U.S. patent application number 16/949860 was filed with the patent office on 2021-03-11 for methods and material deposition systems for forming semiconductor layers.
This patent application is currently assigned to Silanna UV Technologies Pte Ltd. The applicant listed for this patent is Silanna UV Technologies Pte Ltd. Invention is credited to Petar Atanackovic.
Application Number | 20210074541 16/949860 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005263350 |
Filed Date | 2021-03-11 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20210074541 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Atanackovic; Petar |
March 11, 2021 |
METHODS AND MATERIAL DEPOSITION SYSTEMS FOR FORMING SEMICONDUCTOR
LAYERS
Abstract
Systems and methods for forming semiconductor layers, including
oxide-based layers, are disclosed in which a material deposition
system has a rotation mechanism that rotates a substrate around a
center axis of a substrate deposition plane of the substrate. A
material source that supplies a material to the substrate has i) an
exit aperture with an exit aperture plane and ii) a predetermined
material ejection spatial distribution from the exit aperture
plane. The exit aperture is positioned at an orthogonal distance, a
lateral distance, and a tilt angle relative to the center axis of
the substrate. The system can be configured for either i) minimum
values for the orthogonal distance and the lateral distance to
achieve a desired layer deposition uniformity using a set tilt
angle, or ii) the tilt angle to achieve the desired layer
deposition uniformity using a set orthogonal distance and a set
lateral distance.
Inventors: |
Atanackovic; Petar; (Henley
Beach South, AU) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Silanna UV Technologies Pte Ltd |
Singapore |
|
SG |
|
|
Assignee: |
Silanna UV Technologies Pte
Ltd
Singapore
SG
|
Family ID: |
1000005263350 |
Appl. No.: |
16/949860 |
Filed: |
November 17, 2020 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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PCT/IB2019/054463 |
May 29, 2019 |
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16949860 |
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62682005 |
Jun 7, 2018 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 21/0262 20130101;
H01L 21/02554 20130101; H01L 22/12 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H01L 21/02 20060101
H01L021/02; H01L 21/66 20060101 H01L021/66 |
Claims
1. A method for forming semiconductor layers, the method
comprising: rotating a substrate around a center axis of a
substrate deposition plane of the substrate; heating the substrate;
providing a material source that supplies a material to the
substrate, wherein the material source has i) an exit aperture with
an exit aperture plane and ii) a predetermined material ejection
spatial distribution from the exit aperture plane, the
predetermined material ejection spatial distribution having a
symmetry axis which intersects the substrate at a point offset from
the center axis, wherein the exit aperture is positioned at an
orthogonal distance, a lateral distance, and a tilt angle relative
to the center axis of the substrate; containing the substrate and
the material source within a vacuum environment; and emitting the
material from the material source to form a semiconductor layer on
the substrate; wherein the exit aperture is positioned such that
either i) the orthogonal distance and the lateral distance are
minimized for a set tilt angle, to achieve a desired layer
deposition uniformity for a desired layer growth rate of the
semiconductor layer on the substrate, or ii) the tilt angle is
determined for a set orthogonal distance and a set lateral
distance, to achieve the desired layer deposition uniformity for
the desired layer growth rate of the semiconductor layer on the
substrate.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the material source is a cosine N
source and N.gtoreq.2.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate has a diameter of
equal to or greater than 6 inches (150 mm).
4. The method of claim 1, wherein: the material source is a
nitrogen plasma source that emits active nitrogen; and the method
further comprises providing an oxygen plasma source.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein: the method further comprises
providing a magnesium (Mg) source and a zinc (Zn) source; and
wherein the semiconductor layer is a Mg.sub.XZn.sub.1-XO layer,
with x>0.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the semiconductor layer is a
superlattice comprising sublayers of a) MgO and ZnO, b) MgZnO and
ZnO or c) MgZnO and MgO.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein: the material source is a
magnesium (Mg) source; the method further comprises providing a
zinc (Zn) source; and the semiconductor layer is a MgZnON
layer.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor layer is a
p-type doped Mg-based layer.
9. A method for forming oxide-based semiconductor layers, the
method comprising: rotating a substrate around a center axis of a
substrate deposition plane of the substrate; heating the substrate;
placing a plurality of material sources facing the substrate, the
plurality of material sources including a magnesium (Mg) source and
a plasma source of nitrogen or oxygen, wherein each of the
plurality of material sources has i) an exit aperture with an exit
aperture plane and ii) a predetermined material ejection spatial
distribution from the exit aperture plane, the material ejection
spatial distribution having a symmetry axis which intersects the
substrate at a point offset from the center axis, wherein the exit
aperture is positioned at an orthogonal distance, a lateral
distance, and a tilt angle relative to the center axis of the
substrate; and emitting materials from the plurality of material
sources onto the substrate to form an oxide-based layer on the
substrate; wherein the exit aperture is positioned such that either
i) the orthogonal distance and the lateral distance are minimized
for a set tilt angle, to achieve a desired layer deposition
uniformity for a desired layer growth rate of the oxide-based layer
on the substrate, or ii) the tilt angle is determined for a set
orthogonal distance and a set lateral distance, to achieve the
desired layer deposition uniformity for the desired layer growth
rate of the oxide-based layer on the substrate.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein: the plurality of material
sources further includes a zinc (Zn) source; and the oxide-based
layer is Mg.sub.XZn.sub.1-XO, with x>0.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the oxide-based layer is a
p-type doped Mg-based layer.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein: the oxide-based layer is a
p-type doped layer; and the emitting comprises using one of: active
nitrogen plasma, nitrous oxide (N.sub.2O), ammonia (NH.sub.3),
phosphorus, oxygen plasma, or defective Mg or Zn.
13. The method of claim 9, wherein the oxide-based layer is a polar
structure comprising wurtzitic Mg.sub.XZn.sub.1-XO, with
0.ltoreq.x<0.45.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the polar structure is p-type
or n-type that is induced by a graded composition of the
Mg.sub.XZn.sub.1-XO, with 0.ltoreq.x<0.45.
15. The method of claim 9, wherein the oxide-based layer is a
superlattice of a) Mg.sub.XZn.sub.1-xO, 0.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.1, with
b) Mg.sub.YZn.sub.1-YO, 0.ltoreq.y.ltoreq.1, wherein x.noteq.y.
16. The method of claim 9, wherein the oxide-based layer is a
superlattice comprising sublayers of a) MgO and ZnO, b) MgZnO and
ZnO or c) MgZnO and MgO.
17. The method of claim 9, wherein the oxide-based layer is
MgZnON.
18. The method of claim 9, wherein the oxide-based layer is a
non-polar Mg.sub.XZn.sub.1-XO structure with x>0.55.
19. The method of claim 9, wherein the substrate has a diameter
equal to or greater than 6 inches (150 mm).
20. A method for forming p-type doped semiconductor layers, the
method including: rotating a substrate deposition plane of a
substrate around a center axis of the substrate deposition plane;
heating the substrate; placing a plurality of material sources
facing the substrate, the plurality of material sources including a
magnesium (Mg) source, a zinc (Zn) source, and a plasma source of
nitrogen or oxygen, wherein each of the plurality of material
sources has i) an exit aperture with an exit aperture plane and ii)
a predetermined material ejection spatial distribution from the
exit aperture plane, the material ejection spatial distribution
having a symmetry axis which intersects the substrate at a point
offset from the center axis, wherein the exit aperture is
positioned at an orthogonal distance, a lateral distance, and a
tilt angle relative to the center axis of the substrate; and
emitting materials from the plurality of material sources onto the
substrate to form a p-type doped layer on the substrate; wherein
the exit aperture is positioned such that either i) the orthogonal
distance and the lateral distance are minimized for a set tilt
angle, to achieve a desired layer deposition uniformity for a
desired layer growth rate of the p-type doped layer on the
substrate, or ii) the tilt angle is determined for a set orthogonal
distance and a set lateral distance, to achieve the desired layer
deposition uniformity for the desired layer growth rate of the
p-type doped layer on the substrate.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the plurality of material
sources further includes a phosphorous source to provide
phosphorous as a p-type dopant.
22. The method of claim 20, wherein the p-type doped layer is an
oxide layer, and the emitting materials to form the p-type doped
layer comprises i) replacing an oxygen atom with nitrogen or ii)
replacing a Mg or Zn atom with Al or Ga.
23. The method of claim 20, wherein the p-type doped layer
comprises MgZnO.
24. The method of claim 20, wherein the plurality of material
sources further includes nitrous oxide (N.sub.2O) or ammonia
(NH.sub.3) to achieve p-type doping of the p-type doped layer.
25. A method of configuring a material deposition system, the
method comprising: providing a rotation mechanism that rotates a
substrate around a center axis of a substrate deposition plane of
the substrate; selecting a material source that supplies a material
to the substrate, wherein the material source has i) an exit
aperture with an exit aperture plane and ii) a predetermined
material ejection spatial distribution from the exit aperture
plane, the predetermined material ejection spatial distribution
having a symmetry axis which intersects the substrate at a point
offset from the center axis, wherein the exit aperture is
positioned at an orthogonal distance, a lateral distance, and a
tilt angle relative to the center axis of the substrate; setting
either i) the tilt angle or ii) the orthogonal distance and the
lateral distance for the exit aperture of the material source;
selecting a desired accumulation of the material on the substrate
to achieve a desired layer deposition uniformity for a desired
growth rate; and determining either i) minimum values for the
orthogonal distance and the lateral distance to achieve the desired
layer deposition uniformity using the set tilt angle or ii) the
tilt angle to achieve the desired layer deposition uniformity using
the set orthogonal distance and the set lateral distance; wherein
the substrate and the material source are contained within a vacuum
environment.
