Method for producing a group III nitride compound semiconductor substrate

• US 6,274,518 B1
• Filed: 04/10/2000
• Issued: 08/14/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ishida, Masahiro, Yuri, Masaaki, Nakamura, Shinji, Orita, Kenji, Imafuji, Osamu
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Anya, Igwe U.
• Application Number:
  US09/546,881
• Time in Patent Office: 491 Days
• Field of Search: 438/791, 438/106, 438/45, 438/46, 438/47, 438/38, 438/428, 438/507, 438/459, 438/166, 438/763, 438/785, 438/800
• US Class Current: 438/791
• 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 21/02494 Structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02502 consisting of two layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0254 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02639 Preparation of substrate for selective deposition
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02661 In-situ cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02664 Aftertreatments planarisation in general H01L21/304
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/184 the active layers comprising only AIIIBV compounds, e.g. GaAs, InP
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/1852 comprising a growth substrate not being an AIIIBV compound
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/0075 comprising nitride compounds
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/544 Solar cells from Group III-V materials
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for producing a group III nitride compound semiconductor substrate including: (a) forming a first semiconductor film over a substrate, the first semiconductor film made of a first group III nitride compound semiconductor and provided with a step; (b) forming a second semiconductor film made of a second group III nitride compound semiconductor having a different thermal expansion coefficient from that of the first group III nitride compound semiconductor on the first semiconductor film; and (c) cooling the substrate and separating the second semiconductor film from the first semiconductor film. Thus, a large-area group III nitride compound semiconductor substrate can be produced in high yields and with high reproducibility.

Claims

1. A method for producing a group III nitride compound semiconductor substrate, comprising:

(a) forming a first semiconductor film over a substrate, the first semiconductor film made of a first group III nitride compound semiconductor and provided with a step;

(b) forming a second semiconductor film made of a second group III nitride compound semiconductor having a different thermal expansion coefficient from that of the first group III nitride compound semiconductor on the first semiconductor film; and

(c) cooling the substrate and separating the second semiconductor film from the first semiconductor film.

2. The method for producing a group III nitride compound semiconductor substrate according to claim 1, wherein the process (a) comprises:

(a-1) forming a film made of the first group III nitride compound semiconductor on the substrate; and

(a-2) removing a part of the film, thereby forming a first semiconductor film provided with a plurality of grooves.

3. The method for producing a group III nitride compound semiconductor substrate according to claim 2, wherein in the process (a-2), the plurality of grooves are formed in a stripe geometry.

4. The method for producing a group III nitride compound semiconductor substrate according to claim 3, wherein the substrate is a (0001) plane sapphire substrate, and the grooves are formed in a [11 {overscore (2)} 0] direction.

5. The method for producing a group III nitride compound semiconductor substrate according to claim 1, wherein the process (a) comprises:

(a-1) forming a film made of the first group III nitride compound semiconductor and an insulating film in this order on the substrate; and

(a-2) removing a part of the film, thereby forming a first semiconductor film provided with a plurality of grooves.

6. The method for producing a group III nitride compound semiconductor substrate according to claim 5, wherein in the process (a-2), the plurality of grooves are formed in a stripe geometry.

7. The method for producing a group III nitride compound semiconductor substrate according to claim 6, wherein the substrate is a (0001) plane sapphire substrate, and the grooves are formed in a [11 {overscore (2)} 0] direction.

8. The method for producing a group III nitride compound semiconductor substrate according to claim 5, wherein the insulating film is made of at least one selected from the group consisting of SiO₂ and Si₃N₄.

9. The method for producing a group III nitride compound semiconductor substrate according to claim 5, further comprising removing the insulating film selectively after the process (b) and before the process (c).

10. The method for producing a group III nitride compound semiconductor substrate according to claim 1, wherein a lattice constant of the first group III nitride compound semiconductor is smaller than that of the second group III nitride compound semiconductor.

11. The method for producing a group III nitride compound semiconductor substrate according to claim 1, wherein the first group III nitride compound semiconductor is Al_XGa₁₋

XN (where 0<

X≦

1), and the second group III nitride compound semiconductor is GaN.

12. The method for producing a group III nitride compound semiconductor substrate according to claim 1, wherein the process (c) further includes heating and cooling the substrate after cooling the substrate.