Nitride semiconductor device manufacturing method

• US 7,781,314 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2007
• Issued: 08/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Inventors: Kyono, Takashi, Ueno, Masaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu; David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Taylor; Earl N
• Application Number:
  US11/958,315
• Publication Number:
  US 20080132044A1
• Time in Patent Office: 981 Days
• Field of Search: 117/3, 117/93, 117/102, 117/105, 117/97, 117/90, 117/94, 117/106, 134/1.2, 134/1.3, 438/503, 438/607, 438/906, 257/E21.226
• US Class Current: 438/503
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 25/02 Epitaxial-layer growth
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/403 AIII-nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/406 Gallium nitride
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02389 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02395 Arsenides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0242 Crystalline insulating materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0243 Surface structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02458 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02505 consisting of more than two layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0254 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0262 Reduction or decomposition of gaseous compounds, e.g. CVD
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02661 In-situ cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 438/906 Cleaning of wafer as interim step

Abstract

Affords a manufacturing method enabling nitride-based semiconductor devices containing epitaxial films excelling in flatness and crystallinity to be easily produced. Method of manufacturing nitride semiconductor devices that are formed onto a semiconductor substrate being a compound containing nitrogen, and a Group IIIA element for forming compounds with nitrogen, including steps of: heating the semiconductor substrate (1) to a film-deposition temperature; supplying to the substrate a film-deposition gas containing a source gas for the Group IIIA element and a nitrogen source gas; and epitaxially growing onto the semiconductor substrate a thin film (2) of a compound containing nitrogen and the Group IIIA element; and being furnished with a step, in advance of the epitaxial growth step, of heating the semiconductor substrate to a pretreating temperature less than the film-deposition temperature, to clean the surface of the semiconductor substrate.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing nitride-based semiconductor devices formed onto a semiconductor substrate being a compound containing nitrogen, and a Group IIIA element for forming compounds with nitrogen, the nitride semiconductor device manufacturing method comprising:

a step of heating the semiconductor substrate to a film-deposition temperature;

a step of supplying to the substrate a film-deposition gas containing a source gas for the Group IIIA element and a nitrogen source gas;

a step of epitaxially growing onto the semiconductor substrate a thin film of a compound containing nitrogen and the Group IIIA element; and

a step, in advance of the epitaxial growth step, of heating the semiconductor substrate to a pretreating temperature that is constant and that is less than the film-deposition temperature, and supplying to the substrate a pretreatment gas in which the proportion of Group-IIIA-element source gas has been reduced below what the proportion is in the film-deposition gas for the epitaxial growth step, to clean the front side of the semiconductor substrate.

2. The nitride semiconductor device manufacturing method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the pretreatment gas does not contain the source gas for the Group IIIA element.