of a substrate

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See references of WO9848463A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US6310280B1 (en) 2001-10-30
KR20010006523A (ko) 2001-01-26
WO1998048463A1 (fr) 1998-10-29
DE19716343C2 (de) 2002-12-12
DE19716343A1 (de) 1998-10-22
JP2001520806A (ja) 2001-10-30

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