U.S. patent application number 12/073146 was filed with the patent office on 2008-06-26 for device and method to producing single crystals by vapour deposition.
This patent application is currently assigned to NORSTEL AB. Invention is credited to Alexandre Ellison, Erik Janzen, Peter Raback.
Application Number | 20080149020 12/073146 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32965050 |
Filed Date | 2008-06-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080149020 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Janzen; Erik ; et
al. |
June 26, 2008 |
Device and method to producing single crystals by vapour
deposition
Abstract
A method and a device to grow from the vapor phase, a single
crystal of either SiC, a group III-nitride, or alloys thereof, at a
growth rate and for a period of time sufficient to produce a
crystal of preferably several centimeters length. The diameter of
the growing crystal may be controlled. To prevent the formation of
undesirable polycrystalline deposits on surfaces in the downstream
vicinity of the single crystal growth area, the local
supersaturation of at least one component of the material grown is
lowered by introducing a separate gas flow comprising at least one
halogen element or a combination of said halogen and hydrogen
species.
Inventors: |
Janzen; Erik; (Borensberg,
SE) ; Raback; Peter; (Vaasa, FI) ; Ellison;
Alexandre; (Linkoping, SE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
VENABLE LLP
P.O. BOX 34385
WASHINGTON
DC
20043-9998
US
|
Assignee: |
NORSTEL AB
Linkoping
SE
|
Family ID: |
32965050 |
Appl. No.: |
12/073146 |
Filed: |
February 29, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10830047 |
Apr 23, 2004 |
7361222 |
|
|
12073146 |
|
|
|
|
60465800 |
Apr 28, 2003 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
117/89 ;
117/204 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C30B 29/403 20130101;
C30B 23/002 20130101; Y10T 117/1016 20150115; C30B 29/36
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
117/89 ;
117/204 |
International
Class: |
C30B 23/06 20060101
C30B023/06; C30B 11/00 20060101 C30B011/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 24, 2003 |
SE |
0301225-9 |
Claims
1. A method for growing large, single polytype, compound crystals
of one of a) silicon carbide, b) a group III-nitride c) alloys
thereof, the method comprising: providing, in a heated growth
enclosure comprising a seed crystal, a mixture of vapor species
containing at least the elements of the compound crystal, in such a
way that, at least one of the elements is continuously fed into the
enclosure through an opening upstream of a growth surface of said
crystal, providing a separate opening downstream of the growth
surface of said crystal to remove a continuous flow of remaining
vapor species not having deposited under conditions yielding to
growth of said crystal, providing an additional gas flow containing
at least one halogen element, in such a way that, said gas flow is
heated and decreases a deposition rate of solid phases downstream
of the growth surface of said crystal.
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: heating at
least one region of the growth enclosure in the upstream vicinity
of said crystal to a temperature of at least 1900.degree. C., and
preferably in the range of 2000 to 2600.degree. C., continuously
feeding at least a silicon gas precursor such as silane, a
chlorosilane or a methylsilane, and either an hydrocarbon gas
precursor or a combination thereof with vapor sublimed from a solid
or liquid source towards said crystal, providing said additional
etch gas flow containing preferably at least Cl or F.
3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: providing
said additional etch gas flow consisting of chlorine (Cl2) or
hydrogen chloride (HCl) or hydrogen (H2) or fluorine (F2) or a
mixture thereof.
4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: heating at
least one region of the growth enclosure in the upstream vicinity
of said crystal to a temperature of at least 1100.degree. C., and
preferably in the range of 1200 to 2200.degree. C., continuously
feeding at least a gallium or aluminum metalorganic precursor and a
nitrogen containing gas towards said crystal, providing said
additional etch gas flow containing preferably at least Cl or
I.
5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: providing
said additional etch gas flow consisting of chlorine (Cl2) or
hydrogen chloride (HCl) or hydrogen (H2) or hydrogen iodide (HI) or
iodine (I2) or a mixture thereof.
6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: placing the
seed on a seed holder being mounted on a rotating and pulled shaft
and feeding said additional etch gas flow through the shaft to be
delivered downstream of the growth surface of said crystal.
7. The method according to claims 1, further comprising: feeding
said additional etch gas flow into at least one channel emerging
from a heated crucible into a region upstream of an initial
position of the seed crystal before it is pulled for a substantial
amount of time.
8. The method according to claim 1, where said additional etch gas
flow is fed into a conduit formed between an outer heater and an
inner crucible, said inner crucible extending along a symmetry axis
parallel to said crystal growth direction and terminating in the
immediate upstream vicinity of the initial seed crystal
position.
9. The method according to claim 1, where a carrier gas is
continuously fed with the vapor species mixture containing at least
the elements of the compound crystal, said carrier gas being either
hydrogen, nitrogen, helium or argon or a blend thereof.
10. The method according to claim 1, where a halogen to hydrogen
ratio of the gases of any of the individual additional etch gas
flows is adjusted to a value preventing formation of solid deposits
along the surface desired to be maintained free of solid
deposits.
