US5637146A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method for the growth of nitride based semiconductors and its apparatus
Assignee: Saturn Cosmos Co Ltd
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Filing: 1995-03-30
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Granted: 1997-06-10
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Expires: 2015-03-30
Abstract
Abstract A method for the growth of semiconducting nitrides, such as GaN, InN, AlN, and their alloys, in an ultra-high vacuum chamber, wherein low energy atomic nitrogen is generated by a plasma-excited radical atom source, the atom beam is introduced to the heated substrate within a short distance, other gaseous reactants and dopants, such as TMGa, TMIn, TMAj, DEZn, CP 2 Mg, SiH 4 , and similar organmetallic and hydride sources, are injected from a circular injector located between the substrate and the atom source, and therefore large area epitaxy with high growth rate is obtained.
Inventors
- 👤 Jen-Inn Chyi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 22:58
CPC Classifications
C; C30; C30B; C30B29/00; C30B29/10; C30B29/40; C30B29/403; C30B25/00; C30B25/02; C30B25/10; C30B25/105; C30B29/406; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T117/00; Y10T117/10; Y10T117/1004; Y10T117/1008
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
104 words
An apparatus for growing nitride based compound semiconductor epitaxial layers on at least one substrate; said apparatus comprising an ultra-high vacuum chamber including: a substrate manipulator for holding said at least one substrate, an atom source facing said substrate manipulator, said atom source being separated from said surface of said substrate manipulator at a distance of less than 15 cm for generating a flux of nitrogen atoms towards said at least one substrate, and at least one gas injector located between said substrate manipulator and said atom source for introducing other reactant and dopant gases into said chamber towards said at least one substrate.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
104 words
An apparatus for growing nitride based compound semiconductor epitaxial layers on at least one substrate; said apparatus comprising an ultra-high vacuum chamber including: a substrate manipulator for holding said at least one substrate, an atom source facing said substrate manipulator, said atom source being separated from said surface of said substrate manipulator at a distance of less than 15 cm for generating a flux of nitrogen atoms towards said at least one substrate, and at least one gas injector located between said substrate manipulator and said atom source for introducing other reactant and dopant gases into said chamber towards said at least one substrate.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said substrate manipulator, said at least one gas injector, and said atom source are arranged such that said substrate manipulator faces upward.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
39 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said substrate manipulator is supplied with at least one of a DC or a RF bias voltage to neutralize ions and reduce damage to the epitaxial layers caused by high energy nitrogen ions.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
31 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said at least one gas injector comprises at least two gas injectors, each for introducing respective gases to prevent cross contamination between said respective gases.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said at least one gas injector has the shape of a ring.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
20 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said at least one gas injector has the shape of a pair of semicircles.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said at least one gas injector has the shape of four quadrants.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said atom source is separated from said substrate manipulator at a distance of about 10 cm.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
16 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said nitride based compound semiconductor epitaxial layers are GaN based.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
12 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said atom source includes an aperture.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
15 words
The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said aperture has a diameter of about 10 cm.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said atom source is arranged coaxial with said substrate manipulator.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said atom source generates said flux of nitrogen atoms within a half angle of about 15°.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
15 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said atom source is a RF excited plasma source.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
39 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said atom source and said at least one gas injector are arranged such that increasing said flux of nitrogen atoms does not decrease the mean free path of said reactant and dopant gases.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
20 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said substrate manipulator includes a heat source for heating said at least one substrate.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said at least one gas injector is coaxial with said substrate manipulator.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said at least one gas injector is located about 7 cm from said substrate manipulator.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said at least one gas injector includes a plurality of openings for introducing said reactant and dopant gases.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said at least one gas injector has a diameter of about 13 cm.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
20 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said atom source generates nitrogen atoms having an energy of less than 1 eV.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said atom source is arranged parallel to the surface of said substrate manipulator.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said substrate manipulator, said at least one gas injector and said atom source are arranged such that said substrate manipulator faces downward.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2000-06-09 | 2000-12-09 | 2001-06-10 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2004-06-09 | 2004-12-09 | 2005-06-10 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2008-06-09 | 2008-12-09 | 2009-06-10 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |