Insulating nitirde layer and process for its forming, and semiconductor device and process for its production

• US 20020096692A1
• Filed: 08/08/2001
• Published: 07/25/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nakamura, Fumihiko, Kuramochi, Hisayoshi, Kawai, Hiroji
• Application Number:
  US09/925,153
• Publication Number:
  US 20020096692A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/194
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02378 Silicon carbide
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0242 Crystalline insulating materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02458 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02502 consisting of two layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02505 consisting of more than two layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0254 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02581 Transition metal or rare earth elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0262 Reduction or decomposition of gaseous compounds, e.g. CVD
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/2003 Nitride compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/207 further characterised by the doping material H01L29/2006 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/36 characterised by the concentration or distribution of impurities in the bulk material within semiconductor regions H01L29/06
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/66462 with a heterojunction interface channel or gate, e.g. HFET, HIGFET, SISFET, HJFET, HEMT
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7787 with wide bandgap charge-carrier supplying layer, e.g. direct single heterostructure MODFET
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/02 characterised by the semiconductor bodies
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/145 with a current-blocking structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/305 characterised by the doping materials

Abstract

Disclosed herein is an insulating nitride layer suitable for group III-V nitride semiconductor devices. It has a high resistance and good insulating properties and hence it electrically isolates elements, without the active layer decreasing in conductivity. Disclosed also herein is a process for forming said nitride layer and a semiconductor device having said nitride layer for improved characteristic properties. The semiconductor device is an AlGaN/GaN HEMT or the like which has a GaN active layer and an insulating nitride layer formed thereon from a group III-V nitride compound semiconductor heavily doped mostly with a group IIB element (particularly Zn) in an amount not less than 1×10¹⁷/cm³.

Claims

1. An insulating nitride layer formed from a group III-V nitride compound semiconductor heavily doped mostly with a group IIB element.

2. An insulating nitride layer as defined in claim 1, which is heavily doped substantially with said group IIB element as an impurity.

3. An insulating nitride layer as defined in claim 2, which is heavily doped with at least zinc among said group IIB elements.

4. An insulating nitride layer as defined in claim 1, which is doped with said group IIB element in an amount not less than 1×

10¹⁷/cm³.

5. An insulating nitride layer as defined in claim 1, in which said group III-V nitride compound semiconductor is GaN, AlN, InN, or BN, or a mixture thereof.

6. An improved process for forming a layer of group III-V nitride compound semiconductor by vapor deposition, wherein said improvement comprising feeding a reactant gas for said group III-V compound semiconductor together with a gas containing an impurity whose vapor pressure is equal to or higher than 10 mmHg at room temperature, thereby forming an insulating nitride layer which is heavily doped with said impurity.

7. A process for forming an insulating nitride layer as defined in claim 6, in which said impurity-containing gas is mainly a compound gas of group IIB element.

8. A process for forming an insulating nitride layer as defined in claim 7, in which said impurity-containing gas is substantially a compound gas of group IIB element.

9. A process for forming an insulating nitride layer as defined in claim 8, in which said compound gas is a gas of zinc compound.

10. A process for forming an insulating nitride layer as defined in claim 9, in which said compound gas is an alkyl zinc such as diethyl zinc and dimethyl zinc.

11. A process for forming an insulating nitride layer as defined in claim 6, in which said impurity is added in an amount not less than 1×

10¹⁷/cm³.

12. A process for forming an insulating nitride layer as defined in claim 6, in which said group III-V nitride compound semiconductor is GaN, AlN, InN, or BN, or a mixture thereof.

14. A semiconductor device as defined in claim 13, in which said group III-V nitride compound semiconductor is used at least part of its constituents for isolation of one or more kinds of integrated elements including field effect transistor, bipolar transistor, light-emitting diode, semiconductor laser, and photodiode.

15. A semiconductor device as defined in claim 13, in which an active layer is formed on said insulating nitride layer.

16. A semiconductor device as defined in claim 13, in which the insulating nitride layer is heavily doped substantially with said group IIB element as an impurity.

17. A semiconductor device as defined in claim 16, in which the insulating nitride layer is heavily doped with at least zinc among said group IIB elements.

18. A semiconductor device as defined in claim 13, in which the insulating nitride layer is doped with said group IIB element in an amount not less than 1×

10¹⁷/cm³.

19. A semiconductor device as defined in claim 13 or 14, in which said group III-V nitride compound semiconductor is GaN, AlN, InN, or BN, or a mixture thereof.

13. A semiconductor device which has an insulating nitride layer formed from a group III-V nitride compound semiconductor heavily doped mostly with a group IIB element.

20. A process for producing a semiconductor device which has an insulating nitride layer formed from a group III-V nitride compound semiconductor heavily doped mostly with a group IIB element, said process comprising a step of forming a layer of group III-V nitride compound semiconductor by vapor deposition from a reactant gas for said group III-V compound semiconductor which is fed together with a gas containing an impurity whose vapor pressure is equal to or higher than 10 mmHg at room temperature, thereby forming an insulating nitride layer which is heavily doped with said impurity, and a step of growing an active layer on said insulating nitride layer by vapor deposition.

21. A process for producing a semiconductor device as defined in claim 20, in which said group III-V nitride compound semiconductor is used at least part of its constituents for isolation of one or more kinds of integrated elements including field effect transistor, bipolar transistor, light-emitting diode, semiconductor laser, and photodiode.

22. A process for producing a semiconductor device as defined in claim 20, in which said impurity-containing gas is mainly a compound gas of group IIB element.

23. A process for producing a semiconductor device as defined in claim 22, in which said impurity-containing gas is substantially a compound gas of group IIB element.

24. A process for producing a semiconductor device as defined in claim 23, in which said compound gas is a gas of zinc compound.

25. A process for producing a semiconductor device as defined in claim 24, in which said compound gas is an alkyl zinc such as diethyl zinc and dimethyl zinc.

26. A process for producing a semiconductor device as defined in claim 20, in which said impurity is added in an amount not less than 1×

10¹⁷/cm³.

27. A process for producing a semiconductor device as defined in claim 20, in which said group III-V nitride compound semiconductor is GaN, AlN, InN, or BN, or a mixture thereof.