11. The method according to claim 1, where said additional etch gas
flow rate and its delivery means are used to control the crystal
diameter, either keeping the crystal substantially cylindrical or
allowing the crystal to expand during the process.
12. A device for producing large, single polytype, compound
crystals of one of a) silicon carbide, b) a group III-nitride c)
alloys thereof, the device comprising: a susceptor having
circumferential walls surrounding a room for receiving a seed
crystal, means for continuously feeding in a vapor state or in a
liquid state at least one of the elements of said crystal through
one or several conducts upstream of a growth surface of said
crystal, means for continuously removing from the room the flow of
remaining vapor species not having deposited under conditions
yielding to growth of said crystal, while maintaining a predefined
pressure in the growth room, means for heating the susceptor and
thereby the seed crystal to a predetermined process temperature the
device further comprising one of more of: means to continuously
feed and control an etching gas mixture comprising an halogen and
hydrogen into a conduit of a rotating shaft supporting a seed
crystal holder and said conduit communicating with a region
downstream of the seed crystal, means to continuously feed and
control an etching gas mixture comprising an halogen and hydrogen
into conduits designed to open into a downstream room of the
susceptor, said downstream room being in contact with an upstream
room of the susceptor extending until the initial position of the
seed holder, means to continuously feed and control an etching gas
mixture comprising an halogen and hydrogen into a circumferential
conduit delimited by the inner wall of the upstream room of the
susceptor and the outer wall of an inner crucible, said inner
crucible extending along a symmetry axis parallel to said crystal
growth direction and terminating in the immediate upstream vicinity
of the initial seed crystal position.
13. The device according to claim 12, wherein said elements for
growth of said compound crystal are supplied jointly or separately
by a silane, chlorosilane or methylsilane gas source and by an
hydrocarbon gas source, or by a metalorganic gallium or aluminum
containing gas source and a nitrogen containing gas source.
14. The device according to claim 12, further comprising means to
independently adjust and vary over time the heating energy applied
to the downstream susceptor room and the upstream susceptor room,
said heating energy being supplied either by RF induction or by
resistive heating or by a combination thereof.
15. The device according to claim 12, further comprising means to
vary in a controlled manner over time the amount and ratio of
halogen and hydrogen elements in the etching gas mixture.
16. A device for producing large, single polytype, compound
crystals of one of a) silicon carbide, b) a group III-nitride c)
alloys thereof, the device comprising: a crucible having
circumferential walls surrounding a room for receiving a seed
crystal in its upper part and a solid source, for example a powder,
containing the elements of the compound semiconductor to be grown,
means for heating the susceptor and establishing a temperature
between the source material and the seed crystal, effusion openings
in the crucible, and means to feed or diffuse a continuous flow of
a gas mixture containing at least one halogen element in the
immediate vicinity of said effusion opening so as to maintain over
a desired amount of time said opening free of solid deposits
resulting from the condensation of any vapors sublimed from the
source material.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention describes a device and a method to
grow single crystals by high temperature deposition from a vapor
phase. In particular the device can be used to produce large and
high quality bulk crystals of a) silicon carbide, b) a group
III-nitride, for example GaN or AlN, or c) an alloy of SiC and a
group III-nitride.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART
[0002] Wide band-gap semiconducting crystals such as silicon
carbide (SiC), group III-nitrides e.g. gallium nitride (GaN) and
aluminum nitride (AlN), offer several attractive electrical and
physical properties for fast switching power devices and
optoelectronic devices. These wide band gap semiconductors and
their alloys also differentiate themselves from other important
semiconductors, such as silicon and gallium arsenide, by the fact
that they cannot at present be directly grown from a melt or a
liquid solution under practically and economically interesting
conditions. Instead, ingots of SiC, GaN or AlN are usually grown
from the vapor phase, by the epitaxial deposition of a
supersaturated vapor flux onto a seed crystal.
[0003] In the case of SiC, the first method developed to produce
semiconductor grade SiC crystals (also called ingots or boules) of
diameter and length sufficient to manufacture wafers for device
applications, is the sublimation method, also known as physical
vapor transport (PVT). The core concept of this method has been
introduced by Lely in 1955 (Berichte der Deutschen Keramische, Ges.
32-8 p. 229 (1955) and has been modified in 1978 by Tairov and
Tsvetkov (J. Cryst. Growth 52, p. 146 (1981) to produce consistent
semiconductor grade SiC crystals where key properties such as the
polytype and the growth rate of the crystal can be controlled.
Briefly, the method is based on the use of a sealed crucible in
which a temperature gradient is established between a high
temperature zone, where a solid source material such as a SiC
powder is sublimed, and a lower temperature region in which the
sublimed species crystallize on a seed crystal.
[0004] The sublimation method is at present also developed by
different groups for the growth of AlN and GaN bulk crystals, while
hydride vapor phase epitaxy and liquid phase techniques are also
being investigated for the growth of bulk GaN crystals.
[0005] The sublimation method allows today the production of SiC
wafers of diameters of 50 and up to 100 mm with entry quality and
cost sufficient to enable industrial manufacturing of devices such
as LEDs and Schottky diodes.