26. The method of claim 25, further comprising: physically testing
i) the determined minimum values of the orthogonal distance and the
lateral distance or ii) the determined tilt angle; and changing at
least one of the tilt angle, the desired growth rate, the lateral
distance, and the orthogonal distance if the testing does not meet
the desired layer deposition uniformity.
27. The method of claim 25, wherein the tilt angle, the orthogonal
distance, and the lateral distance are dynamically adjustable.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein the tilt angle, the orthogonal
distance, and the lateral distance are dynamically adjustable by
adjusting a position of the substrate.
29. The method of claim 25, wherein the exit aperture has an exit
aperture geometry, and the method further comprises selecting the
exit aperture geometry.
30. The method of claim 25, wherein: the rotation mechanism and the
material source are housed in a reaction chamber; and a
relationship of the lateral distance and the orthogonal distance to
a radius R.sub.SUB of the substrate is used for scaling a size of
the reaction chamber.
31. The method of claim 25, wherein the material source is a cosine
N source and N.gtoreq.2.
32. The method of claim 25, wherein the substrate has a diameter of
equal to or greater than 6 inches (150 mm).
33. The method of claim 25, further comprising additional material
sources; wherein the step of determining accounts for when the
material source and the additional material sources are used
together.
34. The method of claim 25, wherein: the material source is a
nitrogen plasma source that emits active nitrogen; and the method
further comprises providing an oxygen plasma material source.
35. The method of claim 25, wherein the determined orthogonal
distance and the determined lateral distance of the material source
from the substrate deposition plane is equal to or less than a mean
free path of the material emitted from the material source.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of International Patent
Application No. PCT/IB2019/054463, filed on May 29, 2019 and
entitled "Methods and Material Deposition Systems for Forming
Semiconductor Layers"; which claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Patent Application No. 62/682,005, filed on Jun. 7, 2018 and
entitled "Material Deposition System and Methods"; all of which are
hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
BACKGROUND
[0002] In semiconductor fabrication processes, thin film materials
are deposited on a planar deposition surface using, for example, a
source material in a reaction chamber. Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)
is one of several methods of depositing single crystal thin films
in a reaction chamber. Molecular beam epitaxy takes place in high
vacuum (HV) or ultra-high vacuum (UHV) (e.g., 10.sup.-6 to
10.sup.-9 Pa). The most important aspects of MBE are (1) the
flexibility in the selection of source material species; (2) the
abruptness of interfaces between dissimilar films deposited; (3)
the low impurity levels of the films deposited; and (4) the precise
and uniform thickness of the films deposited. The last aspect is
achieved by using deposition rates that are relatively slower
(typically less than 1,000 nm per hour) than those of other
conventional deposition processes like chemical vapor deposition
(CVD) which typically exceed 10,000 nm per hour. The slow
deposition rates (or growth rates) of MBE are used advantageously
to grow the thin films epitaxially; however, MBE requires
proportionally higher reactor vacuum to match the low impurity
levels achieved by other deposition techniques (e.g. CVD).
[0003] In a deposition process like MBE, a high-quality film may
have a thickness uniformity of about 99% or greater across the
deposition plane. Stated another way, a high-quality film may have
a thickness non-uniformity of about 1% or less across the
deposition plane. Uniformity across the deposition plane is
critical in current MBE processes, as there is a direct correlation
between the growth rate and the quality of a film that is
epitaxially grown. That is, the slower deposition rate enables
uniform atomic monolayer-scale coverages to be controlled across
the entire deposition plane to achieve a two-dimensional (2D)
"layer-by-layer" (LbL) growth mode. Thin film deposition using the
LbL growth mode enables a complete 2D layer to form prior to growth
of subsequent layers, which is the most desirable method for the
epitaxial growth of single crystal thin films and multilayered
heterogeneous films. Typically, the LbL growth mode is achieved for
the technologically relevant semiconductors (e.g., AlGaAs, AlGaN,
SiGe, and the like) under at least the following criteria of: (i)
highly non-equilibrium temperature-pressure conditions; (ii) a
uniform arrival rate of species across the deposition plane; and
(iii) a highly uniform spatial temperature that can be imparted to
the growing surface.
SUMMARY
[0004] In some embodiments, an optoelectronic device includes a
substrate and a multi-region stack epitaxially deposited upon the
substrate. The multi-region stack comprises a crystal polarity
having an oxygen-polar crystal structure or a metal-polar crystal
structure along a growth direction. The multi-region stack includes
a first region comprising a buffer layer, a second region
comprising a crystal structure improvement layer, a third region
comprising a first conductivity type, a fourth region comprising an
intrinsic conductivity type layer, and a fifth region comprising a
second conductivity type, where the second conductivity type is
opposite the first conductivity type. At least one region of the
multi-region stack is a bulk semiconductor material comprising
Mg.sub.(x)Zn.sub.(1-x)O. At least one region of the multi-region
stack is a superlattice comprising at least two of: ZnO, MgO and
Mg.sub.(x)Zn.sub.(1-x)O.
[0005] In some embodiments, an optoelectronic device includes a
substrate and a multi-region stack epitaxially deposited upon the
substrate. The multi-region stack comprises a non-polar crystalline
material structure along a growth direction. The multi-region stack
includes a first region comprising a buffer layer, a second region
comprising a crystal structure improvement layer, a third region
comprising a first conductivity type, a fourth region comprising an
intrinsic conductivity type layer, and a fifth region comprising a
second conductivity type, where the second conductivity type is
opposite the first conductivity type. At least one region of the
multi-region stack is a bulk semiconductor material comprising
Mg.sub.(x)Zn.sub.(1-x)O. At least one region of the multi-region
stack is a superlattice comprising at least two of: ZnO, MgO and
Mg.sub.(x)Zn.sub.(1-x)O.
[0006] In some embodiments, a method of configuring a material
deposition system includes providing a rotation mechanism that
rotates a substrate around a center axis of a substrate deposition
plane of the substrate. A material source that supplies a material
to the substrate is selected, where the material source has i) an
exit aperture with an exit aperture plane and ii) a predetermined
material ejection spatial distribution from the exit aperture
plane. The predetermined material ejection spatial distribution has
a symmetry axis which intersects the substrate at a point offset
from the center axis. The exit aperture is positioned at an
orthogonal distance, a lateral distance, and a tilt angle relative
to the center axis of the substrate. The method also includes
setting either i) the tilt angle or ii) the orthogonal distance and
the lateral distance for the exit aperture of the material source.
A desired accumulation of the material on the substrate is selected
to achieve a desired layer deposition uniformity for a desired
growth rate. The method determines either i) minimum values for the
orthogonal distance and the lateral distance to achieve the desired
layer deposition uniformity using the set tilt angle or ii) the
tilt angle to achieve the desired layer deposition uniformity using
the set orthogonal distance and the set lateral distance. The
substrate and the material source are contained within a vacuum
environment.
[0007] In some embodiments, a method for forming semiconductor
layers includes rotating a substrate around a center axis of a
substrate deposition plane of the substrate, heating the substrate,
and providing a material source that supplies a material to the
substrate. The material source has i) an exit aperture with an exit
aperture plane and ii) a predetermined material ejection spatial
distribution from the exit aperture plane, the predetermined
material ejection spatial distribution having a symmetry axis which
intersects the substrate at a point offset from the center axis.
The exit aperture is positioned at an orthogonal distance, a
lateral distance, and a tilt angle relative to the center axis of
the substrate. The method also includes containing the substrate
and the material source within a vacuum environment and emitting
the material from the material source to form a semiconductor layer
on the substrate. The exit aperture is positioned such that either
i) the orthogonal distance and the lateral distance are minimized
for a set tilt angle, to achieve a desired layer deposition
uniformity for a desired layer growth rate of the semiconductor
layer on the substrate, or ii) the tilt angle is determined for a
set orthogonal distance and a set lateral distance, to achieve the
desired layer deposition uniformity for the desired layer growth
rate of the semiconductor layer on the substrate.
[0008] In some embodiments, a material deposition system has a
rotation mechanism that rotates a substrate deposition plane of a
substrate around a center axis of the substrate deposition plane, a
heater configured to heat the substrate, a material source that
supplies a material to the substrate, and a positioning mechanism.
The material source has i) an exit aperture with an exit aperture
plane and ii) a predetermined material ejection spatial
distribution from the exit aperture plane. The predetermined
material ejection spatial distribution has a symmetry axis which
intersects the substrate at a point offset from the center axis,
where the exit aperture is positioned at an orthogonal distance, a
lateral distance, and a tilt angle relative to the center axis of
the substrate. The positioning mechanism allows dynamic adjusting
of the orthogonal distance, the lateral distance, or the tilt
angle.
