Light-emitting semiconductor device using group III nitride compound

• US 5,945,689 A
• Filed: 03/18/1996
• Issued: 08/31/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Koike, Masayoshi, Asami, Shinya
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Peter Toby
• Assistant Examiner(s): POTTER, ROY KARL
• Application Number:
  US08/616,884
• Time in Patent Office: 1,261 Days
• Field of Search: 257/88, 257/94, 257/95, 257/96, 257/103
• US Class Current: 257/88
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 20/00 Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/06 within the light emitting region, e.g. quantum confinement structure or tunnel barrier
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/325 characterised by the doping materials

Abstract

An emission layer (5) for a light source device is formed to have a multi-layer structure, doped with an acceptor and a donor impurity. The multi-layer structure may include a quantum well (QW) structure or a multi quantum well (MQW) structure (50). With such a structure, a peak wavelength of the light source can be controlled, because the distances between atoms of the acceptor and the donor impurities are widened. Several arrangements can be made by, e.g., altering the thickness of each composite layer of the multi-layer structure, altering their composition ratio, forming undoped layer 5 between the impurity doped layers, and so forth. Further, luminous intensity of ultra violet color can be improved, because doping the donor impurity and the acceptor impurity realizes a donor-acceptor emission mechanism and abundant carriers. Several arrangements can be made by, e.g., optimizing the materials of the composite layers, optimizing their composition ratios, optimizing their lattice constants, and so forth to further enhance the luminous intensity of the light source.

Claims

1. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device comprising:

an emission layer doped with both an acceptor impurity and a donor impurity;

said emission layer comprising a multi-layer structure having a layer doped with said acceptor impurity and a layer doped with said donor impurity, said layer doped with said acceptor impurity and said layer doped with said donor impurity being alternately formed on each other.

2. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1, wherein said emission layer is sandwiched between adjacent layers forming a double-hetero junction structure.

3. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 2, wherein said emission layer comprises aluminum gallium indium nitride satisfying the formula Al_x Ga_y In_1-x-y N, inclusive of x=0, y=0, and x=y=0.

4. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1, wherein an undoped layer is formed between said layer doped with said acceptor impurity and said layer doped with said donor impurity.

5. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 4, said undoped layer having a thickness of from 50 Å

to 500 Å

.

6. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1, wherein said acceptor impurity and said donor impurity are distributed into said emission layer by one of modulation doping and δ

doping.

7. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1, wherein said layer doped with said acceptor impurity and said layer doped with said donor impurity are each from 50 Å

to 500 Å

in thickness.

8. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1, wherein said emission layer is doped with a concentration of magnesium (Mg) ranging from 1×

10¹⁹ /cm³ to 1×

10²¹ /cm³ and exhibits p-type conduction.

9. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1, wherein said acceptor impurity is selected from the group comprising cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), beryllium (Be), and calcium (Ca).

10. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1, wherein said donor impurity is selected from the group comprising silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), tellurium (Te), and sulfur (S).

11. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1, wherein said layer doped with said acceptor layer comprises aluminum gallium indium nitride satisfying the formula Al_x Ga_y In_1-x-y N, inclusive of x=0, y=0, and x=y=0, and wherein said layer doped with said donor impurity comprises aluminum gallium indium nitride with a varied composition ratio of said formula.

12. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device comprising:

an emission layer doped with both an acceptor impurity and a donor impurity, said emission layer having a quantum well (QW) structure having at least one well layer.

13. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 12, wherein said well layer is doped with both an acceptor impurity and a donor impurity.

14. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 12, wherein said well layer and a barrier layer of said emission layer are doped with both an acceptor impurity and a donor impurity.

15. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 12, wherein said emission layer is an active layer comprising a zinc (Zn) and silicon (Si) doped indium aluminum gallium nitride (InAlGaN) compound.

16. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 13, wherein said quantum well (QW) structure comprises a barrier layer comprising an indium aluminum gallium nitride (InAlGaN) compound, having composition ratios different from said well layer.

17. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 16, wherein said composition ratios are designed to match a lattice constant of said barrier layer with a lattice constant of said well layer.

18. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 12, wherein said quantum well (QW) structure comprises said well layer sandwiched between barrier layers, said barrier layer being doped with an acceptor impurity.

19. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 12, wherein said well layer is from 50 Å

to 200 Å

in thickness.

20. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 16, wherein said barrier layer is from 50 Å

to 200 Å

in thickness.

21. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 12, wherein said emission layer having a quantum well (QW) structure comprises alternating Al_x2 Ga_1-x2 N barrier layers and Al_x1 Ga_1-x1 N well layers, where 0≦

x1≦

1, 0≦

x2≦

1, and x1<

x2.

22. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 21, wherein said well layer is doped with both an acceptor impurity and a donor impurity.

23. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 21, wherein said well layer and said barrier layer are doped with both an acceptor impurity and a donor impurity.

24. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 21, wherein said quantum well (QW) structure comprises a multi quantum well (MQW) having a plurality of well layers, a first selected one of said well layers being doped with said acceptor impurity and a second selected one of said well layers being doped with said donor impurity, the first and second selected well layers being adjacent to each other.

25. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 21, wherein said well layer is doped with said acceptor impurity and said barrier layer is doped with said donor impurity.

26. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 25, wherein said well layer is doped with said donor impurity and said barrier layer is doped with said acceptor impurity.

27. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 25, wherein said acceptor impurity is zinc (Zn) and said donor impurity is silicon (Si).

28. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 21, wherein said emission layer is sandwiched between a p-layer comprising acceptor doped Al_x3 Ga_1-x3 N with p-type condition where x1≦

x3 and an n-layer of a donor doped Al_x4 Ga_1-x4 N with n-type condition where x1≦

x4.

29. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 28, wherein said acceptor impurity doped into said p-layer is magnesium (Mg) and said donor impurity doped into said n-layer is silicon (Si).

30. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 12, wherein said quantum well (QW) structure comprises an Al_x1 Ga_y1 In_1-x1-y1 N well and an Al_x2 Ga_y2 In_1-x2-y2 N barrier, a band gap of said barrier being wider than a band gap of said well, said well being doped with one of a donor impurity and an acceptor impurity.

31. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 12, wherein said quantum well (QW) structure comprises an Al_x1 Ga_y1 In_1-x1-y1 N well and an Al_x2 Ga_y2 In_1-x2-y2 N barrier, a band gap of said barrier being wider than a band gap of said well, and said barrier being doped with one of a donor impurity and an acceptor impurity.

32. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 30, wherein said barrier comprises gallium nitride (GaN).

33. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 30, wherein said donor impurity is one of silicon (Si), tellurium (Te), sulfur (S), and selenium (Se) and said acceptor impurity is one of magnesium (Mg) and zinc (Zn).

34. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 30, wherein said well is doped with an impurity concentration ranging from 1×

10¹⁷ /cm³ to 5×

10¹⁸ /cm³.

35. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 30, wherein a lattice constant of said well matches a lattice constant of said barrier.

36. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 12, wherein said well layer and said barrier layer are doped with both an acceptor impurity and a donor impurity.

37. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 12, wherein said quantum well (QW) structure comprises a multi quantum well (MQW) having a plurality of well layers, a first selected one of said well layers being doped with said acceptor impurity and a second selected one of said well layers being doped with said donor impurity, the first and second selected well layers being adjacent to each other.

38. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 12, wherein said well layer is doped with said acceptor impurity and said barrier layer is doped with said donor impurity.

39. A group III nitride compound semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 12, wherein said well layer is doped with said donor impurity and said barrier layer is doped with said acceptor impurity.