[0006] Despite these achievements, there are however some
challenges and limits in the sublimation technique. For example, as
long as no continuous feeding mechanism can be devised, the initial
mass of the feedstock limits the duration of a continuous crystal
growth process and thus the crystal length. One difficulty may, for
example, be the need to control a changing sublimation rate and a
drift of the sublimed species stoichiometry during growth.
Instabilities in the source material supply and drifts of the
temperature distribution in the source feedstock, for example,
cause drifts of the growth rate and of the incorporation of doping
species. If not properly controlled, such drifts tend to adversely
affect the yield of the crystal growth process.
[0007] These challenges may be solved by further improvements of
the sublimation process, and in the case of SiC, the capability of
the technique to produce wafers on a relatively large scale, is an
indication of its industrial potential.
[0008] An alternative industrially interesting technique, which
does provide a continuous control of the source material supply
together with the potential of growing long crystals from the vapor
phase has been introduced in 1995 by U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,985. This
technique is generically described as High Temperature Chemical
Vapor Deposition (HTCVD) and differs from sealed PVT configuration
by making use of an open hot-wall configuration offering an
accurate control in the supply of the source and doping materials.
In particular, at least one of the components of the grown material
is continuously supplied in the form of a regulated gas flow and
fed into a high temperature region through an inlet opening.
Additionally, an exhaust is provided downstream of the
crystallization region to control the gas flow along the growing
crystal surfaces and exhaust the by-products resulting from the
crystallization process. The technique may be described as Chemical
Vapor Deposition (CVD) owing to its conceptual similarity with the
CVD techniques used to grow epitaxial layers of 0.1 to 200 .mu.m
thickness. However, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,985 and No.
6,048,398, in order to reach growth rates economically interesting
for producing large bulk crystals, the HTCVD technique uses an
order of magnitude higher source gases feed rates and several
hundreds degrees higher temperatures than normal CVD processes.
[0009] For example, in a device similar to the one of the first
figures of U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,985 (FIG. 1), in the specific case
of SiC, by heating the seed crystal (13) to a temperature of
2250.degree. C. and feeding via inlet 15 a gas mixture containing
0.3 L/min of silane and 0.1 L/min of ethylene diluted in a carrier
gas, a growth rate of 0.5 mm/h is obtained.
[0010] However, when carrying out the method for several hours, it
is experimentally observed that SiC also crystallizes around the
seed crystal substrate (13), onto the holder (12) made for example
of graphite, and on the exposed surfaces of the exhaust holes (14)
in FIG. 1. On the surfaces in the immediate vicinity of the seed
crystal (13), SiC crystallizes in a dense polycrystalline solid
comprising mainly 6H and 15R polytypes. Further downstream in the
exhaust holes 14, SiC crystallizes in somewhat less dense
polycrystalline grains, often needle shaped and of the 3C polytype.
The dense polycrystalline deposition can occur at a rate
approximately twice that of the single crystal crystallization
rate. Further downstream, as the temperatures decreases and the
supersaturation increases, the less dense polycrystalline deposits
grow even faster, eventually obstructing the gases outlet path
within 2 to 4 hours. Once the exhaust path downstream of the seed
crystal is sufficiently obstructed, a pressure difference rapidly
builds up between the sources gases inlet 15 and the exhaust port
16. If the pressure differential is allowed to reach a few mbars, a
rapid deterioration of the polytype and the structural quality of
the single crystal occurs. The source gases can also start to flow
along a path of higher conductance than the one of the obstructed
exhaust 14, for example through any porous insulating material such
as 15 in FIG. 1. The thermal properties of the insulating material
are then rapidly deteriorating due to reaction with silicon, which
forces the growth to be interrupted. Alternatively, when the
exhaust path 14 becomes obstructed under conditions where the
source gases are not allowed to find a path of higher conductance,
a very rapid blocking of the gases inlet conduct takes place by
polycrystalline silicon deposition. In this case, the growth also
needs to be interrupted as no source gases can be supplied to the
single crystal.
[0011] The parasitic deposition of polycrystalline solid phases
thus leads to a catastrophic runaway of the system, forcing to
terminate the growth process before a crystal of a desired length
is produced.
[0012] A tentative solution to solve this problem has been
presented in the PCT application WO 98/14644. In the example of SiC
crystal growth, this application describes a device where the Si
and C containing process gases are separated from the main heating
element 7 in FIG. 2 by a thin inner cylinder 25. A blanketing inert
gas is forced to flow between the main heating element and the
inner cylinder, the inner cylinder ending at a distance
approximately corresponding to the single crystal growth front.
Downstream of the single crystal growth front, the blanketing gas
guided along the walls of the main heating cylinder, is meant to
prevent or substantially slow down deposition of polycrystalline
SiC on the downstream inner walls and to slow down growth of
polycrystalline SiC on the seed holder 13, so that the outlet path
31 remains free. A similar solution is presented in the European
patent application no. 787,822 A1where an inert blanketing gas
flowing parallel to the process gases stream is presented for a
device operating between 800 and 2500.degree. C.