[0009] In some embodiments, a method for forming oxide-based
semiconductor layers includes rotating a substrate around a center
axis of a substrate deposition plane of the substrate, heating the
substrate, and placing a plurality of material sources facing the
substrate. The plurality of material sources includes a magnesium
(Mg) source and a plasma source of nitrogen or oxygen. Each of the
plurality of material sources has i) an exit aperture with an exit
aperture plane and ii) a predetermined material ejection spatial
distribution from the exit aperture plane, the material ejection
spatial distribution having a symmetry axis which intersects the
substrate at a point offset from the center axis. The exit aperture
is positioned at an orthogonal distance, a lateral distance, and a
tilt angle relative to the center axis of the substrate. The method
also includes emitting materials from the plurality of material
sources onto the substrate to form an oxide-based layer on the
substrate. The exit aperture is positioned such that either i) the
orthogonal distance and the lateral distance are minimized for a
set tilt angle, to achieve a desired layer deposition uniformity
for a desired layer growth rate of the oxide-based layer on the
substrate, or ii) the tilt angle is determined for a set orthogonal
distance and a set lateral distance, to achieve a desired layer
deposition uniformity for the desired layer growth rate of the
oxide-based layer on the substrate.
[0010] In some embodiments, a method for forming semiconductor
layers includes rotating a substrate deposition plane of a
substrate around a center axis of the substrate deposition plane,
heating the substrate, and placing a plurality of material sources
facing the substrate. The plurality of material sources includes a
magnesium (Mg) source, a zinc (Zn) source, and a plasma source of
nitrogen or oxygen, where each of the plurality of material sources
has i) an exit aperture with an exit aperture plane and ii) a
predetermined material ejection spatial distribution from the exit
aperture plane. The material ejection spatial distribution has a
symmetry axis which intersects the substrate at a point offset from
the center axis. The exit aperture is positioned at an orthogonal
distance, a lateral distance, and a tilt angle relative to the
center axis of the substrate. Materials from the plurality of
material sources are emitted onto the substrate to form a p-type
doped layer on the substrate. The exit aperture is positioned such
that either i) the orthogonal distance and the lateral distance are
minimized for a set tilt angle, to achieve a desired layer
deposition uniformity for a desired layer growth rate of the p-type
doped layer on the substrate, or ii) the tilt angle is determined
for a set orthogonal distance and a set lateral distance, to
achieve a desired layer deposition uniformity for the desired layer
growth rate of the p-type doped layer on the substrate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a conventional high-vacuum
reaction chamber.
[0012] FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a material deposition system,
in accordance with some embodiments.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a plot of examples of beam flux profiles that
correspond to certain cosine N factors of a material source, in
accordance with some embodiments.
[0014] FIG. 4 through FIG. 7 are examples of plots of the
configuration space for certain positions of the material source
relative to the formation surface, where the calculated film
non-uniformity is plotted as a function of the coordinates X and Z
of the material source, in accordance with some embodiments.
[0015] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an example of a method of
configuring an off-axis source in a high-vacuum reaction chamber to
improve the balance between film quality and film growth rate, in
accordance with some embodiments.
[0016] FIG. 9 is a side view of an example of a plasma treatment
system used to form semiconductor layers such as high quality,
oxide-based films, in accordance with some embodiments.
[0017] FIGS. 10A-10B are cross-sectional views of oxide-based LED
device structures, in accordance with some embodiments.
[0018] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of an example of a method of
forming the LED device structures shown in FIGS. 10A-10B, in
accordance with some embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] This disclosure relates generally to semiconductor
fabrication processes, and more particularly to material deposition
systems having an off-axis material source in a high-vacuum
reaction chamber for improving the balance between film quality and
film growth rate. Methods for configuring the material deposition
systems are disclosed, by determining a position of a material
source and also scaling the size of the overall reaction chamber
according to the placement of the material source. This disclosure
also relates to high-quality, oxide-based semiconductor structures
such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and the systems and methods
for forming such structures.
[0020] High film quality that can be achieved using UHV deposition
techniques is conventionally achieved by incurring a substantial
increase in process time compared with other mature high-pressure
CVD semiconductor fabrication processes. Unfortunately, best
practice conventional UHV deposition methods, such as MBE, cannot
adequately accommodate the high throughput processing demanded by
silicon-based semiconductor manufacturers. Additionally, current
MBE processes are limited to growing high-uniformity films on
relatively small area deposition surfaces, such as on 6-inch
diameter and smaller substrates. The silicon-based semiconductor
industry emphasizes the importance of scaling fabrication processes
to larger deposition surfaces, such as 8-, 12-, and even 18-inch
deposition surfaces to maintain a sufficiently low deposition cost
per unit area ($/m.sup.2). Therefore, new approaches are needed for
MBE processes to scale to larger deposition surfaces as well as to
provide high film quality at high deposition rates.
[0021] In semiconductor device manufacturing, group III-nitride
(III-N) semiconductors (e.g., aluminum nitride, gallium nitride,
aluminum-gallium nitride, indium nitride) are generally recognized
as belonging to one of the most promising semiconductor families
for fabricating the wide bandgap semiconductors that are used in
the fabrication of deep-ultraviolet (DUV) optical devices, such as
LEDs and laser diodes (LDs). Unfortunately, several challenges
inherent to conventional manufacturing equipment and methods limit
the fabrication of high-quality group III-N films.
[0022] For example, controlling the growth temperatures and
precursor gas levels necessary for high-quality film deposition is
difficult with substrates larger than 4 inches in diameter, as
mentioned above. A non-uniform temperature profile across the film
formation surface may yield low-quality or unusable devices.
Further, conventional group III-N film formation is a relatively
inefficient, low-throughput, and expensive process with low
utilization of costly source materials. Finally, conventional group
III-N films are limited in their device-bandgap tuning ability.
This reduces flexibility in semiconductor device design and
application, particularly in the manufacture of DUV LEDs. As the
semiconductor industry increasingly emphasizes the production of
high-quality films on larger substrates, higher production
throughput, and reduced manufacturing costs, new approaches for
device manufacturing are needed.
[0023] In the present disclosure, methods of configuring an offset
material source in a high-vacuum reaction chamber with respect to
improving the balance between film quality and film growth rate are
provided. For example, embodiments are used to determine the
position of a material source (e.g., a Knudsen effusion cell, a gas
injector source, a remote plasma source, an ion beam source, a
sputtering source, a charged particle beam, a thermal evaporation
source, or an ablation source) with respect to a film formation
surface in a high-vacuum reaction chamber that provides an improved
balance between film quality and film growth rate compared with the
conventional art. More specifically, for a given material source
that has certain attributes or characteristics, and a given tilt
angle setting for the material source, the methods are used to
determine a lateral distance and an orthogonal distance of the
material source with respect to a formation surface for improving
the balance between film quality and film growth rate. In other
embodiments, the lateral distance and orthogonal distance of the
material source can be set, and a tilt angle can be determined to
achieve a desired film quality and film growth rate.
[0024] Systems for and methods of forming a high-quality,
oxide-based DUV LED are also disclosed. Oxide-based semiconductors
are wide bandgap semiconductors classified in the II-VI
semiconductor group. In general, they offer good transparency, high
electron mobility, wide bandgaps, and strong luminescence at room
temperature. Oxide-based semiconductors are intrinsically n-type;
conventionally, p-type doping of oxides is difficult to accomplish.
P-type doping of these semiconductors in the present embodiments is
achieved using a plasma of active atomic nitrogen (N*) or molecular
nitrogen (N.sub.2*). The methods disclosed herein utilize a plasma
reaction chamber and form films on substrates made of materials
such as calcium fluoride. In some embodiments, a buffer layer of
magnesium zinc oxide (MgZnO) is formed on the substrate, and an
MgO--MgZnO multilayer is formed atop the buffer layer. An n-type
MgZnO is then formed atop the MgO--MgZnO multilayer, and a
not-intentionally doped (NID) layer of MgZnO or MgO is formed atop
the n-type MgZnO layer. A p-type MgZnO layer is then formed using
p-type doping from a plasma of N* or N.sub.2*. Finally, metal
contacts are formed on the device structure using a conventional
lithography and metallization process. In one example of operation,
the n-type MgZnO layer produces electrons that move into the NID
layer, where charge carriers interact and recombine to emit light
from the LED device structure in the UV wavelength range of from
about 100 nm to about 280 nm.
[0025] The methods and the materials used to form the high-quality,
oxide-based DUV LEDs exhibit advantages over conventional methods
and materials. For example, controlling the growth temperatures and
precursor gas levels necessary for high-quality film deposition of
group III-N film with conventional methods is difficult, especially
with substrates larger than 4 inches in diameter. Further,
conventional group III-N film formation is a relatively
inefficient, low-throughput, and expensive process with low
utilization of costly source materials. Finally, conventional group
III-N films have limited bandgap-tuning ability. This limits
flexibility in semiconductor device design and application,
particularly in the production of DUV LEDs. By contrast, the
methods disclosed herein emphasize the production of high-quality
films on larger substrates, greater device application flexibility,
higher production throughput, and reduced manufacturing costs.
