US 12,170,254 B2
Transistor with integrated short circuit protection
Tanuj Saxena, Chandler, AZ (US); John Pigott, Phoenix, AZ (US); Vishnu Khemka, Chandler, AZ (US); Ljubo Radic, Gilbert, AZ (US); and Ganming Qin, Chandler, AZ (US)
Assigned to NXP USA, Inc., Austin, TX (US)
Filed by NXP USA, Inc., Austin, TX (US)
Filed on Sep. 23, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/935,032.
Prior Publication US 2024/0113045 A1, Apr. 4, 2024
Int. Cl. H01L 23/62 (2006.01); H03K 17/082 (2006.01)
CPC H01L 23/62 (2013.01) [H03K 17/0822 (2013.01); H03K 2217/0027 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A semiconductor device comprising:
a first current terminal, a second current terminal, and a control terminal jointly configured to provide an electrically conductive current path from the first current terminal to the second current terminal via a channel region when a suitable bias voltage of a first polarity is applied to the control terminal; and
a temperature-sensitive current-limiting device integrally formed from semiconductor material of the control terminal, wherein the current-limiting device is configured to cause a reduction in an amount of electrical current flowing from the first current terminal to the second current terminal when a temperature of the device within the channel region exceeds a predetermined temperature limit.