[0013] It has been found that this solution, as presented in or
derived from these documents, does not solve the problem described
above to an extent sufficient to grow SiC or other crystals of a
length more than a few mm. Experiments using an inert blanketing
gas, such as helium or argon, showed that too rapid polycrystalline
deposition still occurred on the downstream regions of the single
crystal growth front. When helium is used as blanketing gas, an
even higher polycrystals growth rate is easily obtained, whereas
the use of argon only pushes the deposition region a short distance
downstream. This unexpected result can be explained by an
additional flux of carbon carried by the blanketing gas when it
passes along a graphite made uncoated heating element and by the
differing thermal conductivity of the two considered gases. In a
silicon rich exhaust gas mixture, any additional carbon supply
leads to an increase of the downstream growth of polycrystalline
SiC. A similar phenomenon is observed when using a heating element
7 coated with SiC. To circumvent this, it will be obvious to a
person skilled in the art to use, as an improvement, a heating
element and guide coated with a metal carbide such as for example
TaC or NbC. Preferably the exposed surfaces will also have a low
surface roughness to offer less nucleation sites to polycrystalline
SiC. Under typical process conditions leading to a single crystal
growth rate of 0.5 to 1 mm/h, it is however observed that such a
design only leads to a further downstream location of the
uncontrollable polycrystalline SiC deposition. This small
improvement of the blocking time is not sufficient to continuously
grow several cm long crystals.
[0014] In other prior art devices designed to grow SiC crystals
where at least one component of the material to be grown is fed as
a gas and the by-products of the process are exhausted via an
opening in the crucible, no solution to parasitic deposition of the
polycrystalline form of the material to be grown is mentioned. For
example, European patent 554,047 B1teaches the growth of SiC
crystals by a device using silane and propane as source gases which
react in a first reaction zone to form SiC particles to be
subsequently evaporated in a lower pressure sublimation zone. The
by-products of the crystallization process and the carrier gas are
just said to be exhausted through an outlet. In U.S. Pat. No.
5,985,024, filed in 1997, a device is disclosed where silicon vapor
is supplied from a heated silicon melt and an hydrocarbon gas such
as propane is supplied into the growth zone through a gas supply
inlet. In this device, the excess gas downstream of the growing SiC
ingot is also just said to be removed from the growth zone by means
of a passageway, or outlet channel. As a decreasing temperature
distribution is required in or next to the seed holder to promote
the growth of the single SiC crystal, it is believed that such
passageways will inevitably by subject to a catastrophic blocking
by either polycrystalline SiC, pyrolytic graphite or
polycrystalline Si deposition. A similar concept is described in
U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,398 filed in 1995 where a molten silicon
feedstock in combination with a hydrocarbon gas can be used as
source gases. The excess gases are exhausted downstream of a seed
crystal holder which is rotated and pulled as the single crystal
growth proceeds. Despite a beneficial cleaning action of
polycrystalline deposits induced by the rotation of the seed
holder, such a mechanical cleaning induces stresses in either the
rotation mechanism or the seed holder and the elements coming in
contact with it. This can lead to mechanical failure of any of the
above mentioned parts.
[0015] In US patent application no. 2002/0056411 A1, a high
temperature vapor deposition apparatus to produce SiC ingots is
discussed where the pressure of the gas mixture in the growth
region is set higher than that of the exhaust gas mixture to
increase the yield of the process. This pressure difference can be
achieved by designing the apparatus so that the conductance of the
inlet is made higher than the one of the outlet. After a low
conductance situated downstream of the single crystal growth zone,
the decreased pressure of the exhaust gas mixture causes, at
constant temperature, a decrease of the deposition rate of
parasitic polycrystalline material. This slows down in any
catastrophic blocking along the path downstream of the conductance
reducing region of the exhaust. However, as pointed out in the
cited application, as the temperature decreases along this
downstream path, deposits will again accumulate in a given region,
described as gas trap. Preventing these deposits would allow to
continue the process for a longer time and to produce longer
crystals. Moreover, in this application, the system must be
operated at a reduced pressure at least in the downstream part of
the conductance reducing region. It can be desirable to instead
operate the device at substantially atmospheric pressure, both in
the growth zone and in the outlet zone, as this can favor both
higher yields and lower cost of the complete system.
[0016] It may be noted, that the origin of the problem described
above is in a sense fundamental, even if the maximum mass transport
of Si-species is arranged at the single crystal growth front. As
the growth takes place at high temperature to promote high growth
rates and high crystalline quality, to prevent the surface from
being graphitized, an amount of Si-vapor at least equal to the
equilibrium Si pressure of the heated crystal surface is
continuously exhausted downstream of the growth front.
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0017] Preferred embodiments of the invention provide a method and
a device to grow at a high temperature in a heated room (called
susceptor or crucible), from the vapor phase, a single crystal of
either SiC, a group III-nitride, or alloys thereof, at a growth
rate and for a period of time sufficient to produce a crystal of
several millimeters, or preferably several centimeters, length.
