PROCESS FOR FABRICATION OF NITRIDE SEMICONDUCTOR LIGHT EMITTING DEVICE

• US 20090170224A1
• Filed: 09/25/2006
• Published: 07/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation), Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Showa Denko KK
• Inventors: Urashima, Yasuhito
• Granted Patent: US 8,173,461 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 438/22
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/007 comprising nitride compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/0095 Post-treatment of devices, e.g. annealing, recrystallisation or short-circuit elimination
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/145 with a current-blocking structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/20 with a particular shape, e.g. curved or truncated substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/22 Roughened surfaces, e.g. at the interface between epitaxial layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/38 with a particular shape

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for fabrication of a nitride semiconductor light emitting device comprising a substrate, a nitride semiconductor layer on the substrate and electrodes on the nitride semiconductor, the process for fabrication of a nitride semiconductor light emitting device being characterized by device working by laser, followed by etching treatment and then electrode formation.

Claims

1. A process for fabrication of a nitride semiconductor light emitting device comprising a substrate, a nitride semiconductor layer on the substrate and electrodes on the nitride semiconductor, the process for fabrication of a nitride semiconductor light emitting device being characterized by device working by laser, followed by etching treatment and then electrode formation.

2. A process for fabrication of a nitride semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the device working by laser accomplishes removal of at least a portion of the nitride semiconductor layer.

3. A process for fabrication of a nitride semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the device working by laser accomplishes formation of grooves in the semiconductor layer of the light emitting device and/or segmenting grooves in the semiconductor layer around the perimeter of the device for isolation into individual light emitting devices.

4. A process for fabrication of a nitride semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the laser has a higher energy than the band gap energy of at least a portion of the nitride semiconductor layer.

5. A process for fabrication of a nitride semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the etching treatment is wet etching.

6. A process for fabrication of a nitride semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 5, characterized in that the wet etching is wet etching employing orthophosphoric acid.

7. A process for fabrication of a nitride semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the etching treatment is dry etching.

8. A process for fabrication of a nitride semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 7, characterized in that the dry etching is dry etching employing a chlorine-based gas.

9. A process for fabrication of a nitride semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, characterized in that alignment of laser device working by dry etching is carried out before the laser device working.

10. A process for fabrication of a nitride semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, characterized in that at least a portion of the surface of the nitride semiconductor layer after etching is subjected to non-mirror surface treatment.

11. A process for fabrication of a nitride semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, characterized in that an inclined surface is formed at the laser worked site by etching.

12. A process for fabrication of a nitride semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 11, characterized in that at least a portion of the electrode formed on the nitride semiconductor after etching treatment is in contact with the inclined surface.