NITRIDE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD FOR GROWING NITRIDE SEMICONDUCTOR CRYSTAL LAYER

• US 20120064653A1
• Filed: 09/24/2011
• Published: 03/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: ROHM Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: ROHM Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: NAKAHARA, Ken, Tamura, Kentaro
• Application Number:
  US13/244,389
• Publication Number:
  US 20120064653A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 438/46
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0237 Materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0242 Crystalline insulating materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02458 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02516 Crystal orientation
• 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 21/02658 Pretreatments cleaning in general H01L21/02041
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/2003 Nitride compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/66454 Static induction transistors [SIT], e.g. permeable base transistors [PBT]
• 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 33/007 comprising nitride compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/12 with a stress relaxation structure, e.g. buffer layer

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a nitride semiconductor device such as a nitride semiconductor light emitting device, a transistor device or the like. The method includes the steps of forming a buffer crystalline layer of the nitride semiconductor made of Al_xGa_yIn_1-x-yN (0≦x≦1, 0≦y ≦1 and 0≦x+y≦1), in which both an a-axis and a c-axis are aligned, directly on a substrate lattice-mismatched with the nitride semiconductor without forming an amorphous low temperature buffer layer, by plasma laser deposition(PLD) method, and growing epitaxially the nitride semiconductor layer on the buffer layer so as to form a device such as a nitride semiconductor light emitting diode, by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD).

Claims

1. A method for growing epitaxially a nitride semiconductor crystalline layer in which a nitride semiconductor crystalline layer is grown on a substrate made of sapphire which is lattice-mismatched with nitride semiconductors, comprising the steps of:

forming a nitride film on a surface of the sapphire substrate by irradiating radical nitrogen produced by a plasma onto the sapphire substrate or annealing the sapphire substrate in a reactive gas atmosphere containing N;

growing a buffer layer, the buffer layer being a crystalline layer made of Al_xGa_yIn_1-x-yN (0≦

x≦

1, 0≦

y≦

1 and 0≦

x+y≦

1), in which an a-axis and a c-axis of the Al_xGa_yIn_1-x-yN are aligned respectively, directly on the nitride film by PLD (plasma laser deposition); and

growing epitaxially the nitride semiconductor crystalline layer on a surface of the buffer layer by MOCVD (metal organic chemical vapor deposition).

2. The method for growing a nitride semiconductor crystalline layer according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the buffer layer is controlled to a Ga polarity.

3. The method for growing a nitride semiconductor crystalline layer according to claim 2, wherein the buffer layer made of the Al_xGa_yIn_1-x-yN is grown while supplying any one of nitrogen gas, ammonia gas and nitrogen plasma in a chamber and while replenishing N.

4. The method for growing a nitride semiconductor crystalline layer according to claim 2, wherein the buffer layer is grown at a temperature of the substrate in a range from 500 to 1,000°

C.

5. A method for manufacturing a nitride semiconductor light emitting device, comprising the steps of:

forming a nitride film on a surface of the sapphire substrate by irradiating radical nitrogen produced by a plasma onto the sapphire substrate or annealing the sapphire substrate in a reactive gas atmosphere containing N;

growing a buffer layer, the buffer layer being a crystalline layer made of Al_xGa_yIn_1-x-yN (0≦

x≦

1, 0≦

y≦

1 and 0≦

x+y≦

1), in which an a-axis and a c-axis of the Al_xGa_yIn_1-x-yN are aligned respectively, directly on the nitride film by PLD (plasma laser deposition); and

laminating epitaxially nitride semiconductor layers including an n-type layer and p-type layer so as to form a light emitting layer, by MOCVD (metal organic chemical vapor deposition).

6. The method for manufacturing a nitride semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 5, wherein the surface of the buffer layer is controlled to a Ga polarity.

7. The method for manufacturing a nitride semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 6, wherein the buffer layer made of Al_xGa_yIn_1-x-yN is grown while supplying any one of nitrogen gas, ammonia gas and nitrogen plasma in a chamber and while replenishing N.

8. The method for manufacturing a nitride semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 6, wherein the buffer layer is grown at a temperature of the substrate in a range from 500 to 1,000°

C.