[0018] In particular, it is an object of preferred embodiments of
the invention to slow down or eliminate the formation of
polycrystalline and other solid deposits downstream of the single
crystal crystallization area to avoid a partial or complete
obstruction of a susceptor exhaust path by a gas mixture fed to the
crystallization area. A correlated purpose of preferred embodiments
of the invention is to control the diameter of the growing single
crystal and prevent growth of polycrystalline material around it,
thereby preventing structural defects generation during either the
high temperature growth phase or the subsequent cooling phase.
[0019] A further object of preferred embodiments of the invention
is to decrease the concentration of unwanted metallic impurities in
the growing single crystal by removing from the vapor phase active
metallic elements released by parts heated downstream of the
crystallization area.
[0020] To prevent the formation of undesirable polycrystalline
deposits on surfaces in the vicinity and in any region downstream
of the single crystal growth area, preferred embodiments of the
invention propose to lower the local supersaturation of at least
one component of the material grown by introducing, in the vicinity
of these surfaces, a separate gas flow having the chemical property
of etching the deposits. In the case of SiC or GaN crystal growth,
a gas flow containing at least one halogen element such as hydrogen
chloride, chorine or a mixture of hydrogen and either chlorine or
hydrogen chloride is preferably used as etchant. As will become
apparent from the detailed description of preferred embodiments of
the invention, other gases or gas mixtures containing halogens such
as Br, F or I may also be used for a similar purpose. The etching
gas may also be distributed in such a manner to actively control
the shape of the growing crystal. Further preferred features and
advantages of the invention are made apparent and described in the
following drawings and description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates a prior-art HTCVD growth device.
[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates another prior-art HTCVD growth
device.
[0023] FIG. 3 is a cross section of a device according to an
embodiment of the invention.
[0024] FIG. 4 is a cross section of a modified device according to
an embodiment of the invention.
[0025] FIG. 5 shows the ratio of supersaturation of the SiC (top
graph), carbon (middle) and silicon (bottom) condensed species with
a [Cl]/[H] ratio of 0.5.
[0026] FIG. 6 shows the ratio of supersaturation of the SiC, carbon
and silicon condensed species with a [Cl]/[H] ratio of 1.2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0027] FIG. 3 schematically shows an improved device comprising a
growth chamber of a HTCVD system based on the concepts described in
the U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,704,985, 6,039,812 and 6,048,398. This device
will also be described here as preferred embodiments of the device
of the invention may have a similar principle construction as in
the above mentioned documents but differ in the particular features
and improvements described herein. The device of FIG. 3 is suited
to grow single crystals of SiC or of a group-III nitride. Some
parts are for the sake of simplicity schematized and it is obvious
to a person skilled in the technical field that the device also
comprises elements such as mass flow controllers, valves, pumps,
control electronics, purifiers, a scrubbing system and other
elements, as is common practice in CVD systems.
[0028] The high temperature chemical vapor deposition device
comprises a casing 1 constituted, for example, of a single wall
quartz tube 2 tightly mounted between a lower flange 3 and an upper
flange 4. Each flange comprises a fixed casing 3a and 4a and a
movable lower 3b and upper 4b lids which can be lowered or lifted,
respectively, to access the interior of the casing 1 for loading
and unloading the hot-zone of the device. The casing 1 may
alternatively be constituted by a double wall water-cooled quartz
tube or can be surrounded by a water cooled stainless steel casing
(not shown). The interior of the casing 1 comprises a heater 7,
also called susceptor or crucible in the literature, and may be
surrounded by a low conductivity thermally insulating material 10
such as carbon felt or other forms or materials compatible with the
temperature range of the process and its heating means. The heater
7 may be axis symmetric and may be made of a material compatible
with high temperatures such as uncoated or coated graphite, a metal
carbide or nitride, or a combination thereof. The heater may be of
cylindrical shape, however, the diameter of the heating element may
axially vary to converge in certain regions or diverge in other
regions to achieve a specific gas flow pattern or a specific
spatial temperature distribution in the heater 7 and in the
vicinity of the crystal holder 12. The susceptor 7 may be heated
either by RF induction through a coil 11, or by resistive heating,
to a temperature above 1900.degree. C.(and preferably in the range
of 2000.degree. C. to 2600.degree. C.) for SiC crystal growth, or
above 1200.degree. C. (at least 1100.degree. C. and preferably in
the range of 1200.degree. C. to 2200.degree. C.) for GaN crystal
growth. A seed crystal 13 is mounted by mechanical or chemical
means to a seed holder 12 which is physically attached to a shaft
16 having at least one hollow conduit through which the temperature
of the seed holder can be measured by an optical pyrometer or
thermocouple (not shown). To obtain a preferential crystallization
on the seed crystal surface rather than on the surface 24 of the
susceptor 7, the seed holder may be maintained at a lower
temperature than the surface 24 and upper part of room 33, thereby
establishing a temperature gradient. The crystallization process
may be carried out by feeding a vapor phase containing the elements
of the material to be grown through the heated susceptor 7 towards
