Method for producing group III nitride crystal

• US 8,847,363 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2013
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Inventors: Uematsu, Koji, Osada, Hideki, Nakahata, Seiji, Fujiwara, Shinsuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Maldonado, Julio J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hossain, Moazzam
• Application Number:
  US13/953,729
• Publication Number:
  US 20130337632A1
• Time in Patent Office: 428 Days
• Field of Search: 438/503, 438/492, 438/46, 438/47, 438/479, 438/938, 438/460, 257/615, 257/627, 257/628, 257/E21.09, 257/E21.121, 257/E21.113, 257/E21.463, 257/E21.108, 257/E21.109, 257/E21.117, 257/E21.119, 257/E29.089, 257/E33.005, 257/E29.008, 257/E29.004, 148/33, 117/58, 117/63, 117/94, 117/95, 117/101, 117/952
• US Class Current: 257/615
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 21/0632 with gallium, indium or thallium
• CPC Class Codes: C01P 2002/90 Other crystal-structural characteristics not specified above
• CPC Class Codes: C01P 2006/12 Surface area
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/403 AIII-nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/406 Gallium nitride
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 33/06 Joining of crystals
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02389 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0243 Surface structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02433 Crystal orientation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0254 Nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02609 Crystal orientation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0262 Reduction or decomposition of gaseous compounds, e.g. CVD
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02658 Pretreatments cleaning in general H01L21/02041
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/045 by their particular orientation of crystalline planes
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/16 with a particular crystal structure or orientation, e.g. polycrystalline, amorphous or porous
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/32 containing nitrogen

Abstract

A method for producing a Group III nitride crystal includes the steps of cutting a plurality of Group III nitride crystal substrates 10p and 10q having a major surface from a Group III nitride bulk crystal 1, the major surfaces 10pm and 10qm having a plane orientation with an off-angle of five degrees or less with respect to a crystal-geometrically equivalent plane orientation selected from the group consisting of {20−21}, {20−2−1}, {22−41}, and {22−4−1}, transversely arranging the substrates 10p and 10q adjacent to each other such that the major surfaces 10pm and 10qm of the substrates 10p and 10q are parallel to each other and each [0001] direction of the substrates 10p and 10q coincides with each other, and growing a Group III nitride crystal 20 on the major surfaces 10pm and 10qm of the substrates 10p and 10q.

Claims

1. A Group III nitride crystal satisfying:

a main plane of plane orientation being any one of {20-21}, {20-2-1}, {22-41}, and {22-4-1}; and

at least one of either

a hydrogen-atom concentration of between 6×

10¹⁶ cm<sup>−

3</sup> and 1×

10¹⁸ cm<sup>−

3</sup> inclusive, and

a carbon-atom concentration of between 1×

10¹⁶ cm<sup>−

3</sup> and 1×

10¹⁸ cm<sup>−

3</sup> inclusive.

2. A Group III nitride crystal recited in claim 1, satisfying at least one of either:

a hydrogen-atom concentration of between 1×

10¹⁷ cm<sup>−

3</sup> and 9×

10¹⁷ cm<sup>−

3</sup> inclusive; and

a carbon-atom concentration of between 5×

10¹⁶ cm<sup>−

3</sup> and 9×

10¹⁷ cm<sup>−

3</sup> inclusive.

3. A Group III nitride crystal recited in claim 1, satisfying at least one of either:

a hydrogen-atom concentration of between 2×

10¹⁷ cm<sup>−

3</sup> and 7×

10¹⁷ cm<sup>−

3</sup> inclusive; and

a carbon-atom concentration of between 9×

10¹⁶ cm<sup>−

3</sup> and 7×

10¹⁷ cm<sup>−

3</sup> inclusive.