Nitride Semiconductor Device Manufacturing Method

• US 20080132044A1
• Filed: 12/17/2007
• Published: 06/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Inventors: Kyono, Takashi, Ueno, Masaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,781,314 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 438/503
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 25/02 Epitaxial-layer growth
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/403 AIII-nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/406 Gallium nitride
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02389 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02395 Arsenides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0242 Crystalline insulating materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0243 Surface structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02458 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02505 consisting of more than two layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0254 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0262 Reduction or decomposition of gaseous compounds, e.g. CVD
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02661 In-situ cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 438/906 Cleaning of wafer as interim step

Abstract

Affords a manufacturing method enabling nitride-based semiconductor devices containing epitaxial films excelling in flatness and crystallinity to be easily produced. Method of manufacturing nitride semiconductor devices that are formed onto a semiconductor substrate being a compound containing nitrogen, and a Group IIIA element for forming compounds with nitrogen, including steps of: heating the semiconductor substrate (1) to a film-deposition temperature; supplying to the substrate a film-deposition gas containing a source gas for the Group IIIA element and a nitrogen source gas; and epitaxially growing onto the semiconductor substrate a thin film (2) of a compound containing nitrogen and the Group IIIA element; and being furnished with a step, in advance of the epitaxial growth step, of heating the semiconductor substrate to a pretreating temperature less than the film-deposition temperature, to clean the surface of the semiconductor substrate.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing nitride-based semiconductor devices formed onto a semiconductor substrate being a compound containing nitrogen, and a Group IIIA element for forming compounds with nitrogen, the nitride semiconductor device manufacturing method comprising:

a step of heating the semiconductor substrate to a film-deposition temperature;

a step of supplying to the substrate a film-deposition gas containing a source gas for the Group IIIA element and a nitrogen source gas;

a step of epitaxially growing onto the semiconductor substrate a thin film of a compound containing nitrogen and the Group IIIA element; and

a step, in advance of the epitaxial growth step, of heating the semiconductor substrate to a pretreating temperature less than the film-deposition temperature, to clean the front side of the semiconductor substrate.

2. A nitride semiconductor device manufacturing method as set forth in claim 1, wherein in said semiconductor-substrate cleaning step, a pretreatment gas in which the proportion of Group-IIIA-element source gas has been reduced below what the proportion is in the film-deposition gas for the epitaxial growth step is supplied to the substrate.

3. A nitride semiconductor device manufacturing method as set forth in claim 2, wherein the pretreatment gas does not contain the source gas for the Group IIIA element.