the seed crystal. The elements amounts of the crystal to be grown
may be chosen so that the heated vapor becomes supersaturated when
reaching the crystallization front, here called the growth front
25a. In the specific case of SiC growth, the susceptor 7 may be
heated to temperatures ranging from 2100 to 2600.degree. C. while
the seed holder may be maintained at temperatures ranging from 2000
to 2400.degree. C., depending on the source material feeding rate
and its C/Si ratio, the polytype and the crystallographic
orientation of the seed crystal. A preferred source material for
growth of SiC ingots consists of a SiHxCly gas or liquid (x=0 to 4,
y=0 to 4) and a hydrocarbon such as methane, ethylene or propane.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,812, the Si containing gas or
liquid is fed through an inner conduit 22. The hydrocarbon gas may
either be fed in the same inner conduit 22 or in a concentric
annular conduit 23 surrounding the inner conduit 22 and delimited
by a water cooled stainless steel flange 21 part of the lower lid
3b. A carrier gas such as hydrogen, helium, argon or a mixture
thereof is also fed into conduit 23 and exhausted downstream of the
growth front 25a via an outlet channel 14. The feeding means for
each precursor and gas, from its substantially room temperature
storage, includes mass flow controllers, valves and other
components as commonly practiced in CVD systems. The source
material may alternatively consist of a combination of gas
precursors and elements vaporized from a liquid or solid source,
stored in a lower portion of the susceptor 7a or in a separate
crucible, such as a carbon or silicon carbide powder.
[0029] Alternatively, in the case of GaN growth, a metalorganic
source such as trimethylgallium (TMG) and a nitrogen containing gas
may be used as source materials.
[0030] In order to prevent deposition of polycrystalline silicon
carbide along the surfaces 26 and 27 of the exhaust channel 14, the
device comprises additional delivery means such as channels
emerging in the vicinity of the single crystal growth zone or in
any downstream heated part exposed to Si and C containing gases. A
gas mixture having the property of chemically etching SiC may be
fed through these additional channels. It has been found that the
etching gas mixture shall in the case of SiC growth include at
least one halogen element to neutralize the Si containing vapor
species. The etching gas mixture preferably also has the property
to react with carbon containing vapor species, such as hydrogen.
Efficient etching gas mixtures providing the desired result have
been found to be gases such as chlorine (Cl2), hydrogen chloride
(HCl) or a mixture of hydrogen (H2) and hydrogen chloride or
chlorine. A gas mixture containing halogens such as fluorine (F) or
iodine (I) and hydrogen also achieves the desired etching
effect.
[0031] To provide etching rates comparable to the growth rates of
monocrystalline and polycrystalline SiC practiced in the invention
(0.5 to 2 mm/h or more), at least one part of the etching gas may
be delivered before the exhaust gases are cooled down to a
temperature 600.degree. C. lower than the temperature of the single
crystal growth front 25a. In order to maintain the exhaust path 14
free, the positioning of the etching gas mixture delivery means,
the amounts and ratio of halogen and hydrogen gases introduced
shall match the amount of Si and C containing vapor species and the
temperature of the surfaces exposed to condensation and the
conductance of the exhaust gap 14.
[0032] As shown in FIG. 3, a preferential delivery means is
realized by delivering a controlled flow of the etch gas through
the hollow core of shafts 16a and 16b into an inner delivery cavity
machined in the seed holder 12. The etch gas mixture may be allowed
to escape through channels or pores 28 located above the seed
crystal 13 and mix with the Si and C containing vapor having passed
the growth front 25a.
[0033] The etch gas mixture may be thereby heated to a temperature
similar to the seed holder temperature, typically 2000 to
2400.degree. C., and thus may very efficiently react with the Si
and C containing vapor species. It may be noted that a plurality of
delivery configurations can be used in the seed holder 12 in order
to achieve an even distribution of the etch gas. For example a
plurality of circumferential holes with a diameter ranging from 0.1
to several mm may be distributed along the outer surface 26 of the
seed holder 12. A high porosity ring may also be used, provided it
is made of a high temperature resistant material chemically inert
to the etch gas mixture (e.g. graphite when a pure halogen gas such
as F2 or Cl2 is used). An important advantage of this first
delivery means is that, as the shaft 16 is translated upwards at a
rate similar to the SiC ingot 15 growth rate, by a pulling unit
(not shown), the etch gas flow may be delivered at a fixed position
along the surface 26 of the seed holder assembly in relation to the
crystal growth front 25a. This may allow surface 27 to be
maintained free of parasitic solid deposits even when the crystal
grows to a length of several centimeters and is pulled a
corresponding height upwards. A preferential practice of the
invention includes pulling the seed holder 12 along a predetermined
axial temperature profile to maintain the temperature of the
crystallization surface 25a constant as the crystal length
increases. As the seed holder 12 is pulled along this temperature
profile, the etch gas flow rate can be ramped over time to maintain
a constant etching rate. Another advantage of this first delivery
means is that the temperature difference between the seed holder 12
and the lower heater 7a can be increased, without provoking a
higher deposition rate of polycrystalline material downstream of
the single crystal 15. This can, for example, be achieved by
lowering the RF power in the upstream turns 11a of the induction
coil, while increasing the feed rate of the etch gas mixture into
the shaft unit 16 to compensate for the higher supersaturation of
Si and C containing gases.