[0026] MBE is but one example of a process in which a plurality of
thin crystalline films is epitaxially grown in a high-vacuum
environment. Such films are composed of, for example, compound
semiconductors chosen from the periodic table of elements. For
example, IIIA-VA semiconductors may include group-IIIA metals
chosen from at least one of Al, Ga, and In, and group-VA species
chosen from As, P, and N to create stoichiometric compositions of
Al.sub.xGa.sub.1-xAs.sub.yP.sub.1-y and Al.sub.xGa.sub.1-xN. In
another example, II-VI semiconductors may include group-II metals
chosen from Cd and Zn, and group-VI species chosen from Te, S, and
Se to form compound Zn.sub.xCd.sub.1-xTe. Further examples include
IV-IV (e.g., Si.sub.xGe.sub.yC.sub.z) and metal oxides MO).sub.x.
Other examples of metal oxides are RE-Oxides and RE-OxyNitrides
(wherein RE is chosen from at least one species from the group of
rare-earth elements, namely, the lanthanide series metal species or
alkaline-earth metal species) or mixed-oxides of the form
IIA-IB-VIA (e.g., Mg.sub.(x)Zn.sub.(1-x)O, which are also example
materials fabricated using the MBE methods disclosed herein. The
present methods can utilize other materials, such as amorphous
oxy-nitrides and metal alloys, for the creation of high-uniformity
films with improved growth rate. That is, the physical principles
disclosed herein are independent of the surface chemistry specific
to the ad-atoms and substrate.
[0027] Furthermore, the use of compound semiconductor materials in
deposition processes provides the ability to fabricate a plurality
of heterogeneous epi-layers sequentially deposited upon a
deposition surface. This allows quantum engineered structures to be
tailored and optimized for specific electro-optic and electronic
applications (e.g., LEDs, lasers, power transistors, and
radio-frequency devices).
[0028] Accordingly, in the present methods and systems, a material
source that is arranged with respect to the formation surface to
improve the balance between film quality and film growth rate is
suitable for supporting a continuous, high-throughput film
formation process using an MBE system. The present disclosure
provides improvements over existing systems and methods, which are
conventionally characterized by at least one of slow growth rates
and low deposition uniformity owing to a physical arrangement of
the material source which is fixed by the manufacturer of the MBE
system.
[0029] Conventional Material Deposition Systems
[0030] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a portion of a high-vacuum
reaction chamber 10, as known in the art, that includes a material
source 18 that is arranged off-axis and at an angle with respect to
a film formation surface 26 of a substrate 22. The high-vacuum
reaction chamber 10 may be the reaction chamber of an MBE system 5.
A vacuum environment 14 is maintained within the high-vacuum
reaction chamber 10 by a vacuum pump 16. For example, the vacuum
environment 14 may be in the range of from about 10.sup.-12 torr to
about 10.sup.-7 torr, from about 10.sup.-11 torr to about 10.sup.-9
torr, or at about 10.sup.-11 torr to 10.sup.-5 torr. A
well-prepared and substantially leak-free reactor has a base
pressure and growth pressure (i.e., during deposition) that is
directly related to the pumping speed of the reactor and the
incident beam pressures generated by the sources.
[0031] Material source 18 is arranged with respect to substrate 22
inside of the high-vacuum reaction chamber 10. The substrate 22 may
be any base material on which a film or layer of material may be
formed. The substrate 22 is rotatable around a center axis of
rotation AX. The side of the substrate 22 that is facing the
material source 18 provides the film formation surface 26. The
substrate 22 has a radius, R.sub.SUB.
[0032] The formation surface 26 is the target of the material
delivered from the material source 18. That is, the formation
surface 26 is the side of the substrate 22 on which a film may be
formed, such as by epitaxy. Epitaxy refers to the deposition of a
crystalline overlayer on a crystalline substrate, where the
overlayer is registered with the substrate. In other words, there
must be one or more preferred crystal orientations of the overlayer
with respect to the substrate for this to be termed epitaxial
growth. The overlayer is called an epitaxial film or epitaxial
layer, and sometimes called an epi-layer.
[0033] The material source 18 may be any source of the elemental
and pure species from which a film may be formed on the formation
surface 26. For example, the material source 18 shown in FIG. 1 may
be a Knudsen effusion cell. A typical Knudsen effusion cell
includes a shaped crucible (made of high purity pyrolytic boron
nitride, fused quartz, tungsten, or graphite), a plurality of
resistive heating filaments, a water-cooling system, heat shields
to contain the heat within the crucible body, a crucible orifice,
and an orifice shutter, none of which are shown but are well known
by those skilled in the art. The material source 18 includes an
exit aperture 30. In the case of a Knudsen effusion cell, the exit
aperture 30 is an opening in the end of the crucible that faces the
formation surface 26. As a result of crucible heating, the material
(e.g., a liquid) inside the crucible is also heated and material
atoms are evaporated (e.g., from the liquid surface). The number of
atoms evaporated per unit area per unit of time can be well
controlled by controlling the crucible temperature. The evaporant
atoms or species are delivered under pressure from the exit
aperture 30, travel with a well-defined exit velocity and with a
mean free path in excess of the source-to-substrate distance
(maintained by the high vacuum level in the reactor), and are
directed toward the formation surface 26 where they collide and/or
interact with the material of the formation surface 26. That is, a
plume 34 of material (or species) that exits the exit aperture 30
of the material source 18 is directed toward the formation surface
26. Plume 34 has an axis of symmetry SA.
[0034] Conventional, commercially-available MBE deposition systems
utilize material sources that are spatially configured for adequate
material flux uniformity on a relatively small deposition plane
area--without primary regard for simultaneous optimization of both
flux uniformity and growth rate. FIG. 1 schematically depicts the
center axis of rotation AX of the substrate. The material source 18
is located a certain lateral distance X from the center axis of
rotation AX of the substrate 22, a certain orthogonal
(perpendicular) distance Z from the plane of the formation surface
26, and at a virtual flux plane (VFP) tilt angle .alpha. with
respect to the plane of the formation surface 26. Hence, the
material source 18 is an "off-axis" material source. The lateral
distance X and the orthogonal distance Z are the coordinates of the
material source 18 with respect to the center of the substrate
deposition plane 26.
[0035] In practice, non-optimal spatial placement of the material
source in a conventional MBE system is compensated empirically by
increasing the substrate-to-source distance R.sub.Src-Sub (i.e., by
placing the source substantially further than otherwise necessary
for optimal placement). This increased substrate-to-source distance
directly results in a decrease in growth rate, which is inversely
proportional to the square of the substrate-to-source distance, and
a decrease in the utilization of the expelled source material.
Additionally, in conventional MBE systems, the plume of species
from the material source is typically directed at the center of the
formation surface 26.
[0036] Conventional MBE systems can be generalized and summarized
as a reactor system with a configuration space specified by: [0037]
(i) A symmetry axis SA of the material source plume that is
arranged to target the absolute center of rotation of the
deposition plane; [0038] (ii) The source-to-substrate distance
R.sub.src-sub and lateral distance X of the source VFP centroid
relative to the substrate rotation axis AX, which is configured
with cylindrical or spherical symmetry relative to the center of
the deposition plane; [0039] (iii) Reactor dimensions proportioned
such that X.ltoreq.R.sub.src-sub and
.beta.=tan.sup.-1(X/R.sub.src-sub).ltoreq.45.degree., where .beta.
is the angle between the vertical axis Z and the symmetry axis SA;
and [0040] (iv) A virtual flux plane tilt angle limited in the
range 0.ltoreq..alpha..ltoreq.45.degree..
[0041] Material Deposition System with Optimized Source
Placement
[0042] FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a portion of a material
deposition system 50, in accordance with some embodiments. The
material deposition system 50--which is a molecular beam epitaxy
system--has a high-vacuum reaction chamber 100. The material
deposition system 50 includes a material source 118 that is
arranged off-axis and at an angle with respect to a substrate
deposition plane 126 of a substrate 122, and is also offset by an
amount R.sub.offset. That is, the material source 118 has a
symmetry axis SA that is aimed at a point offset from the absolute
center of the substrate 122 by an amount R.sub.offset, rather than
at the absolute center. The material source 118 deposits the
material on an area 122P of substrate deposition plane 126. A
vacuum environment 114 is maintained within the high-vacuum
reaction chamber 100 by a vacuum pump 116. For example, the vacuum
environment 114 may be in the range of from about 10.sup.-12 torr
to about 10.sup.-7 torr in one example, from about 10.sup.-11 torr
to about 10.sup.-9 torr in another example, or at about 10.sup.-11
torr to 10.sup.-5 torr in yet another example.
[0043] Material source 118 is arranged with respect to substrate
122 inside of the high-vacuum reaction chamber 100 to produce
deposition layers with high uniformity while maintaining a high
throughput. The substrate 122 may be any base material on which a
film or layer of material may be formed. For example, the substrate
122 may be a wafer of silicon (e.g., single crystal), sapphire,
MgO, or Ga.sub.2O.sub.3 with a clean atomic surface. The substrate
122 is rotatable around a center axis of rotation AX. The substrate
deposition plane 126 is the side--e.g., the front surface--of the
substrate 122 on which a film may be formed, such as by epitaxy.
