Group III-nitride based resonant cavity light emitting devices fabricated on single crystal gallium nitride substrates

• US 7,009,215 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2003
• Issued: 03/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SL Technology Incorporated (Reliv' International, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: LeBoeuf, Steven Francis, Zhang, Anping, Park, Dong-Sil, D'Evelyn, Mark Philip, Hong, Huicong, Narang, Kristi Jean, Cao, Xian-An
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Minhloan
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, TAN N
• Application Number:
  US10/693,803
• Publication Number:
  US 20050087753A1
• Time in Patent Office: 865 Days
• Field of Search: 257/98, 257/99, 257/100, 257/102, 257/103, 372/98, 372/99
• US Class Current: 257/98
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/403 AIII-nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/406 Gallium nitride
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 9/00 Single-crystal growth from melt solutions using molten solvents by normal or gradient freezing C30B11/00; by zone-melting C30B13/00; by crystal pulling C30B15/00; on immersed seed crystal C30B17/00; by liquid phase epitaxial growth C30B19/00; under a protective fluid C30B27/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/007 comprising nitride compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/105 with a resonant cavity structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 117/1064 including a fully-sealed or vacuum-maintained crystallization chamber [e.g., ampoule]

Abstract

In a method for producing a resonant cavity light emitting device, a seed gallium nitride crystal (14) and a source material (30) are arranged in a nitrogen-containing superheated fluid (44) disposed in a sealed container (10) disposed in a multiple-zone furnace (50). Gallium nitride material is grown on the seed gallium nitride crystal (14) to produce a single-crystal gallium nitride substrate (106, 106′). Said growing includes applying a temporally varying thermal gradient (100, 100′, 102, 102′) between the seed gallium nitride crystal (14) and the source material (30) to produce an increasing growth rate during at least a portion of the growing. A stack of group III-nitride layers (112) is deposited on the single-crystal gallium nitride substrate (106, 106′), including a first mirror sub-stack (116) and an active region (120) adapted for fabrication into one or more resonant cavity light emitting devices (108, 150, 160, 170, 180).

Claims

1. A resonant cavity light emitting device including:

a stack of group III-nitride layers having no tilt-boundaries and having a dislocation density less than 10⁴ cm<sup>−

2</sup>, the stack including a first mirror sub-stack defining a distributed Bragg reflector and an active region; and

a mirror cooperating with the first mirror sub-stack to define a resonant cavity inside of which the active region is disposed.

2. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the stack of group III-nitride layers have a minimum lateral dimension greater than 0.1 cm.

3. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the mirror includes:

a reflective stack of one or more layers disposed over a surface of the stack of group III-nitride layers distal from the first mirror sub-stack.

4. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 3, wherein the reflective stack includes:

a reflective metal layer.

5. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 4, further including:

a discontinuous electrode disposed on the surface of the stack of group III-nitride layers distal from the first mirror sub-stack, the discontinuous electrode being in electrical contact with the stack of group III-nitride layers.

6. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the mirror includes:

a second mirror sub-stack of group III-nitride layers defining a distributed Bragg reflector.

7. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the mirror includes:

a dielectric stack defining a distributed Bragg reflector.

8. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the stack of group III-nitride layers has a dislocation density less than 10³ cm⁻

2.

9. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the stack of group III-nitride layers has a dislocation density less than 100 cm⁻

2.

10. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the stack of group III-nitride layers include trenches formed therein, each trench extending at least through the active region to define laterally spaced islands of the active region, portions of the stack of group III-nitride layers extending between the laterally spaced islands of the active region containing substantially no edge dislocation arrays.

11. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the active region of the stack of group III-nitride layers includes:

a region of indium-containing quantum dots.

12. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 1, further including:

a single-crystal gallium nitride substrate substantially free of tilt-boundaries on which the stack of group III-nitride layers is disposed, the single-crystal gallium nitride substrate having a dislocation density less than 10⁴ cm<sup>−

2</sup>.

13. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 12, wherein the single-crystal gallium nitride substrate has an optical absorption coefficient that is generally less than 5 cm⁻

1 over a spectral range between 465 nm and 700 nm.

14. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 13, wherein the single-crystal gallium nitride substrate is electrically conductive.

15. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 14, wherein the electrically conductive single-crystal gallium nitride substrate has a resistivity of less than 10 ohm-cm.

16. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the stack of group III-nitride layers has a (1120) oriented principal surface.

17. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the stack of group III-nitride layers has a (1100) oriented principal surface.

18. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the stack of group III-nitride layers has a (0001) oriented principal surface.

19. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the stack of group III-nitride layers has a (0001) oriented principal surface.

20. A resonant cavity light emitting device including:

a stack of group III-nitride layers including an active region;

a single-crystal gallium nitride substrate substantially free of tilt-boundaries on which the stack of group III-nitride layers is disposed, the single-crystal gallium nitride substrate having a dislocation density less than 10⁴ cm<sup>−

2</sup>; and

first and second mirrors defining a resonant cavity inside of which the active region is disposed, light produced by the active region resonating in the resonant cavity, at least one of the first and second mirrors including a distributed Bragg reflector.

21. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 20, further including:

a luminescent material or dopant disposed on or in the single crystal gallium nitride substrate that produces luminescence light of wavelength in a range between 300 nm and 1000 nm inclusive, the luminescence light being spectrally different from the light produced by the active region.

22. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 21, wherein the luminescent material or dopant comprises at least one of Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Go, or a rare earth metal.

23. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 20, further including:

a third mirror cooperating with one of the first and second mirrors to define a second resonant cavity, the luminescence light resonating in the second resonant cavity.

24. The resonant cavity light emitting device as set forth in claim 23, wherein each of the first, second, and third mirrors is independently selected from a group consisting of:

a semiconductor distributed Bragg reflector defined by the stack of group III-nitride layers,

a mixed oxide distributed Bragg reflector, and

a metallic or partially-metallized mirror.

25. A resonant cavity light emitting device including:

a single-crystal gallium nitride substrate having a characteristic absorption peak at about 3175 cm<sup>−

1</sup> with an absorbance per unit thickness greater than about 0.01 cm<sup>−

1</sup>.

a stack of group III-nitride layers disposed on the single-crystal gallium nitride substrate, the stack including a first mirror sub-stack and an active region; and

a mirror cooperating with the first mirror sub-stack to define a resonant cavity inside of which the active region is disposed.

26. The resonant cavity light emitting device of claim 25, wherein the single-crystal gallium nitride substrate has a fluorine concentration greater than about 0.04 ppm.

27. The resonant cavity light emitting device of claim 26, wherein the single-crystal gallium nitride substrate is substantially free of tilt-boundaries and has a dislocation density less than 100 cm⁻

2.

28. A resonant cavity light emitting device including:

a stack of group III-nitride layers including an active region;

a single-crystal gallium nitride substrate substantially free of tilt-boundaries on which the stack of group III-nitride layers is disposed, the single-crystal gallium nitride substrate having a dislocation density less than 10² cm<sup>−

2</sup>; and

first and second mirrors defining a resonant cavity inside of which the active region is disposed, light produced by the active region resonating in the resonant cavity.

29. A resonant cavity light emitting device including:

a stack of group III-nitride layers including an active region;

a single-crystal gallium nitride substrate substantially free of tilt-boundaries on which the stack of group III-nitride layers is disposed, the single-crystal gallium nitride substrate having a dislocation density less than 10⁴ cm<sup>−

2</sup>; and

first and second mirrors arranged parallel with the active region and defining a vertical resonant cavity inside of which the active region is disposed, light produced by the active region resonating in the resonant cavity.