Semiconductor material doping

• US 9,368,580 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2011
• Issued: 06/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sensor Electronic Technology Incorporated (Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sensor Electronic Technology Incorporated (Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Shatalov, Maxim S., Gaska, Remigijus, Yang, Jinwei, Shur, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Fahmy, Wael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Salerno, Sarah
• Application Number:
  US13/162,908
• Publication Number:
  US 20110253975A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,824 Days
• Field of Search: 257/13, 257/15, 257/E33.05
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 10/00 Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 20/00 Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/122 Single quantum well structures single heterojunctions, couples of materials H01L29/165, H01L29/205, H01L29/225, H01L29/267
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/2003 Nitride compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/201 including two or more compounds , e.g. alloys H01L29/2006 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/04 with a quantum effect structure or superlattice, e.g. tunnel junction
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/32 containing nitrogen
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/2009 by using electron barrier layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/3216 quantum well or superlattice cladding layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/34333 with a well layer based on Ga(In)N or Ga(In)P, e.g. blue laser

Abstract

A solution for designing and/or fabricating a structure including a quantum well and an adjacent barrier is provided. A target band discontinuity between the quantum well and the adjacent barrier is selected to coincide with an activation energy of a dopant for the quantum well and/or barrier. For example, a target valence band discontinuity can be selected such that a dopant energy level of a dopant in the adjacent barrier coincides with a valence energy band edge for the quantum well and/or a ground state energy for free carriers in a valence energy band for the quantum well. Additionally, a target doping level for the quantum well and/or adjacent barrier can be selected to facilitate a real space transfer of holes across the barrier. The quantum well and the adjacent barrier can be formed such that the actual band discontinuity and/or actual doping level(s) correspond to the relevant target(s).

Claims

1. A method of fabricating a structure, the method comprising:

selecting a target valence band discontinuity between a quantum well and an immediately adjacent barrier in the structure using a dopant energy level of a barrier dopant in the barrier, wherein the dopant energy level is substantially aligned with a ground state energy for free carriers in a valence energy band for the quantum well;

selecting a target thickness of each of the quantum well and the barrier using an estimated characteristic size of a wave function for the corresponding dopant in the barrier such that the target thickness is less than the characteristic size;

selecting a target quantum well doping level for a quantum well dopant in the quantum well and a target barrier doping level for the barrier dopant in the adjacent barrier to facilitate a real space transfer of holes across the barrier; and

forming the quantum well and the adjacent barrier in the structure having an actual valence band discontinuity corresponding to the target valence band discontinuity, an actual thickness corresponding to the target thickness, an actual quantum well doping level corresponding to the target quantum well doping level, and an actual barrier doping level corresponding to the target barrier doping level.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the quantum well and the adjacent barrier is formed using a distinct group III nitride material.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the quantum well or the adjacent barrier is formed of a group III nitride material comprising Boron.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the distinct group III nitride material for the quantum well and the adjacent barrier are p-type materials selected from a group consisting of:

AlGaN, AlGaInN, AlInN, GaBN, AlBN, AlGaBN, and AlInGaBN.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the quantum well or the adjacent barrier comprises a graded composition.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming includes modulation doping the quantum well by varying a p-dopant level within the quantum well.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the structure comprises a short period superlattice comprising a plurality of periods, each period including a quantum well and a barrier.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of:

a width or a group III nitride composition of at least one of;

a quantum well or a barrier within each period in the short period superlattice changes in a direction substantially perpendicular to a long axis of the plurality of periods.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the quantum well and the adjacent barrier comprise at least one of:

spontaneous polarizations having opposite signs or strain-induced polarizations having opposite signs.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the structure comprises one of:

a light emitting diode or a laser including a superlattice layer, wherein the superlattice layer includes the quantum well and the adjacent barrier and is at least partially transparent to radiation produced by the structure.

11. A device comprising:

a radiation generating structure; and

a superlattice layer at least partially transparent to radiation generated by the radiation generating structure, wherein the superlattice layer comprises;

a quantum well having a quantum well doping level for a quantum well dopant and a thickness less than a characteristic size of a wave function for the quantum well dopant; and

an adjacent barrier having a barrier doping level for a barrier dopant and a thickness corresponding to a characteristic size of a wave function for the quantum well dopant, wherein a valence band discontinuity between the quantum well and the adjacent barrier in the structure, the thicknesses of the quantum well and the barrier, the quantum well doping level, and the target barrier doping level facilitate a real space transfer of holes across the barrier, and wherein a dopant energy level of the barrier dopant is substantially aligned with a ground state energy for free carriers in a valence energy band for the quantum well.

12. The device of claim 11, further comprising an electron blocking layer, wherein the electron blocking layer comprises a larger band gap than the adjacent barrier.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the electron blocking layer comprises a p-type graded composition.

14. The device of claim 11, further comprising a p-type metal contact to the superlattice layer, wherein the metal contact at least partially reflects the radiation generated by the radiation generating structure.

15. The device of claim 11, further comprising a p-type metal contact to the superlattice layer, wherein the metal contact is at least partially transparent to the radiation generated by the radiation generating structure.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the metal contact comprises one of:

a Schottky contact, a leaky Schottky contact, or a rectifying contact.

17. The device of claim 11, further comprising a contact to the superlattice layer at least partially formed of graphene.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the contact comprises:

a graphene sub-layer; and

a metal layer directly adjacent to the graphene sub-layer.

19. The device of claim 11, further comprising:

a transparent adhesion layer; and

a p-type metal contact adjacent to the transparent adhesion layer, wherein the transparent adhesion layer is located between the metal contact and the superlattice layer.

20. The device of claim 11, wherein the radiation comprises deep ultraviolet radiation having a peak emission wavelength shorter than approximately 365 nanometers.

21. A method of fabricating a deep ultraviolet light emitting device, the method comprising:

forming a deep ultraviolet light generating structure; and

forming a superlattice layer at least partially transparent to the deep ultraviolet radiation generated by the deep ultraviolet light generating structure, wherein the forming the superlattice layer comprises;

selecting a target valence band discontinuity between a quantum well and an immediately adjacent barrier in the superlattice layer using a dopant energy level of a barrier dopant in the immediately adjacent barrier, wherein the dopant energy level coincides with a ground state energy for free carriers in a valence energy band for the quantum well;

selecting a target thickness of each of the quantum well and the barrier using an estimated characteristic size of a wave function for the corresponding dopant in the barrier such that the target thickness is less than the characteristic size;

selecting a target quantum well doping level for a quantum well dopant in the quantum well and a target barrier doping level for the barrier dopant in the barrier to facilitate a real space transfer of holes across the barrier; and

forming the quantum well and the barrier in the superlattice layer having an actual valence band discontinuity corresponding to the target valence band discontinuity, an actual thickness corresponding to the target thickness, an actual quantum well doping level corresponding to the target quantum well doping level, and an actual barrier doping level corresponding to the target barrier doping level.