Semiconductor device in which zinc oxide is used as a semiconductor material and method for manufacturing the semiconductor device

• US 7,501,293 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2003
• Issued: 03/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co Limited
• Original Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co Limited
• Inventors: Ito, Yoshihiro, Kadota, Michio
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, THANH T
• Application Number:
  US10/518,945
• Publication Number:
  US 20060054888A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,106 Days
• Field of Search: 428/37, 372/43.01, 257/43, 257/102, 438/85, 438/104, 438/22
• US Class Current: 438/22
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02403 Oxides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02472 Oxides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02483 Oxide semiconducting materials not being Group 12/16 materials, e.g. ternary compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02507 Alternating layers, e.g. superlattice
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02554 Oxides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02565 Oxide semiconducting materials not being Group 12/16 materials, e.g. ternary compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02581 Transition metal or rare earth elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02631 Physical deposition at reduced pressure, e.g. MBE, sputtering, evaporation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7869 having a semiconductor body comprising an oxide semiconductor material, e.g. zinc oxide, copper aluminium oxide, cadmium stannate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/28 containing only elements of Group II and Group VI of the Periodic Table
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/327 in AIIBVI compounds, e.g. ZnCdSe-laser

Abstract

A semiconductor device having excellent crystallinity and excellent electric characteristics includes a ZnO thin film having excellent surface smoothness. ZnO-based thin films (an n-type contact layer, an n-type clad layer, an active layer, a p-type clad layer, and a p-type contact layer) primarily including ZnO are formed sequentially by an ECR sputtering method or other suitable method on a zinc-polar surface of a ZnO substrate. A transparent electrode and a p-side electrode are formed by an evaporation method or other suitable method on a surface of the p-type contact layer, and an n-side electrode is formed on an oxygen-polar surface of the ZnO substrate.

Claims

1. A semiconductor device comprising:

a single crystal substrate primarily including zinc oxide and having a zinc-polar surface and an oxygen-polar surface; and

at least one layer of thin film primarily including zinc oxide disposed on the zinc-polar surface;

wherein

the at least one layer of thin film includes a multilayer film and the multilayer film defines a light-emitting layer;

the multilayer film includes an n-type contact layer, an n-type clad layer, an active layer, a p-type clad layer and a p-type contact layer; and

the n-type contact layer is a zinc oxide layer that is in contact with the zinc-polar surface of the single crystal substrate.

2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one layer of thin film has zinc-polarity.

3. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprising a transparent electrode disposed on the multilayer film.

4. The semiconductor device according to claim 3, wherein the transparent electrode is made of Indium Tin Oxide.

5. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of:

determining whether a surface of a single crystal substrate primarily including zinc oxide is a zinc-polar surface or an oxygen-polar surface; and

forming at least one layer of thin film primarily including zinc oxide on the zinc-polar surface;

wherein

the at least one layer of thin film includes a multilayer film and the multilayer film defines a light-emitting layer;

the multilayer film includes an n-type contact layer, an n-type clad layer, an active layer, a p-type clad layer and a p-type contact layer; and

the n-type contact layer is a zinc oxide layer that is in contact with the zinc-polar surface of the single crystal substrate.

6. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 5, wherein the thin film has zinc-polarity.

7. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

providing a sputtering apparatus provided with a plasma generation chamber and a separate film formation chamber; and

performing sputtering treatment using the sputtering apparatus so as to form the thin film.

8. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 7, wherein the sputtering treatment is performed by a method selected from the group consisting of an electron cyclotron resonance plasma sputtering method, an inductively coupled plasma sputtering method, a helicon wave excited plasma sputtering method, an ion beam sputtering method, and a cluster beam sputtering method.

9. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 5, wherein the thin film is formed by a method selected from the group consisting of a molecular-beam epitaxy method, a metal organic chemical vapor deposition method, a laser molecular-beam epitaxy method, and a laser abrasion method.