Semiconductor light emitting device

• US 6,870,191 B2
• Filed: 07/24/2002
• Issued: 03/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nichia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nichia Corporation
• Inventors: Sano, Masahiko, Yamada, Motokazu, Niki, Isamu, Shioji, Shuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Nelms, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, MAI HUONG C
• Application Number:
  US10/201,600
• Publication Number:
  US 20030057444A1
• Time in Patent Office: 972 Days
• Field of Search: 257/79, 257/88, 257/96, 257/97, 257/668, 257/678
• US Class Current: 257/79
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02378 Silicon carbide
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0254 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02647 Lateral overgrowth
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2933/0083 Periodic patterns for optical field-shaping in or on the semiconductor body or semiconductor body package, e.g. photonic bandgap structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/007 comprising nitride compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/16 with a particular crystal structure or orientation, e.g. polycrystalline, amorphous or porous
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/20 with a particular shape, e.g. curved or truncated substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/22 Roughened surfaces, e.g. at the interface between epitaxial layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/24 of the light emitting region, e.g. non-planar junction
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/26 Materials of the light emitting region
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/32 containing nitrogen
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/38 with a particular shape
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24355 Continuous and nonuniform or irregular surface on layer or component [e.g., roofing, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24479 including variation in thickness

Abstract

A high external quantum efficiency is stably secured in a semiconductor light emitting device. At least one recess and/or protruding portion is created on the surface portion of a substrate for scattering or diffracting light generated in a light emitting region. The recess and/or protruding portion has a shape that prevents crystal defects from occurring in semiconductor layers.

Claims

1. A semiconductor light emitting device comprising a substrate, a plurality of semiconductor layers formed on said substrate and made of different materials from that of said substrate and an ohmic electrode formed on the surface of the top layer of said semiconductor layers so that light generated in said semiconductor layers is emitted from said ohmic electrode or from said substrate,

wherein at least one recess and/or protruding portion for scattering or diffracting light generated in said semiconductor layers is created in the surface of said substrate and

the cross section of said recess is in a form of a reversed trapezoid and the cross section of said protruding portion is in a form of a trapezoid.

2. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said ohmic electrode covers almost the entirety of the surface of the top layer of said semiconductor layers.

3. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the taper angle of the side of said recess or protruding portion is not less than 90 degrees and not more than 160 degrees.

4. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said recess and/or protruding portion is in a form that prevents crystal defects from occurring in said semiconductor layers.

5. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said recess and/or protruding portion is in a form having, as a component side, a line that crosses a plane approximately parallel to the stably growing face of said semiconductor layers.

6. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 5, wherein said surface of the stable growing substrate of the semiconductor layers is an M plane {1-100} of a hexagonal crystal.

7. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 5, wherein the length of the component side of said recess and/or protruding portion is not less than λ

/4, where the wavelength of emitted light in said semiconductor is λ

.

8. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 5, wherein the length of the component side of said recess and/or protruding portion is not less than λ

/4n, where the wavelength of emitted light in said semiconductor is λ and

the index of refraction of said semiconductor is n.

9. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 5, wherein the length of the component side of said recess and/or protruding portion is not more than 100 μ

m.

10. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 5, wherein the length of the component side of said recess and/or protruding portion is not more than 20 μ

m.

11. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said recess and/or protruding portion is a polygon having a vertex in a plane approximately parallel to the stably growing face of said semiconductor layers and having, as component sides, lines that cross planes approximately parallel to the stably growing face of said semiconductor layers.

12. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 11, wherein the polygon of said recess and/or protruding portion is selected from the group consisting of a triangle, a parallelogram and a hexagon.

13. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 11, wherein the polygon of said recess and/or protruding portion is selected from the group consisting of an equilateral triangle, a rhomboid and a regular hexagon.

14. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, characterized in that, assuming a polygon that has component sides in the stably growing face of said semiconductor layers, said recess and/or protruding portion is in a shape of another polygon having, as component sides, lines that are perpendicular to line segments connecting the center and vertex of the first polygon.

15. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said recess and/or protruding portion forms a pattern where its form is repeated.

16. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said semiconductor layers are made of III-V group elements-based semiconductors.

17. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said semiconductor layers are made of GaN-based semiconductors.

18. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said substrate is selected from the group consisting of a sapphire substrate, an SiC substrate and a spinel substrate.

19. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said substrate is a C plane (0001) sapphire substrate.

20. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 19, wherein the stably growing face in said semiconductor layers is a surface parallel to the A plane {11-20} of said substrate.

21. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the depth of said recess or the height of said protruding portion is not less than 50 Å

and not more than the thickness of the semiconductor layers grown on said substrate.

22. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the surface of said semiconductor layers is of a concave and/or convex form.

23. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein at least one opening is created in said ohmic electrode.

24. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 23, wherein each of said openings has inside at least one step portion of said recesses or protruding portions.

25. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 23, wherein the relation ship of L/S≧

0.024 μ

m/μ

m² is satisfied where L is the total length of the outer periphery of said opening or slit and S is the area of said ohmic electrode including the inside of said opening or slit.

26. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 23, wherein said ohmic electrode is an alloy or a multilayer film including at least one type selected from the group consisting of Ni, Pd, Co, Fe, Ti, Cu, Rh, Au, Ru, W, Zr, Mo, Ta, Pt, Ag, and oxides or nitrides of them.

27. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 23, wherein said ohmic electrode is an alloy or a multilayer film including one type selected from the group consisting of rhodium (Rh), iridium (Ir), silver (Ag) and aluminum (Al).