Semiconductor light emitting device and method for manufacturing the same

• US 7,811,839 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2006
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Chemical Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Chemical Company Limited
• Inventors: Ueda, Kazumasa, Kasahara, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Dickey; Thomas L
• Assistant Examiner(s): YUSHIN, NIKOLAY K
• Application Number:
  US11/883,805
• Publication Number:
  US 20080149952A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,699 Days
• Field of Search: 257/103, 257/79, 257/91, 257/98, 257/E33.002, 257/13, 257/94, 257/99, 257/88, 257/E33.062, 438/22, 438/70, 438/34, 438/37, 438/39, 438/40, 438/28, 438/43, 438/706, 438/29
• US Class Current: 438/22
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/30621 Vapour phase etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/08 with a plurality of light emitting regions, e.g. laterally discontinuous light emitting layer or photoluminescent region integrated within the semiconductor body H01L27/15 takes precedence

Abstract

The present invention provides a semiconductor light emitting device and a method for manufacturing the same. The semiconductor device comprises (i) a semiconductor layer with convex portions in a shape selected from a cone and a truncated cone and (ii) electrodes, wherein in the case of the convex portions with the shape of the truncated cone, the convex portions has a height of from 0.05 to 5.0 μm and a bottom base diameter of from 0.05 to 2.0 μm; in case of the convex portions with the shape of the cone, the convex portions has a height of from 0.05 to 5.0 μm and a base diameter of from 0.05 to 2.0 μm. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting device comprising the steps of (a) growing a semiconductor layer on a substrate, (b) forming on the semiconductor layer a region having particles with an average particle diameter of 0.01 to 10 μm and a surface density of 2×10⁶ to 2×10¹⁰ cm⁻², and (c) dry-etching the semiconductor layer to form convex portions in the shape selected from a cone and a truncated corn.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting device comprising (i) a semiconductor layer with convex portions in a shape selected from a cone and a truncated cone and (ii) electrodes, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) growing a semiconductor layer on a substrate,

(b) forming on the semiconductor layer a region having particles with an average particle diameter of 0.01 to 10 μ

m and a surface density of 2×

10⁶ to 2×

10¹⁰ cm<sup>−

2</sup>, and

(c) dry-etching the semiconductor layer to form the convex portions in the shape selected from a cone and a truncated cone,

wherein the semiconductor layer is made of metal nitride, and

wherein in the case of the convex portions with the shape of the truncated cone, the convex portions have a height of from 0.05 to 5.0 μ

m and a bottom base diameter of from 0.05 to 2.0 μ

m;

in case of the convex portions with the shape of the cone, the convex portions have a height of from 0.05 to 5.0 μ

m and a base diameter of from 0.05 to 2.0 μ

m.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor layer is made of group III nitride.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the growth is carried out by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy, molecular-beam epitaxy, or hydride vapor phase epitaxy.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the particles are made of an organic substance on an inorganic substance.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the inorganic substance is at least one selected from the group consisting of oxide, nitride, carbide, boride, sulfide, and metal.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the oxide is at least one selected from the group consisting of silica, alumina, zirconia, titania, ceria, magnesia, zinc oxide, tin oxide, and yttrium aluminum garnet.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the oxide is silica.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein the metal is at least one selected from the group consisting of Si, Ni, W, Ta, Cr, Ti, Mg, Ca, Al, Au, Ag, and Zn.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the top base area of the truncated cones formed in the step (c) is not more than 25% of the bottom base area of the truncated cones.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the truncated cones formed in the step (c) have a height of from 0.05 to 5.0 μ

m and bottom base diameter of the truncated cones from 0.05 to 2.0 μ

m.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cones formed in the step (c) have a height of from 0.05 to 5.0 μ

m and a base diameter of the cones of from 0.05 to 2.0 μ

m.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step (e) of forming resist film on the semiconductor layer and patterning the resist film on the semiconductor layer and patterning the resist film into a predetermined shape by photolithography after the step (b), and removing the resist from the portion covered with the resist film after step (c).

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising step (f) of covering the convex portions with a transparent electrode film after step (c).

14. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting device comprising (i) a semiconductor layer with convex portions in a shape selected from a cone and a truncated cone and (ii) electrodes, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) growing a semiconductor layer on a substrate,

(b) forming on the semiconductor layer a region having particles with an average particle diameter of 0.01 to 10 μ

m and a surface density of 2×

10⁶ to 2×

10¹⁰ cm<sup>−

2</sup>, and

(c) dry-etching the semiconductor layer to form the convex portions in the shape selected from a cone and a truncated cone,

wherein the dry etching is carried out until the maximum diameter of the particles is not more than 80% of the average particle diameter of the particles before dry-etching in a direction parallel to the surface of the substrate, and

wherein in the case of the convex portions with the shape of the truncated cone, the convex portions have a height of from 0.05 to 5.0 μ

m and a bottom base diameter of from 0.05 to 2.0 μ

m;

in case of the convex portions with the shape of the cone, the convex portions have a height of from 0.05 to 5.0 μ

m and a base diameter of from 0.05 to 2.0 μ

m.

15. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting device comprising (i) a semiconductor layer with convex portions in a shape selected from a cone and a truncated cone and (ii) electrodes, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) growing a semiconductor layer on a substrate,

(b) forming on the semiconductor layer a region having particles with an average particle diameter of 0.01 to 10 μ

m and a surface density of 2×

10⁶ to 2×

10¹⁰ cm<sup>−

2</sup>, and

(c) dry-etching the semiconductor layer to form the convex portions in the shape selected from a cone and a truncated cone,

wherein the substrate is made of at least one selected from the group consisting of sapphire, SiC, Si, MgAl₂O₄, LiTaO₃, ZrB₂, CrB₂, and gallium nitride, and

wherein in the case of the convex portions with the shape of the truncated cone, the convex portions have a height of from 0.05 to 5.0 μ

m and a bottom base diameter of from 0.05 to 2.0 μ

m;

in case of the convex portions with the shape of the cone, the convex portions have a height of from 0.05 to 5.0 μ

m and a base diameter of from 0.05 to 2.0 μ

m.

16. A semiconductor device comprising (i) a semiconductor layer with convex portions in a shape selected from a cone and a truncated cone and (ii) electrodes,

wherein in the case of the convex portions with the shape of the truncated cone, the convex portions have a height of from 0.05 to 5.0 μ

m and a bottom base diameter of from 0.05 to 2.0 μ

m;

in case of the convex portions with the shape of the cone, the convex portions have a height of from 0.05 to 5.0 μ

m and a base diameter of from 0.05 to 2.0 μ

m, and

wherein when the vertex of the individual convex portions of the semiconductor layer is divided in a direction perpendicular to a light output surface, a line showing the outer edge of the cross section of the convex portions have at least two curved portions and a radius of curvature of the curved portions on the base side of the convex portions be larger than the curved portion on their vertex side.

17. The semiconductor device according to claim 16, wherein the semiconductor layer is selected from the group consisting of low-temperature buffer layer, n-type contact layer, light emitting layer, and p-type contact layer.

18. The semiconductor device according to claim 17, wherein the semiconductor layer is the p-type contact layer.