FORMATION OF NITRIDE-BASED OPTOELECTRONIC AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE STRUCTURES ON LATTICE-MATCHED SUBSTRATES

• US 20080303033A1
• Filed: 06/05/2007
• Published: 12/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: CREE Incorporated (Wolfspeed, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CREE Incorporated (Wolfspeed, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brandes, George R.
• Application Number:
  US11/758,395
• Publication Number:
  US 20080303033A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/76
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02389 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02458 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02502 consisting of two layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0251 Graded layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0254 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/2003 Nitride compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/66462 with a heterojunction interface channel or gate, e.g. HFET, HIGFET, SISFET, HJFET, HEMT
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/0075 comprising nitride compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/0093 Wafer bonding; Removal of the growth substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/0095 Post-treatment of devices, e.g. annealing, recrystallisation or short-circuit elimination
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/32 containing nitrogen

Abstract

A method of forming an AlInGaN alloy-based electronic or optoelectronic device structure on a nitride substrate and subsequent removal of the substrate. An AlInGaN alloy-based electronic or optoelectronic device structure formed on a nitride substrate is freed from the substrate on which it was grown.

Claims

1. A method of making an electronic or optoelectronic device structure, the method comprising:

epitaxially growing one or more layers of an AlInGaN alloy on or over a nitride substrate to form a semiconductor device complex; and

removing the substrate from the semiconductor device complex to form a resulting electronic or optoelectronic device structure,

wherein the AlInGaN alloy and the nitride substrate comprise different materials and wherein the resulting electronic or optoelectronic device structure is devoid of the nitride substrate on which it was grown.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the AlInGaN alloy is Al_xIn_yGa_1-x-yN, wherein 0≦

x≦

1 and 0≦

y≦

1.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the AlInGaN alloy is selected from any of AlGaN, AlInN, InGaN, AlN and InN.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the nitride substrate comprises GaN.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein any of the nitride substrate and the resulting electronic or optoelectronic device structure has a dislocation density of less than or equal to about 5×

10⁷ cm<sup>−

2</sup>.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein any of the nitride substrate and the resulting electronic or optoelectronic device structure has a dislocation density of less than or equal to about 1×

10⁷ cm<sup>−

2</sup>.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein any of the nitride substrate and the resulting electronic or optoelectronic device structure has a dislocation density of less than or equal to about 5×

10⁶ cm<sup>−

2</sup>.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein any of the nitride substrate and the resulting electronic or optoelectronic device structure has a dislocation density of less than or equal to about 1×

10⁶ cm<sup>−

2</sup>.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic or optoelectronic device structure comprises any of a diode, a transistor, a detector, an integrated circuit, a resistor, and a capacitor.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the electronic or optoelectronic device structure comprises a diode and is adapted to emit a wavelength of less than or equal to about 400 nm.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the diode is an UV light emitting diode (LED).

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic or optoelectronic device structure comprises a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT).

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor device complex further comprises a parting layer.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate is removed by grinding.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate is removed by etching.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate is removed by optical separation.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate is removed by fracturing.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the fracturing is performed by ion implantation and RTA.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the removed substrate is substantially intact and adapted for reuse.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising annealing the electronic or optoelectronic device structure after removal of the substrate.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising chemically cleaning the electronic or optoelectronic device structure after removal of the substrate.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising attaching a substrate to the electronic or optoelectronic device structure, wherein the attached substrate differs from the substrate on which the one or more AlInGaN alloy layers were grown.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the attached substrate comprises any of silicon, diamond, sapphire, glass, copper or other metal, AlN and GaN.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising attaching a carrier to the electronic or optoelectronic device structure.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the carrier comprises any of silicon, diamond, sapphire, glass and copper.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the carrier is added prior to removal of the substrate on which the one or more AlInGaN layers were grown.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein the carrier is added to the epitaxially grown layers.

28. The method of claim 1, further comprising defining vias in the device structure.

29. An electronic or optoelectronic device structure formed by the method of claim 1.

30. The electronic or optoelectronic device structure of claim 29, embodied in an emitter diode.

31. The electronic or optoelectronic device structure of claim 30, wherein the emitter diode is a UV LED.

32. The electronic or optoelectronic device structure of claim 29, embodied in a non light-emitting electronic device.

36. The method of claim 1, wherein any of the nitride substrate and the resulting electronic or optoelectronic device structure has a dislocation density of less than or equal to about 1×

10⁷ cm<sup>−

2</sup>.

37. The method of claim 1, wherein any of the nitride substrate and the resulting electronic or optoelectronic device structure has a dislocation density of less than or equal to about 5×

10⁶ cm<sup>−

2</sup>.

38. The method of claim 1, wherein any of the nitride substrate and the resulting electronic or optoelectronic device structure has a dislocation density of less than or equal to about 1×

10⁶ cm<sup>−

2</sup>.

33. An electronic or optoelectronic device structure formed by a method comprising:

epitaxially growing one or more layers of an AlInGaN alloy on or over a nitride substrate to form a semiconductor device complex; and

removing the substrate from the semiconductor device complex to form a resulting electronic or optoelectronic device structure,

wherein the AlInGaN alloy and the nitride substrate comprise different materials and wherein the resulting electronic or optoelectronic device structure is devoid of the nitride substrate on which it was grown.

34. The electronic or optoelectronic device structure of claim 33, wherein the nitride substrate comprises GaN.

35. The electronic or optoelectronic device structure of claim 33, wherein any of the nitride substrate and the resulting electronic or optoelectronic device structure has a dislocation density of less than or equal to about 5×

10⁷ cm<sup>−

2</sup>.

39. The electronic or optoelectronic device structure of claim 33, wherein the resulting electronic or optoelectronic device structure comprises any of a diode, a transistor, a detector, an integrated circuit, a resistor, and a capacitor.

40. A method of making an electronic or optoelectronic device structure, the method comprising:

epitaxially growing one or more layers of an AlInGaN alloy on or over a lattice-matched substrate to form a semiconductor device complex; and

removing the substrate from the semiconductor device complex to form a resulting electronic or optoelectronic device structure,

wherein the resulting electronic or optoelectronic device structure is devoid of the substrate on which it was grown.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the lattice-matched substrate comprises GaN.