Method of manufacturing semiconductor light emitting device and oxidation furnace

• US 6,979,581 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2002
• Issued: 12/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ROHM Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: ROHM Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Sai, Hironobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Mulpuri, Savitri
• Application Number:
  US10/318,121
• Publication Number:
  US 20030139060A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,110 Days
• Field of Search: 438 22- 47, 438479-509
• US Class Current: 438/22
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02178 the material containing aluminium, e.g. Al2O3
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02233 of the semiconductor substrate or a semiconductor layer
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02255 formation by thermal treatment H01L21/02252 takes precedence; after treatment of an insulating film H01L21/3105 and subgroups
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/31666 of AIII BV compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67253 Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/145 with a current-blocking structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0042 On wafer testing, e.g. lasers are tested before separating wafer into chips
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/18311 using selective oxidation
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/18358 containing spacer layers to adjust the phase of the light wave in the cavity

Abstract

A sample stand is set in a chamber provided with an observation window on its upper surface and a heater for heating a sample is provided in the vicinity of the sample stand. Then, a microscope, a camera and a television monitor are connected and mounted outside the observation window of the chamber. The microscope is mounted such that a specific layer of the sample is focused on and can be observed. According to a manufacturing method of the preset invention, oxidation treatment is performed in such equipment while an oxidation process of the specific layer (semiconductor layer for selective oxidation) of the sample is observed. As a result, the amount of oxidation of the semiconductor layer for selective oxidation can be strictly controlled, a semiconductor light emitting device which restricts a current into a certain region can be obtained with high yield ratio, and there is obtained an oxidation furnace which can precisely control the amount of oxidation of the semiconductor layer for selective oxidation.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting device comprising steps of;

(a) forming a semiconductor laminated part comprising a light emitting layer forming portion and a semiconductor layer for selective oxidation for forming a current injection region on a substrate,

(b) etching away a part of said semiconductor laminated part such that said current injection region and its peripheral region would be left in mesa-shape,

(c) forming a predetermined range of current injection region by oxidizing said semiconductor layer for selective oxidation etched in mesa-shape from its periphery toward its center, while observing by a microscope an oxidation condition of said semiconductor layer for selective oxidation from a surface side of said semiconductor laminated part,

wherein the step of oxidizing said semiconductor layer for selective oxidation further comprises steps of;

setting said substrate on which said semiconductor laminated part is grown in a chamber, and

oxidizing said semiconductor layer for selective oxidation by supplying vapor which is stable at about 400°

C. to 500°

C. around said semiconductor layer for selective oxidation; and

(d) forming electrodes for electrical connection on both sides of said semiconductor laminated part; and

wherein a vapor supply pipe having a heater is provided on said chamber and said vapor is supplied around said semiconductor layer for selective oxidation by introducing a vapor into said chamber through said vapor supply pipe.

2. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein said semiconductor layer for selective oxidation is made of AlAs.

3. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein said light emitting layer forming portion has a double heterostructure in which an active layer is sandwiched by lower and upper spacer layers so as to form a surface emitting laser, a bandgap of said spacer layers being wider than that of said active layer, and wherein said semiconductor laminated part further comprises multilayer reflection films formed on upper and lower sides of said light emitting layer forming portion.

4. The manufacturing method according to claim 3, wherein said active layer is a quantum well structure.

6. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein said substrate is set such that a distance between a surface of said semiconductor laminated part and an inner surface of an upper wall of said chamber would be 10 mm or less and said semiconductor layer for selective oxidation is observed by a microscope from the outside of said chamber.

7. The manufacturing method according to claim 6, wherein a light is irradiated from said microscope to said semiconductor laminated part and a filter is provided in the irradiation pathway of said light, said filter removing light having wavelength shorter than that of visible light.

8. The manufacturing method according to claim 7, wherein a light transmission window is provided on said chamber in the course of the irradiation pathway of the light from said microscope and a thin transparent plate which is 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm in thickness is attached to said light transmission window.

9. The manufacturing method according to claim 8, wherein said light transmission plate is attached on both inner wall and upper wall surfaces of said chamber.

5. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting device comprising steps of:

(a) forming a semiconductor laminated part comprising a light emitting layer forming portion and a semiconductor layer for selective oxidation for forming a current injection region on a substrate,

(b) etching away a part of said semiconductor laminated part such that said current injection region and its peripheral region would be left in mesa-shape,

(c) forming a predetermined range of current injection region by oxidizing said semiconductor layer for selective oxidation etched in mesa-shape from its periphery toward its center, while observing by a microscope an oxidation condition of said semiconductor layer for selective oxidation from a surface side of said semiconductor laminated part,

wherein the step of oxidizing said semiconductor layer for selective oxidation further comprises steps of;

setting said substrate on which said semiconductor laminated part is grown in a chamber, and

oxidizing said semiconductor layer for selective oxidation by supplying vapor which is stable at about 400°

C. to 500°

C. around said semiconductor layer for selective oxidation; and

(d) forming electrodes for electrical connection on both sides of said semiconductor laminated part; and

wherein said vapor is supplied around said semiconductor layer for selective oxidation by generating a vapor by a heater in said chamber, wherein the stable vapor temperature is provided by said heater.

10. The manufacturing method according to claim 5, wherein said semiconductor layer for selective oxidation is made of AlAs.

11. The manufacturing method according to claim 5, wherein said light emitting layer forming portion has a double heterostructure in which art active layer is sandwiched by lower and upper spacer layers so as to form a surface emitting laser, a bandgap of said spacer layers being wider than that of said active layer, and wherein said semiconductor laminated part further comprises multilayer reflection films formed on upper and lower sides of said light emitting layer forming portion.

12. The manufacturing method according to claim 11, wherein said active layer is a quantum well structure.

13. The manufacturing method according to claim 5, wherein said substrate is set such that a distance between a surface of said semiconductor laminated part and an inner surface of an upper wall of said chamber would be 10 mm or less and said semiconductor layer for selective oxidation is observed by a microscope from the outside of said chamber.

14. The manufacturing method according to claim 13, wherein a light is irradiated from said microscope to said semiconductor laminated part and a filter is provided in the irradiation pathway of said light, said filter removing light having wavelength shorter than that of visible light.

15. The manufacturing method according to claim 14, wherein a light transmission window is provided on said chamber in the course of the irradiation pathway of the light from said microscope and a thin transparent plate which is 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm in thickness is attached to said light transmission window.

16. The manufacturing method according to claim 15, wherein said light transmission plate is attached on both inner wall and upper wall surfaces of said chamber.