[0034] A second delivery means for the etch gas mixture fulfilling
the purposes of the invention comprises feeding the etch gas into a
channel in the upper part 7b of the heater surrounding the seed
crystal holder 12. The etch gas feed rate is controlled by an
external flow controller 30 and fed into the casing 4a through a
fitting connected to a quartz tube or pipe entering the upper
heater 7b at connection 31 for feeding an internal conduit 32. The
internal conduit 32 preferably has an annular shape and
communicates with exhaust channel 14 by a plurality of holes or by
a porous media. The internal conduit 32 preferably communicates
with channel 14 in a region where the deposit of polycrystalline
solid naturally takes place in the prior art devices. In the case
where the parasitic polycrystalline deposition takes place over a
wide area on the surface 26, a second or several more separate
channels 32 are machined into heater 7b to deliver appropriate etch
gas flows over the entire surfaces desired to be kept free of such
deposits. This second etch gas flow feeding system serves two
purposes. The first one is to prevent the nucleation and growth of
polycrystalline grains along surfaces 26 and 27. The etch gas flow
rate may however also be adjusted to a value higher than needed for
this sole first purpose to also etch the sides 25b of the growing
single crystal 15. The halogen to hydrogen ratio of this second gas
mixture may be adjusted to value to produce a smooth mirror-like
etch of the sides of the growing crystal 15. By varying the etch
gas flow rates, the diameter of the growing crystal is controlled.
In particular, a low etch flow allows the crystal to expand at a
radial rate determined by the chosen balance of the etch gas flow
versus the source and carrier gases feeding rate into heater 7a and
the radial temperature gradient of heater 7b. The expansion rate of
the crystal may be lowered or even cancelled to produce a
cylindrically shaped crystal by increasing the etch gas flow rate.
During this process, the shaft unit 16 is preferably rotated to
produce a uniform radial shape.
[0035] Another advantage of this second delivery means, is that in
the temperature range of preferred embodiments of the invention,
the use of an etch gas containing at least an halogen element such
as Cl forms stable chlorides with several metallic impurities which
may unintentionally be released into the source gas feed mixture.
In particular, the concentration of residual metallic impurities in
the single crystal 15 could be decreased by a factor up to 100,
below values detectable by state-of-the-art SIMS measurements, when
a small amount of Cl containing gas is allowed to diffuse to the
single crystal growth fronts 25a and 25b.
[0036] A third delivery means for the etch gas mixture fulfilling
the purposes of preferred embodiments of the invention comprises
feeding the etch gas along a circumferential gap formed between the
inner wall of heater 7a and a concentric axis symmetric inner
crucible 7c. As shown in FIG. 4, a flow of the Si and C containing
source vapor may be confined into the growth zone 33 until its flow
sweeps across the outer surface 25b of the single crystal 15 and
may be exhausted into channel 14, while the etch gas flow may be
confined in the annular gap 34 until the etch gas flow meets the
remaining Si and C containing gases in channel 14. As in the second
delivery means, this third configuration of etch gas flow allows to
both maintain surfaces 26 and 27 free from detrimental
polycrystalline deposits while it also allows to influence the
shape of the growing single crystal. A cylindrical external wall of
the inner crucible 7c will be preferred to produce an essentially
cylindrical ingot 15, while an external wall either diverging along
the etch gas flow direction can favor a concave growth front
25a.
[0037] It is in the scope of preferred embodiments of the invention
to use either first, second or third delivery means described
above, individually or in any combination. Preferred embodiments of
the invention are however best practiced by using the first
delivery mean during the entire duration of the process, which may
extend to several tens of hours, whereas second and third delivery
means may preferentially be used additionally, separately or
together, at different stages of the process. A typical example can
be a crystal diameter expansion stage based on delivery means 1 and
2 in a first stage, followed by a substantially cylindrical growth
using also means 2 with a lower etch gas flow or in combination
with delivery means 3.
[0038] It may be noted that these features can be used to achieve
the desired solution for a variety of exhaust channel 14
configurations, such as an exhaust direction opposite to the single
crystal growth direction, as in FIG. 2, or an exhaust perpendicular
to the growth direction or any intermediate angle between the
opposite and perpendicular directions.
[0039] An important practice of the method taught by preferred
embodiments of the present invention involves the choice of the
halogen and hydrogen gas flow rates and their respective ratios.
Although the authors do not wish to be bound by any theory,
teaching in the method can be gained by thermodynamics
considerations. These are in the following given in the
Si--C--H--Cl system, however similar findings can be made for the
case of III-nitrides crystal growth using for example the
Ga--N--H--Cl or the Al--N--H--Cl systems.
