Technique for the growth of planar semi-polar gallium nitride

• US 7,220,324 B2
• Filed: 03/10/2006
• Issued: 05/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Japan Science And Technology Agency
• Original Assignee: Regents of the University of California (University of California)
• Inventors: Speck, James S., Baker, Troy J., DenBaars, Steven P., Haskell, Benjamin A., Nakamura, Shuji, Fini, Paul T.
• Primary Examiner(s): FOURSON III, GEORGE R
• Application Number:
  US11/372,914
• Publication Number:
  US 20060205199A1
• Time in Patent Office: 438 Days
• Field of Search: 438/46, 438/47, 438/479, 438/938, 438/FOR.244, 438/FOR.253, 438/FOR.287, 438/FOR.293, 148/33, 257/E21.113, 257/E21.463
• US Class Current: 148/33
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 25/02 Epitaxial-layer growth
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 25/18 characterised by the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/406 Gallium nitride
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0242 Crystalline insulating materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02433 Crystal orientation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0254 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02658 Pretreatments cleaning in general H01L21/02041
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/007 comprising nitride compounds
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 438/938 Lattice strain control or utilization

Abstract

A method for growing planar, semi-polar nitride film on a miscut spinel substrate, in which a large area of the planar, semi-polar nitride film is parallel to the substrate'"'"'s surface. The planar films and substrates are: (1) {10 11} gallium nitride (GaN) grown on a {100} spinel substrate miscut in specific directions, (2) {10 13} gallium nitride (GaN) grown on a {110} spinel substrate, (3) {11 22} gallium nitride (GaN) grown on a {1 100} sapphire substrate, and (4) {10 13} gallium nitride (GaN) grown on a {1 100} sapphire substrate.

Claims

1. A method for growing a nitride film, comprising:

growing a planar, semi-polar nitride film on a substrate, wherein the planar, semi-polar nitride film is grown parallel to the substrate'"'"'s surface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a surface area of the planar, semi-polar nitride film of at least 10 mm×

10 mm is parallel to the substrate'"'"'s surface.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a surface area of the planar, semi-polar nitride film having at least a 2 inch diameter is parallel to the substrate'"'"'s surface.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the planar, semi-polar nitride film is {10 11} gallium nitride (GaN) grown on a {100} spinel substrate miscut in specific directions.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the specific directions comprise <

001>

, <

010> and

<

011>

.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the planar, semi-polar nitride film is {10 11} AlN, InN, AlGaN, InGaN, or AlInN grown on a (100) spinel substrate miscut in specific directions.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the specific directions comprise <

001>

, <

010> and

<

011>

.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the planar, semi-polar nitride film is {10 13} gallium nitride (GaN) grown on a {110} spinel substrate.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the planar, semi-polar nitride film is {11 22} gallium nitride (GaN) grown on a {1 100} sapphire substrate.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the planar, semi-polar nitride film is {10 13} gallium nitride (GaN) grown on a {1 100} sapphire substrate.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

loading the substrate into a reactor, wherein the reactor is evacuated to remove oxygen, and then backfilled with nitrogen;

turning on a furnace and ramping a temperature of the reactor under conditions that encourage nitridization of the substrate'"'"'s surface;

performing a gas flow of nitrogen, hydrogen, or ammonia over the substrate at atmospheric pressure;

reducing the reactor'"'"'s pressure when the furnace reaches a setpoint temperature;

performing a gallium nitride (GaN) growth on the substrate, after the reactor'"'"'s pressure is reduced, by flowing ammonia, and initiating a flow of hydrogen chloride (HCl) over gallium (Ga) to start the growth of the GaN; and

cooling down the reactor after the growth of the GaN, wherein the HCl flow is stopped, and the reactor is cooled down while flowing ammonia to preserve the GaN.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the substrate is miscut before being loaded into the reactor.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein, for growth of {11 22} GaN, ammonia is flowed while the furnace is ramping to the growth temperature, so that nitridation occurs at low temperature.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein, for growth of {10 13} GaN, only hydrogen and nitrogen are flowed during the temperature ramping step, and the substrate is then subjected to a high temperature nitridation with ammonia flow at the growth temperature.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after the planar, semi-polar nitride film has been grown, growing one or more device layers on the on the planar, semi-polar nitride film.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of growing the device layers on the planar, semi-polar nitride film includes doping the device layers with n-type and p-type dopants, and growing one or more quantum wells in a regrowth layer.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising fabricating a light emitting diode from the device layers.

18. A planar, semi-polar nitride film grown using the method of claim 1.