Vapor growth apparatus and vapor growth method capable of growing good productivity

• US 5,730,802 A
• Filed: 12/27/1996
• Issued: 03/24/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ishizumi, Takashi, Kaneiwa, Shinji
• Primary Examiner(s): BUEKER, RICHARD R
• Application Number:
  US08/777,299
• Time in Patent Office: 452 Days
• Field of Search: 118/719, 118/730, 427/248.1, 427/255.2, 427/255.7
• US Class Current: 118/719
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/303 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/455 characterised by the method used for introducing gases into reaction chamber or for modifying gas flows in reaction chamber
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45551 for relative movement of the substrate and the gas injectors or half-reaction reactor compartments
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45591 Fixed means, e.g. wings, baffles
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4582 Rigid and flat substrates, e.g. plates or discs C23C16/4581 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 25/02 Epitaxial-layer growth
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 25/14 Feed and outlet means for the gases; Modifying the flow of the reactive gases
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/40 AIIIBV compounds wherein A is B, Al, Ga, In or Tl and B is N, P, As, Sb or Bi
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/406 Gallium nitride

Abstract

A vapor growth apparatus and a vapor growth method is capable of growing a compound semiconductor layer having an evenness and an interfacial sharpness in units of atomic layers with a good productivity. A growth chamber has a cylindrical portion and an end plate which closes an upstream end of the cylindrical portion. The end plate is provided with a cation gas material supply inlet and an anion material gas supply inlet, while an exhaust device is provided on the downstream side of the cylindrical portion. A substrate holder having a substrate support surface is provided in the cylinder portion. A gas separating member separates flow paths of material gases from each other, thereby forming on the substrate support surface a plurality of material gas supply areas to which the material gases are independently supplied. A drive device rotates the substrate holder with a substrate set on the substrate support surface thereof around the center line of the cylindrical portion. Then a cation material and an anion material gas are alternately supplied to the surface of the substrate.

Claims

1. A vapor growth apparatus for growing a compound semiconductor layer on a surface of a substrate maintained at a specified temperature in a growth chamber by alternately supplying a cation material gas and an anion material gas and reacting the gases, wherein

the growth chamber has a cylindrical portion which extends in a direction from an upstream side to a downstream side and an end plate which closes an upstream end portion of the cylindrical portion,

the end plate has in specified portions thereof a material gas supply inlet for supplying the cation material gas into the cylindrical portion and a material gas supply inlet for supplying the anion material gas into the cylindrical portion, and further comprising

exhaust means for discharging gas inside the cylindrical portion from a downstream side of the cylindrical portion,

a substrate holder provided between the upstream side and the downstream side of the cylindrical portion and having a substrate holding surface.

gas separation means for forming a plurality of material gas supply areas where the material gases are independently supplied to the substrate holding surface by separating flow paths of the material gases extending from the material gas supply inlets to the substrate holding surface, and

drive means for rotating the substrate holder with the substrate set on the substrate holding surface around a center line of the cylindrical portion,

wherein the substrate holder has a cylindrical outer surface centered about the center line and a non-cylindrical interior surface whereby the substrate holder has a polygonal transverse section, the substrate holding surface being provided on the interior surface of the substrate holder.