Group III nitride epitaxial laminate substrate

• US 8,847,203 B2
• Filed: 11/04/2010
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dowa Electronics Materials Co. Ltd. (DOWA Holdings Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Dowa Electronics Materials Co. Ltd. (DOWA Holdings Company Limited)
• Inventors: Ikuta, Tetsuya, Shimizu, Jo, Shibata, Tomohiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Stark, Jarrett
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ahmed, Shahed
• Application Number:
  US13/502,847
• Publication Number:
  US 20120223328A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,426 Days
• Field of Search: 257/E29.091, 257/76, 257/194, 257/E29.025, 257/E21.09, 438/167
• US Class Current: 257/15
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02381 Silicon, silicon germanium, germanium
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02458 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02507 Alternating layers, e.g. superlattice
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0254 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/155 Comprising only semiconductor materials H01L29/154 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/2003 Nitride compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/205 in different semiconductor regions , e.g. heterojunctions

Abstract

A Group III nitride epitaxial laminate substrate comprising a substrate, a buffer and a main laminate in this order, wherein the buffer includes an initial growth layer, a first superlattice laminate and a second superlattice laminate in this order, the first superlattice laminate includes five to 20 sets of first AlN layers and second GaN layers, the first AlN layers and the second GaN layers being alternately stacked, and each one set of the first AlN layer and the second GaN layer has a thickness of less than 44 nm, the second superlattice laminate includes a plurality of sets of first layers made of an AlN material or an AlGaN material and second layers made of an AlGaN material having a different band gap from the first layers, the first and second layers being alternately stacked.

Claims

1. A Group III nitride epitaxial laminate substrate comprising:

a substrate;

a buffer formed on the substrate; and

a main laminate formed by epitaxially growing a Group III nitride layer on the buffer,

wherein the buffer includes an initial growth layer in contact with the substrate, a first superlattice laminate formed on the initial growth layer, and a second superlattice laminate formed on the first superlattice laminate,

the first superlattice laminate includes five to 20 sets of first AlN layers made of an AlN material and second GaN layers made of a GaN material, the first AlN layers and the second GaN layers being alternately stacked, and each one set of the first AlN layer and the second GaN layer has a thickness of less than 44 nm,

the second superlattice laminate includes a plurality of sets of first layers made of an AlN material or an AlGaN material and second layers made of an AlGaN material having a different band gap from the first layers, the first and second layers being alternately stacked,

the buffer is electrically insulating and electron conduction does not occur in the buffer, and

an average C concentration of the second superlattice laminate is 1×

10¹⁸/cm³ or more.

2. The Group III nitride epitaxial laminate substrate according to claim 1, wherein each one set of the first AlN layer and the second GaN layer in the first superlattice laminate has a thickness of 24 nm or less, and each of the first AlN layers has a thickness of 4 nm or less.

3. The Group III nitride epitaxial laminate substrate according to claim 2, wherein each one set of the first AlN layer and the second GaN layer in the first superlattice laminate has a thickness of less than 10.5 nm, and each of the first AlN layers has a thickness of less than 4 nm.

4. The Group III nitride epitaxial laminate substrate according to claim 1, wherein the first layers in the second superlattice laminate are made of an AlN material, and the second layers are made of an AlxGayN (0<

x<

1, 0<

y<

1, x+y=1) material.

5. The Group III nitride epitaxial laminate substrate according to claim 1, wherein the number of sets of the first layers and the second layers in the second superlattice laminate is in the range of 40 to 300.

6. The Group III nitride epitaxial laminate substrate according to claim 1, wherein a direction of current flow is in a lateral direction.

7. The Group III nitride epitaxial laminate substrate according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a Si single crystal substrate.