[0040] In the following, the specific case of adding chlorine to a
given Si--C--H system determined by the input source and carrier
gas mixtures (for example SiH.sub.4, C.sub.3H.sub.8 and H.sub.2) is
given. The effect of adding Cl to the Si--C--H system is known from
the prior-art in SiC CVD at temperatures in the range of
1500-1600.degree. C. to only weakly enhance the SiC etching rate.
Typical etching conditions in a prior art hot-wall CVD system
involve Cl/H ratios lower than 0.03% and show a weaker dependence
of the etch rate with increasing HCl input than with increasing
H.sub.2 input feed rates [Zhang et al., Mat. Sci. Forums Vols.
389-393 (2002) p. 239]. In the prior-art, the etch rates are too
low (less than 10 .mu.m/h at 1600.degree. C.) for any useful
practice of preferred embodiments of the present invention. It will
here be shown that preferred embodiments of the invention shall be
practiced under much higher Cl/H to obtain etch rates ranging from
0.1 to more than 1 mm/h.
[0041] A quantification of the supersaturation decrease in the
Si--C--H by addition of Cl can be quantified into a temperature
drop: when Cl is added, how much can the temperature drop until the
supersaturation increases again to the original value? The initial
Si--C--H composition may be defined from the input source mixture
and the calculations are performed by driving the system to
equilibrium. A given amount of Cl may be added to the system, which
may decrease the supersaturation of the system, by formation of
e.g. chlorosilanes. The temperature may then be let to drop an
amount .DELTA.T that increases the level of supersaturation. The
system may then be driven to new gas phase equilibrium and compared
to the initial state. The temperature difference .DELTA.T
corresponding to a given amount of [Cl] can then be obtained from
the supersaturation (SS) isoline equal to 1 in contour plots such
as the ones of FIGS. 5 and 6. Along this isoline, SS(T, Si, C,
H)=SS(T-.DELTA.T, Si, C, H, Cl).
[0042] FIG. 5 shows the result in the case of a system operated at
a reduced pressure of 0.12 bar and a [Cl]/[H] ratio of 0.5. In
particular FIG. 5 indicates that the problem of blocking channel 14
is at least partially solved in this case: the growth of solid SiC
may be greatly reduced and the growth of Si may be stopped
altogether. Unfortunately, at high temperature where the Si and C
content in the gas phase is large, the effect of Cl is smaller. At
2200.degree. C., the Cl may allow to delay any substantial solid
phase deposition along a 200.degree. C. temperature drop .DELTA.T,
while at 1900.degree. C. this drop can exceed 600.degree. C.
[0043] Using an etch gas mixture with ratio of [Cl]/[H] higher than
1, the formation of solid deposits can be completely removed. As
shown in FIG. 6 where a [Cl]/[H] ratio of 1.2 is used for the same
pressure and initial composition as FIG. 5, even along a
temperature drop .DELTA.T of 600.degree. C., no solid phases of
SiC, or Si are possible. A solid phase of C may deposit (e.g.
pyrolitic graphite) as the C supersaturation is however higher than
1. If this deposit is large enough to eventually obstruct the
channel 14 within a time of 20 to 40 hours, it can be removed by
exercising the invention, that is, by supplying an additional flow
of H2 in the cooler region where no more solid SiC deposit occurs.
This additional flow of hydrogen may be fed in a dedicated channel
going through the shaft unit 16 or in a separate channel going
though the heater 7, using the principles described earlier.
[0044] The large single crystals grown according to preferred
embodiments of the invention may be sliced and polished into thin
wafers for semiconductor applications or may be used for other
applications. Depending on the intended use of the crystals, it is
understood that these may be doped to achieve either low n- or
p-type resistivity or made very pure to achieve a high resistivity.
Dopants such as nitrogen, aluminum or other elements are preferably
introduced into the growth room 33 by a controlled flow of a gas or
metalorganic precursor as is commonly done in SiC CVD and group-III
MOCVD of thin layers for semiconductor applications.
[0045] Furthermore, preferred embodiments of the invention may also
be employed in a sublimation or PVT system to keep free of deposits
effusions paths used to remove from the crystallization front
either impurities or non-stoichiometric components of the vapor
sublimed from a solid or liquid source.
[0046] Although it has been indicated in the figures and in the
above description that the flow of source gases is directed upwards
(substantially against the direction of the local gravity vector),
it is within the scope of the invention to arrange the device in
the opposite direction, where the seed crystal is located at the
bottom of the device, or to employ an horizontal direction, where
the seed holder is either located downwards or upwards. In its
present description the growth room 33 may either be maintained at
a substantially atmospheric pressure or to a low pressure in the
range of 50 to 800 mbar, however for other orientations of the
device, a low pressure, for example less than 500 mbar, may be
required to achieve the desired single crystal growth rates.
[0047] It may be noted that a person having skill and experience in
the art will readily recognize that several components, shapes and
process parameters may be varied or modified to a certain extent
without departing from the scope and intention of the
invention.
* * * * *