{
  "patent_number": "US RE48450",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How to Use Air-Gaps to Insulate High-Voltage Semiconductor Chips",
  "original_title": "USRE48450E1 - Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same",
  "summary": "A design for semiconductor chips that uses empty air-filled trenches to provide better electrical insulation for high-voltage transistors without needing complex filling materials.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a way to isolate high-voltage transistors on a chip by surrounding them with a trench containing an air-gap. Instead of filling the entire trench with a solid insulating material, which can be difficult and expensive to do perfectly, the process uses an insulating film to cover the device and the trench in a way that leaves an empty space inside. This air-gap acts as a highly effective electrical barrier. The design ensures that the side of the trench at the bottom of the air-gap touches the semiconductor substrate directly, creating a robust isolation structure that prevents electrical leakage between components.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover semiconductor devices that use solid dielectric materials to completely fill the isolation trenches.",
    "Does not cover designs where the air-gap does not extend through the specific semiconductor layers defined in the manufacturing process.",
    "Does not cover transistors that are not surrounded by a trench in a plan view."
  ],
  "filed": "2018-03-13",
  "granted": "2021-02-23",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Renesas Electronics Corp",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/renesas-electronics-corp",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Shinichiro Yanagi",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/shinichiro-yanagi"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yoshitaka Otsu",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/yoshitaka-otsu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tetsuya Nitta",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/tetsuya-nitta"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kazuma ONISHI",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/kazuma-onishi"
    },
    {
      "name": "Katsumi Morii",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/katsumi-morii"
    },
    {
      "name": "Hiroshi Kimura",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/hiroshi-kimura"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 0,
  "tags": [
    "semiconductors",
    "automotive",
    "mechanical"
  ],
  "abstract": "A semiconductor device which eliminates the need for high fillability through a simple process and a method for manufacturing the same. A high breakdown voltage lateral MOS transistor including a source region and a drain region is completed on a surface of a semiconductor substrate. A trench which surrounds the transistor when seen in a plan view is made in the surface of the semiconductor substrate. An insulating film is formed over the transistor and in the trench so as to cover the transistor and form an air-gap space in the trench. Contact holes which reach the source region and drain region of the transistor respectively are made in an interlayer insulating film.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/RE48450/android-operating-system",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/RE48450/android-operating-system/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/USRE48450",
  "relatedPatents": []
}