The substrate 122 has a certain radius, R.sub.SUB. For example, an
8-inch substrate 122 has an R.sub.SUB of 4 inches; a 12-inch
substrate 122 has an R.sub.SUB of 6 inches (approximately 150 mm);
and so on. Although the substrate 122 shown in FIG. 1 is circular,
the present systems and methods are not limited thereto. For
example, the substrate 122 may be square or some other non-circular
shape. In another embodiment, the material source 118 is arranged
with respect to a platen or the like whereon one or a plurality of
substrates is mounted.
[0044] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the high-vacuum
reaction chamber 100 may include other components (e.g., a
substrate heater, a material source aperture, sensing devices,
additional vacuum pumping system components, etc.), which are not
shown in FIG. 2.
[0045] The material source 118 may be any source of the elemental
and pure species from which a film may be formed on the substrate
deposition plane 126. In some embodiments, the material source may
be a plasma source of nitrogen or oxygen. Examples of the material
source 118 include: gaseous precursor injectors; preheated gas
injectors; Knudsen-type thermally driven crucibles (i.e., Knudsen
effusion cells) for containing sublimated solid material or
evaporated liquid material; electron beam evaporator heating of
source material; and remote plasma activated sources (i.e., sources
wherein the plasma region is wholly contained within the source and
does not extend from the source toward the substrate surface) for
gaseous feedstock. In one example, when aluminum (Al) is the
material to be epitaxially grown on the substrate deposition plane
126, the material source 118 may be a Knudsen effusion cell that
contains substantially pure aluminum contained in a substantially
non-interacting crucible.
[0046] The material source 118 includes an exit aperture 130 and
material level 132 of the material in the material source 118. In
the case of a Knudsen effusion cell, the exit aperture 130 is an
opening in the end of the crucible that faces the substrate
deposition plane 126. A plume 134 of material (or species) that
exits the exit aperture 130 of the material source 118 is directed
toward the substrate deposition plane 126. In another embodiment,
the material source 118 includes a plurality of outlets (exit
apertures 130).
[0047] The position of material source 118 relative to the
substrate 122 is dynamically adjustable such that the tilt angle,
lateral distance, and/or orthogonal distance of material source 118
with respect to substrate 122 can be changed between production
runs to achieve a desired layer deposition uniformity and desired
layer growth rate. The settings for tilt angle, lateral distance,
and orthogonal distance will depend on the material ejection
spatial distribution of the material source. The positioning may
also be affected using multiple material sources at the same time,
that emit different materials from each other. In some embodiments,
the tilt angle for the material source may be set first, and
minimum values for the orthogonal distance and the lateral distance
can be determined using the set tilt angle. In other embodiments,
the orthogonal distance and the lateral distance may be set first,
and the tilt angle can be determined for achieving the desired
layer deposition uniformity for a desired growth rate. In some
embodiments, the position of the material source 118 is movable
while the substrate 122 is fixed; or the substrate 122 may be
movable instead of or in addition to the material source 118. For
example, a positioning mechanism may be coupled to the material
source, the substrate, or both the material source and the
substrate. The positioning mechanism may be, for example, a bracket
that is secured along a slot, an arm or a post that has an
adjustable length, a linear actuator, or a combination of
these.
[0048] The plume 134 of material (or species) is a flux of
substantially non-interacting particles, which has a spatial beam
flux profile (BFP) that can be characterized by an angular
distribution of species being emitted in a forward direction from
the material source 118. The BFP can also be referred to as a
predetermined material ejection spatial distribution of the
material sources. The beam flux profile is characterized by the
relationship of the BFP angle .theta. with respect to the symmetry
axis SA of the plume 134. Therefore, the material source 118 may be
approximated and characterized by having a certain cosine N factor.
The cosine N factor is described in greater detail with reference
to FIG. 3.
[0049] FIG. 3 is a plot 200 of examples of beam flux profiles that
correspond to certain cosine N factors of a material source. The
plot 200 shows the angular beam dispersion of certain beam flux
profiles as a function of BFP angles .theta.. For example, the plot
200 shows a BFP 210, which has a cosine N factor of 1, is
substantially spherical, and is considered an isotropic point
source. BFPs that have a cos.sup.N(.theta.) with N>1 are more
directional, as shown in FIG. 3. For example, the plot 200 shows a
BFP 214, which has a cosine N factor of 6 and is a beam flux
profile that is elongated and narrower than BFP 210, rather than
spherical. The plot 200 also shows examples of other BFPs between
BFP 210 and BFP 214 that have cosine N factors between 1 and 6. By
way of example, sources with a cosine N factor of 1 and a cosine N
factor of 6 differ in that 80% of the forward projected beam is
contained within an angular range of .+-.36.4.degree. and
.+-.15.5.degree., respectively. Accordingly, an improved flux
utilization can be achieved by judicious choice of cosine N factor
material source and relative configuration position to the rotating
deposition plane. For example, the use of sources with cosine N
factors are more directional, thus reducing the amount of material
that is wasted.
[0050] The material source 118 may be any source characterized by a
cosine N factor. This cosine N factor characterization is
independent of the type of source, whether material source 118 is a
liquid source that is evaporating material, a sublimation source
that is sublimating material, a gas source, or the like.
[0051] Conventional MBE systems utilize a material source that has
a cosine N factor ranging from about 1 to about 2. It is widely
believed by those skilled in the art that a substantially spherical
plume is advantageous for high flux uniformity. Furthermore, in
conventional material sources the effective cosine N factor can
change as a function of source material depletion. This results in
a change of spatial flux non-uniformity across the deposition plane
as the source material depletes, and this problem is exacerbated if
the material source is configured in a sub-optimal position
relative to the deposition plane. Therefore, in the present
embodiments it is desirable to design deposition reactors with
optimal source configurations that are tolerant of variations in
effective cosine N factors.
[0052] Additionally, in conventional MBE systems, the material
source is placed a relatively long distance from the formation
surface and typically well in excess of the optimal distance. Prior
art systems typically employ R.sub.src-sub well in excess of
deposition plane diameter (i.e., R.sub.src-sub>>2R.sub.sub
for .alpha.<45.degree.). The typical BFP of conventional
material sources characterized by cosine N factors 1<N.ltoreq.2,
coupled with the long distance that the species comprising the
source beam must travel, results in at least one of a: (1)
sub-optimal growth rate; (2) poor flux uniformity across the entire
deposition plane; (3) a large amount of residual background
impurity species, which can deleteriously affect the deposited
film; and (4) poor flux utilization as measured by the ratio of
total emitted flux from the source to flux that intersects the
deposition plane. That is, the species from the material source in
conventional systems tends to be emitted throughout a substantial
volume of the chamber as opposed to being directed toward the
formation surface.
[0053] In the present methods and systems, the symmetry axis SA of
the plume 134 generated by the material source 118 is directed
toward a well-defined portion of the periphery of the substrate
deposition plane 126 of the substrate 122. Specifically, the
symmetry axis SA of the plume 134 is offset, being directed at a
point spaced apart from the center of rotation of the substrate
deposition plane 126. That is, the material source 118 has a
symmetry axis SA that intersects the substrate 122 at a point
spaced apart from the axis of rotation AX, by an amount
R.sub.offset.
[0054] In addition, the lateral distance X and the orthogonal
distance Z that represent the placement of the material source 118
from the center axis of rotation AX of the substrate deposition
plane of the substrate 122, are scaled to R.sub.SUB. The
relationship of the lateral distance X and the vertical distance Z
to R.sub.SUB may be used for scaling the size of the high-vacuum
reaction chamber 100. Enabling material sources 118 in a reaction
chamber 100 to be closer to the substrate 122 allows the overall
size of the reaction system (material deposition system 50) to be
smaller, thus reducing costs.
[0055] The exit aperture 130, which is the outlet of the material
source 118, has an effective area A.sub.src, as shown in a Detail A
of FIG. 2. The effective area A.sub.src, can be defined by a radius
R.sub.src. The exit aperture 130, which has the effective area
A.sub.SRC, can be characterized or designed as a plurality of
independent cosine N elemental sources. For example, an integer
number in of the elemental sources indexed by i={l, . . . , j, . .
. , m}, wherein m>1, are each characterized by a predetermined
material ejection spatial distribution (the BFP) given by
cos.sup.Ni(.theta..sub.i). The elemental sources may be chosen such
that N.sub.i is constant for all values of i, or at least two
dissimilar elemental sources may be chosen with Ni.noteq.Nj.
[0056] In one example of determining placement of a material source
in a material deposition system, a circular substrate deposition
plane 126 that has a radius R.sub.SUB=1.5 may be used to represent
a 300 mm diameter substrate 122. A compound source (i.e., material
source) of circular area defined by a radius R.sub.SRC=0.2 is
positioned in the positive z-direction half space relative to the
substrate deposition plane 126 with center positioned at S.sub.0
(S.sub.0x, S.sub.0y, S.sub.0z) and with a VFP tilt angle
.alpha.=45.degree.. The source is discretized in three radial steps
of .DELTA..rho..sub.SRC=0.1 with discretized elements placed at
angular intervals of .DELTA..theta..sub.SRC=36.degree., thereby
forming a compound source plane with 21 elements. Each source of
the elements is modeled as a modified cosine) emitter (cos
.PHI..sub.{right arrow over (n)}.sub.src.sub.-{right arrow over
(P)}.sub.DP.sup.i).sup.N.sup.cell. Each source element on the VFP
emits flux directed toward the substrate deposition plane 126
parallel to the surface normal {right arrow over (n)}.sub.src of
VFP. The intersection of the directed flux segment with a general
point P on the substrate deposition plane 126 is then calculated
along with the Euclidean distance norm [{right arrow over
(R)}.sub.{right arrow over (P)}.sub.DP.sub.i.sub.-{right arrow over
(S)}.sub.src.sub.i.sup.i]. The substrate 122 or the substrate
deposition plane 126 is similarly discretized with radial and
angular increments of .DELTA.R.sub.SUB=0.1 and
.DELTA..theta..sub.SUB=10.degree., thereby providing a sampling
mesh of 541 points with Cartesian co-ordinates P(x.sub.SUB,
y.sub.SUB, z.sub.SUB).
