Method for producing transparent conductive layer comprising TIO2 and method for producing semiconductor light-emitting element utilizing said method for producing transparent conductive layer

• US 20100062558A1
• Filed: 08/31/2009
• Published: 03/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kanagawa Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology, Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Hitosugi, Taro, Hasegawa, Tetsuya, Kasai, Junpei, Moriyama, Miki, Goshonoo, Koichi
• Granted Patent: US 8,716,047 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 438/46
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/0095 Post-treatment of devices, e.g. annealing, recrystallisation or short-circuit elimination
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/44 characterised by the coatings, e.g. passivation layer or anti-reflective coating

Abstract

When a p-layer 4 composed of GaN is maintained at ordinary temperature and TNO is sputtered thereon by an RF magnetron sputtering method, a laminated TNO layer 5 is in an amorphous state. Then, there is included a step of thermally treating the amorphous TNO layer in a reduced-pressure atmosphere where hydrogen gas is substantially absent to thereby crystallize the TNO layer. At the sputtering, an inert gas is passed through together with oxygen gas, and volume % of the oxygen gas contained in the gas passed through is 0.10 to 0.15%. In this regard, oxygen partial pressure is 5×10⁻³ Pa or lower. The temperature of the thermal treatment is 500° C. for about 1 hour.

Claims

1. A method for producing a transparent conductive layer comprising TiO₂ on a Group III nitride-based compound semiconductor layer, the method comprising:

a lamination step of laminating an amorphous TiO₂ layer on the Group III nitride-based compound semiconductor layer; and

a thermal treatment step of thermally treating the amorphous TiO₂ layer in an atmosphere where hydrogen gas is substantially absent to so as to crystallize the TiO₂ layer.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the TiO₂ layer is doped with one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Nb, Ta, Mo, As, Sb, Al and W.

3. The Method according to claim 1, wherein the thermal treatment step is performed at 400°

C. to 800°

C. in an atmosphere where hydrogen gas is substantially not contained.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the lamination step is preformed by a sputtering method, an inert gas is passed through together with oxygen gas, and a ratio of the oxygen in the gas passed through is 0.05 to 0.20% by volume.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the ratio of the oxygen in the gas passed through is 0.10 to 0.15% by volume.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

a step of patterning the amorphous TiO₂.

7. A method for producing a semiconductor light-emitting element, the method comprising:

a step of forming a p-type Group III nitride-based compound semiconductor layer, and

a step of subsequently forming a transparent conductive layer comprising TiO₂ on the p-type Group III nitride-based compound semiconductor layer by performing the method according to the claim 6.