[0057] The vacuum environment of the material deposition system is
sufficient for the mean free path length for maintaining a
ballistic particle regime of a material ejected from the source
aperture being greater or equal to the Euclidean distance between
the material source exit aperture and the point on the deposition
plane that is intersected by symmetry axis of the material ejection
spatial distribution. Suitably high vacuum conditions are provided
in which residual background impurity species within the reaction
chamber are significantly reduced. The cosine N factor of a
material source also has a direct effect on the amount of residual
background impurity species within a reaction chamber for a given
vacuum level. Assuming the source material is composed of
sufficiently high purity material, then the impurity concentration
subsequently available to be incorporated into a growing film
(i.e., to form an additional undesirable impurity flux component to
the desirable material source flux) will primarily depend upon the
deposition rate and the vacuum level maintained during deposition.
That is, for a given base vacuum level in the reactor prior to the
introduction of the source material flux, there is a quantifiable
amount of time in which a well-prepared and clean deposition
surface will accumulate an undesirable impurity surface coverage.
It is therefore desirable to simultaneously achieve a small flux
non-uniformity, high growth rate, and low background impurity
concentration.
[0058] In the present disclosure, the material source 118, which is
an offset source, provides both an improved flux non-uniformity
across the entire substrate deposition plane 126 and a reduced
source-to-substrate distance, as compared with conventional MBE
systems. That is, optimal positions are determined for a given
material source type that achieve a reduced flux non-uniformity and
increased growth rate for a given substrate deposition plane 126
area, as compared with conventional MBE systems.
[0059] Further, the present embodiments provide an optimal
configuration space of material source(s) utilized in high vacuum
reactors explicitly for large area deposition plane utility.
Additionally, large deposition area reactors can be further
optimized according to the methods by judicious choice of material
source characteristics, such as effective cosine-N factor with
N.gtoreq.2 and source VFP area.
[0060] In some embodiments, the material source 118 has a cosine N
factor ranging from 0<N.ltoreq.10, such as ranging from
2.ltoreq.N.ltoreq.6. Additionally, in embodiments the material
source 118 is positioned optimally and close to the substrate
deposition plane 126 in comparison to prior art non-optimal
configurations. As a result, the ejected plume 134 of deposition
species are deposited with higher efficiency onto the substrate
deposition plane 126 than would be the case in conventional MBE
systems. A significantly shorter distance of travel of source
material species provides an inverse square increase in the
deposition species accumulation rate at the deposition surface.
This leads to a significantly lower mean free path required for the
deposition species ejected from the material source and therefore
enables a substantially collision free regime to be maintained at a
higher working pressure (i.e., at a lesser vacuum level). Yet a
further advantageous property of improved growth rate is a reduced
impact of residual background impurity species within the deposited
film.
[0061] "Source utilization" refers to the amount (i.e., in terms of
volume) of the material being physically ejected out of the
material source 118 that intersects the substrate deposition plane
126. Conventional off-axis MBE reactor configurations achieve at
most approximately 25% source utilization. In contrast, because the
present embodiments provide a plume 134 which is spatially
configured for an optimized target flux non-uniformity, the
accumulation rate at the maximized and thus a higher flux
utilization is realized. Furthermore, the present embodiments use a
higher directional material source (e.g., with a cosine N factor of
up to about 6) than in conventional MBE (e.g., with a cosine N
factor of about 1 to 2). Therefore, when configured optimally the
present embodiments provide yet a further increase in source
utilization. For example, the source utilization using the present
embodiments may be from about 30% to about 50%. Therefore, the
present embodiments result in a film formation process that is more
efficient than conventional MBE and achieve the optimal target flux
non-uniformity with highest accumulation rate in comparison with
conventional MBE.
[0062] Furthermore, the present embodiments provide optimal high
vacuum conditions for maintaining sufficiently large mean free
paths of film formation species, which enable high quality
epitaxial films to be formed. The mean free path is the average
distance covered by a moving particle (e.g., an atom, a molecule, a
photon) between successive impacts (or collisions), which modify
its direction, energy, or other properties. More specifically, the
embodiments provide high vacuum conditions for maintaining a mean
free path of film formation species that is greater than the
distance of the material source 118 from the substrate deposition
plane 126. For example, in order to provide a mean free path of Al
atoms of L.sub.MFP=1 meter for an example case of a material source
beam comprised exclusively of elemental Al atoms producing a flux
of .PHI..sub.Al=5.times.10.sup.19 atomsm.sup.-2s.sup.-1 directed
into a reactor that is homogeneously filled entirely of inert
molecular nitrogen (N.sub.2) at 300.degree. K, the maximum working
chamber pressure is limited to 10.sup.-6 torr and is preferably
less. In practice, the longest unimpeded optical path length an
atom is required to traverse from the source to the deposition
plane should be at most L.sub.MFP/2. Yet a further limitation is
the effect of the background impurity type and level specific to
the type of film to be deposited. The present embodiments can
achieve high-quality films if the growth rate (i.e., the time
.tau..sub.ML for accumulating one monolayer of desired material on
the deposition plane) is desired to be at least a factor
.lamda..gtoreq.10.sup.3-10.sup.4 times faster than the time
.tau..sub.imp (i.e., .tau..sub.imp.gtoreq..lamda..tau..sub.ML)
required to accumulate an equivalent monolayer of impurity species.
This places an upper limit to the acceptable residual impurity
pressure within the reactor to be of the order of
10.sup.-9-10.sup.-10 torr.
[0063] Therefore, the mean free path of ejected species generated
by the material source is assumed to be ballistic and collision
free until interaction with the deposition plane. Furthermore, the
base pressure of the reactor is assumed to be free of impurity
species and not contributing to the flux profile generated at the
deposition plane.
[0064] Referring again to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, methods of configuring
a material deposition system involve determining the position of a
material source for the purpose of improving the balance between
film quality and film growth rate. More than one material source
can be optimized, where the symmetry axes of each of the material
sources are directed at a point that is offset from the axis of
rotation of the substrate. For example, embodiments include
determining a minimum lateral distance X and a minimum orthogonal
distance Z for a given material source and tilt angle, where the
material source has given parameters such as an exit aperture and
material ejection spatial distribution (e.g., a given cosine N
factor). In another example, embodiments include determining a tilt
angle for a given material source and a given lateral distance X
and orthogonal distance Z, where the material source has given
parameters such as an exit aperture and material ejection spatial
distribution (e.g., a given cosine N factor). In some embodiments,
a proposed material source position (and/or angle) can be tested,
and one or more of the tilt angle .alpha., lateral distance,
orthogonal distance, desired growth rate and exit aperture geometry
can be dynamically modified after testing to meet the desired layer
uniformity. In some embodiments, if the desired layer uniformity is
not met--e.g., is deemed not to be achievable--the desired layer
uniformity can be changed to a new value and then new material
source position parameters are determined to meet the new value. In
some embodiments, calculation of the relative position between the
material source and substrate can be performed for a plurality of
material sources being used together. That is, in some embodiments
the determining of a position of a material source accounts for
when the material source and the additional material sources are
used together. The present methods are described in greater detail
with reference to FIG. 8.
[0065] Optimization of Material Source Placement
[0066] FIG. 4 through FIG. 7 are examples of plots of the
configuration space for certain positions of the material source
118 relative to the substrate deposition plane 126, where the
calculated film non-uniformity is plotted as a function of the
coordinates X and Z of the material source 118. The configuration
spaces shown in the respective plots of FIG. 4 through FIG. 7 are
unique with respect to a certain VFP tilt angle .alpha., a certain
cosine N factor of the material source 118, and a certain R.sub.SUB
of the substrate deposition plane 126 (indicating the area of film
formation). The methods are not limited to only those configuration
spaces shown in the plots of FIG. 4 through FIG. 7; these
configuration spaces are examples only. A configuration space
exists for any combination of VFP tilt angle .alpha., cosine N
factor, and R.sub.SUB value that is suitable for supporting a
continuous, high-throughput film formation process using MBE. Table
1 shows the configuration spaces that correspond to the plots shown
in FIG. 4 through FIG. 7.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Example configuration spaces VFP Tilt Angle
.alpha. Cosine N Factor R.sub.SUB Plot 300 of FIG. 4 45.degree. 2
1.5 Plot 400 of FIG. 5 45.degree. 3 1.5 Plot 500 of FIG. 6
45.degree. 6 1.5 Plot 600 of FIG. 7 30.degree. 3 1.5
[0067] In FIG. 4, a plot 300 shows the configuration space for
positions of the material source 118 when the cosine N factor=2,
the VFP tilt angle .alpha.=45.degree., and the R.sub.SUB=1.5. Note
that the X coordinate, the Z coordinate, and R.sub.SUB in the plot
300 are dimensionless. The plot 300 shows a >15% film
non-uniformity area, a 10% film non-uniformity area, a 5% film
non-uniformity area, a 2% film non-uniformity area, a 1% film
non-uniformity area, a 0.5% film non-uniformity area, and a 0.3%
film non-uniformity area, each of which is plotted as a function of
the distances X and Z of the material source 118 with respect to
the substrate deposition plane 126. A curve 310 forms the boundary
between the >15% and 10% film non-uniformity areas. A curve 312
forms the boundary between the 10% and 5% film non-uniformity
areas. A curve 314 forms the boundary between the 5% and 2% film
non-uniformity areas. A curve 316 forms the boundary between the 2%
and 1% film non-uniformity areas. A curve 318 forms the boundary
between the 1% and 0.5% film non-uniformity areas. A curve 320
forms the boundary between the 0.5% and 0.3% film non-uniformity
areas. Note that certain islands 317 of 1% film non-uniformity may
exist in the 2% film non-uniformity area (i.e., near the apex of
the curve 316). Also, certain islands of 0.5% film non-uniformity
may exist in the 1% film non-uniformity area (i.e., near the apex
of the curve 318). Also, certain islands of 0.3% film
non-uniformity may exist in the 0.5% film non-uniformity area
(i.e., near the apex of the curve 320).
[0068] For a given non-uniformity value, the fastest growth rate
may be achieved by providing the shortest distance possible from
the exit aperture 130 of the material source 118 to the substrate
deposition plane 126. Therefore, the fastest growth rate may be
achieved by selecting a point in the given non-uniformity area that
provides the shortest possible X and Z distances (i.e., where
R.sub.src-sub=(X.sup.2+Z.sup.2).sup.1/2 is minimized). Short X and
Z distances are desired because the shorter the source-to-formation
surface distance, the higher the growth rate, namely, the higher
the throughput of the MBE system. By way of example and referring
to the plot 300, if 2% non-uniformity is the target of the film
formation process and the highest growth rate possible is desired,
a point A, which is near the apex and just inside of the curve 314,
is selected to achieve the shortest possible distances X and Z,
which in turn achieves the highest possible growth rate. In this
example and corresponding to the point A, the material source 118
(which has a cosine N factor=2) having a VFP tilt angle
.alpha.=45.degree. is set at a distance X of about 2.4 and a
distance Z of about 2 to achieve about 2% non-uniformity. In
another example and corresponding to a point B, the material source
118 (which has a cosine N factor=2) having a VFP tilt angle
.alpha.=45.degree. is set at a distance X of about 3 and a distance
Z of about 2.6 to achieve the highest possible growth rate at about
1% non-uniformity.
[0069] In FIG. 5, a plot 400 shows the configuration space for
positions of the material source 118 when the material source 118
cosine N factor=3, the VFP tilt angle .alpha.=45.degree., and the
R.sub.SUB=1.5. Note that the X coordinate, the Z coordinate, and
R.sub.SUB in the plot 400 are dimensionless. The plot 400 shows a
>15% film non-uniformity area, a 10% film non-uniformity area, a
5% film non-uniformity area, a 2% film non-uniformity area, a 1%
film non-uniformity area, and a 0.5% film non-uniformity area that
are plotted as a function of the coordinates X and Z of the
material source 118. A curve 410 forms the boundary between the
>15% and 10% film non-uniformity areas. A curve 412 forms the
boundary between the 10% and 4% film non-uniformity areas. A curve
414 forms the boundary between the 4% and 2% film non-uniformity
areas. A curve 416 forms the boundary between the 2% and 1% film
non-uniformity areas. A curve 418 forms the boundary between the 1%
and 0.5% film non-uniformity areas. Note that certain islands of
0.5% film non-uniformity may exist in the 1% film non-uniformity
area (i.e., near the apex of the curve 418).
[0070] In one example and corresponding to a point A of the plot
400, the material source 118 (which has a cosine N factor=3) that
has a VFP tilt angle .alpha.=45.degree. is set at a distance X of
about 3.2 and a distance Z of about 2.6 to achieve about 1%
non-uniformity. In another example and corresponding to a point B
of the plot 400, the material source 118 (which has a cosine N
factor=3) that has a VFP tilt angle .alpha.=45.degree. is set at a
distance X of about 4.2 and a distance Z of about 3.5 to achieve
about 0.5% non-uniformity. Thus, for a 1% non-uniformity, the
material source 118 should be positioned at greater X distance for
a cosine factor of 3 (point A of plot 400) than for a cosine factor
of 2 (point B of plot 300).
[0071] In FIG. 6, a plot 500 shows the configuration space for
positions of the material source 118 when the material source 118
cosine N factor=6, the VFP tilt angle .alpha.=45.degree., and the
R.sub.SUB=1.5. Note that the X coordinate, the Z coordinate, and
R.sub.SUB in the plot 500 are dimensionless. The plot 500 shows a
>15% film non-uniformity area, a 10% film non-uniformity area, a
5% film non-uniformity area, a 2% film non-uniformity area, a 1%
film non-uniformity area, and a 0.5% film non-uniformity area that
are plotted as a function of the coordinates X and Z of the
material source 118. A curve 510 forms the boundary between the
>15% and 10% film non-uniformity areas. A curve 512 forms the
boundary between the 10% and 5% film non-uniformity areas. A curve
514 forms the boundary between the 5% and 2% film non-uniformity
areas. A curve 516 forms the boundary between the 2% and 1% film
non-uniformity areas. A curve 518 forms the boundary between the 1%
and 0.5% film non-uniformity areas. Note that certain islands of 5%
film non-uniformity may exist in the 10% film non-uniformity area
(i.e., near the apex of the curve 512). Also, certain islands of 2%
film non-uniformity may exist in the 5% film non-uniformity area
(i.e., near the apex of the curve 514). Also, certain islands of 1%
film non-uniformity may exist in the 2% film non-uniformity area
(i.e., near the apex of the curve 516). Also, certain islands of
0.5% film non-uniformity may exist in the 1% film non-uniformity
area (i.e., near the apex of the curve 518).
[0072] In one example and corresponding to a point A of the plot
500, the material source 118 (which has a cosine N factor=6) that
has a VFP tilt angle .alpha.=45.degree. is set at a distance X of
about 3.6 and a distance Z of about 2.6 to achieve about 1%
non-uniformity. In another example and corresponding to a point B
of the plot 500, the material source 118 (which has a cosine N
factor=6) that has a VFP tilt angle .alpha.=45.degree. is set at a
distance X of about 3.7 and a distance Z of about 2.7 to also
achieve about 1% non-uniformity, but at a slightly lower growth
rate than that of the point A. Thus, for a 1% non-uniformity, the
material source 118 should be positioned at an even greater X
distance for a cosine factor of N=6 (point A or B of plot 500) than
for a cosine factor of 3 (point A of plot 400) than for a cosine
factor of 2 (point B of plot 300).
[0073] In FIG. 7, a plot 600 shows the configuration space for
positions of the material source 118 when the VFP tilt angle
.alpha.=30.degree., the material source 118 cosine N factor=3, and
the R.sub.SUB=1.5. Note that the X coordinate, the Z coordinate,
and R.sub.SUB in the plot 600 are dimensionless. The plot 600 shows
a >15% film non-uniformity area, a 10% film non-uniformity area,
a 5% film non-uniformity area, a 2% film non-uniformity area, a 1%
film non-uniformity area, and a 0.5% film non-uniformity area that
are plotted as a function of the coordinates X and Z of the
material source 118. A curve 610 forms the boundary between the
>15% and 10% film non-uniformity areas. A curve 612 forms the
boundary between the 10% and 5% film non-uniformity areas. A curve
614 forms the boundary between the 5% and 2% film non-uniformity
areas. A curve 616 forms the boundary between the 2% and 1% film
non-uniformity areas. A curve 618 forms the boundary between the 1%
and 0.5% film non-uniformity areas. Note that certain islands of 1%
film non-uniformity may exist in the 2% film non-uniformity area
(i.e., near the apex of the curve 616). Also, certain islands of
0.5% film non-uniformity may exist in the 1% film non-uniformity
area (i.e., near the apex of the curve 618).
[0074] In one example and corresponding to a point A of the plot
600, the material source 118 (which has a cosine N factor=3) that
has a VFP tilt angle .alpha.=30.degree. is set at a distance X of
about 3 and a distance Z of about 3.3 to achieve about 1%
non-uniformity. In another example and corresponding to a point B
of the plot 600, the material source 118 (which has a cosine N
factor=3) that has a VFP tilt angle .alpha.=30.degree. is set at a
distance X of about 3.05 and a distance Z of about 3.35 to also
achieve about 1% non-uniformity, but at a slightly lower growth
rate than that of the point A. Comparing points A or B of plot 600
to point A of plot 400, it is seen that for the same cosine factor
N=3, changing the tilt angle .alpha. from 30.degree. to 45.degree.
affects the X and Z distances to achieve a 1% non-uniformity
target.
[0075] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an example of a method 700 of
configuring an offset material source in a material deposition
system to improve the balance between film quality and film growth
rate. Embodiments of the methods involve choosing values for
certain variables and mathematically modeling the material
deposition process to optimize the other variables. For example,
for a given material source type and tilt angle, the lateral
distance X and orthogonal distance Z can be optimized--such as
minimizing X and Z to achieve a desired layer deposition uniformity
for a desired layer growth rate. In other example embodiments, the
distances X and Z may be fixed, and the tilt angle may be
determined for achieving the desired layer deposition uniformity
for the desired growth rate. In yet other embodiments, the size of
the substrate (R.sub.SUB) or the type of cosine N source may be
changed to meet the desired deposition uniformity and growth
rate.
[0076] Conventional MBE systems are characterized by using
relatively slow growth rates as the means to achieve precise
epi-layer thicknesses, high-uniformity flux, abrupt interfaces
between heterogeneous epi-layers, high-uniformity films,
high-structural films, and high-electronic-quality crystalline
films. For example, the growth rate in conventional MBE systems may
be from about 0.1 monolayers per second (ML/s) to about 10 ML/s.
Furthermore, MBE systems typically require a specialized, but
straightforward, high vacuum preparation method to achieve the low
residual base pressures required for low non-intentional impurity
incorporation in the deposited films. This upfront investment in
reactor preparation toward the achievement of a vacuum state that
is suitable for high quality epitaxy is a key differentiator when
making a comparison with high pressure CVD reactors. Furthermore,
material sources (such as solid-liquid effusion-type sources)
require front-end atmospheric preloading into the reactor, and the
material sources subsequently become inaccessible once reactor
vacuum is once again attained. Therefore, high-throughput film
formation processes require high flux utilization efficiency to
manage epi-layer cost per unit area ($/m.sup.2) for a given
lifetime and total deposited film thickness of a material source
campaign. Yet a further desired property is the scalability of
reactor size to increase the total deposition area for a given
deposition cycle while maintaining low flux non-uniformity. This
enables the cost per area (e.g., $/m.sup.2) and cost of ownership
to be further reduced. It is understood that an increased
deposition surface area may contain a single large area substrate
or a plurality of smaller substrates advantageously positioned
across the deposition plane.
[0077] In conventional MBE systems, there is a direct correlation
between growth rate and the distance between the material source
and the formation surface (hereafter called source-to-formation
surface distance). More specifically, the shorter the
source-to-formation surface distance, the faster the potential
growth rate. The longer the source-to-formation surface distance,
the slower the growth rate. Therefore, to achieve high uniformity
films, conventional MBE systems implement slow growth rates by
placing the material source a long distance from the formation
surface in excess of the optimal position as taught herein.
Consequently, to achieve high growth rates in conventional MBE
systems, the source-to-formation surface distance must be
significantly reduced, but doing so has in general compromised the
film uniformity across the deposition plane and limited the maximum
deposition surface area (i.e., limited the scalability of the
process).
[0078] By contrast, the method 700, in accordance with some
embodiments, provides a technique for implementing high growth
rates in an MBE process while still achieving high quality films.
In one example, the method 700 provides a film that has about 95%
uniformity of thickness across the deposition plane (i.e., about 5%
non-uniformity). In another example, the method 700 provides a film
that has about 99% uniformity (i.e., about 1% non-uniformity). The
method 700 may include the following steps.
[0079] At a step 710, a rotation mechanism is provided. The
rotation mechanism rotates a substrate around a center axis of a
substrate deposition plane of the substrate. In some embodiments,
the substrate has a diameter of equal to or greater than 6 inches
(150 mm).
[0080] At a step 714, the material source is selected, including
the elemental species of the material and the type of material
source. The material source and the substrate are contained within
a vacuum environment. In one example of choosing a material source,
if the film to be formed includes gallium, the species selected are
gallium species. In another example, if the film to be formed
includes aluminum, the species selected are aluminum species. Then,
the type (i.e., gas, liquid, and solid) of the material source 118
is selected based on the selected species. In one example, if the
selected species is gallium, then a Knudsen effusion cell for
liquid evaporation of gallium is selected. In some embodiments, the
material source may be a cosine N source with a beam flux profile
ranging, for example, from about N=1 to about N=6, which is not
otherwise possible using conventional MBE. Additional (i.e.,
multiple) material sources may be included, where the material
source and additional material sources are used together; that is,
used to deposit different materials onto the substrate at the same
time. In some embodiments, the material sources include a nitrogen
plasma source that emits active nitrogen, and an oxygen plasma
material source.
[0081] Each material source 118 has an exit aperture 130 with an
exit aperture plane, and a predetermined material ejection spatial
distribution from the exit aperture plane. If more than one
material source is to be used, a predetermined material ejection
spatial distribution for each material source is acquired. In some
embodiments, the exit aperture has an exit aperture geometry, and
the method further comprises selecting the exit aperture geometry.
The predetermined material ejection spatial distribution has a
symmetry axis which intersects the substrate at a point offset from
the center axis, where the exit aperture is to be positioned at an
orthogonal distance, a lateral distance, and a tilt angle relative
to the center axis of the substrate. For a cosine N factor material
source, the predetermined (e.g., empirically) cosine N factor and
material ejection spatial distribution may be acquired from the
supplier of the selected material source 118. In one example, the
cosine N factor of the selected material source 118 is greater than
or equal to 2, such as about 3, or up to about 6.
[0082] At a step 718, either i) the VFP tilt angle .alpha. at which
to install the selected material source 118 is set or ii) the
orthogonal distance and the lateral distance for the exit aperture
of the material source is set. The VFP tilt angle .alpha. of the
selected material source 118 may be from about 30.degree. to less
than 90.degree. in one example, from about 30.degree. to about
60.degree. in another example, or at about 45.degree. in yet
another. In one example, the selected VFP tilt angle .alpha. is
45.degree.. The plume 134 of the material source 118 is provided at
tilt angles that are unlike conventional MBE in which the plume 134
of the material source 118 is provided substantially orthogonal to
the substrate deposition plane 126.
[0083] At a step 726, a desired accumulation of the material on the
substrate to achieve a desired layer deposition uniformity for a
desired growth rate is selected. In some embodiments, the target
(desired) uniformity (or non-uniformity) value may be expressed as
a flux. In some embodiments, the flux or film uniformity may be
expressed as a tolerance value. In one example, the selected target
thickness uniformity across the substrate deposition plane 126 is
99% (or equivalently, 1% non-uniformity). In this disclosure, the
target value may also be referred to as a desired value. The
deposition surface area (i.e., area of the substrate deposition
plane 126) is considered in the determination of parameters for the
desired layer uniformity and desired growth rate. In one example,
the substrate 122 is a 3-inch wafer (R.sub.SUB=1.5). In another
example, the substrate 122 is a 6-inch wafer (R.sub.SUB=3). In yet
another example, the substrate 122 is an 8-inch wafer
(R.sub.SUB=4). In still another example, the substrate 122 is a
12-inch (300 mm) wafer (i.e., R.sub.SUB=6).
[0084] At a step 730, if the tilt angle was set in step 718, then
minimum values for the orthogonal distance and the lateral distance
to achieve the desired layer deposition uniformity are determined.
That is, the shortest distances X and Z for positioning the
material source 118 are determined using the plot of the
configuration space that corresponds to the selections made in each
of the steps 714, 718 and 726. For example, the plot 400 of FIG. 5
shows the configuration space corresponding to a cosine N factor=3
(selected in step 714), a VFP tilt angle .alpha.=45.degree.
(selected in step 718), and a target non-uniformity=1% (selected in
step 726) for an R.sub.SUB=1.5. The growth rate of the film is
improved by determining the shortest distances X and Z that
correspond to the selected target uniformity. In some embodiments,
the determined orthogonal distance and the determined lateral
distance of the material source from the substrate deposition plane
is equal to or less than a mean free path of the material emitted
from the material source.
[0085] At step 730, if the orthogonal distance and the lateral
distance were set in step 718, then the tilt angle is determined to
achieve the desired layer deposition uniformity using the set
orthogonal distance and the set lateral distance.
[0086] In some embodiments, additional material sources may be
used, and step 730 involves determining either the tilt angle or
the orthogonal distance and the lateral distance for when all of
the material sources are used together.
[0087] In some embodiments, the method of configuring the material
deposition system is complete after step 730, for example if the
determined orthogonal and vertical distances achieve the desired
layer deposition uniformity and growth rate. In an example
scenario, a point is selected within the 1% film non-uniformity
area of the plot 400 that corresponds to the shortest, or nearly
the shortest, possible distances X and Z. In one example, the point
A near the apex of the curve 416 of the plot 400 is selected. The
point A corresponds to a distance X of about 3.2 and a distance Z
of about 2.6. Other points within the 1% film non-uniformity area
of the plot 400 may result in longer distances X and Z, thereby
yielding slower growth rates. Therefore, by selecting the point A
in plot 400, which is near the apex of the curve 416, the shortest,
or nearly the shortest, possible distances X and Z are utilized for
setting the position of the material source 118 with respect to the
substrate deposition plane 126. The growth rate is thereby improved
because the closer the material source 118 is to the substrate
deposition plane 126, the higher the growth rate will be.
[0088] In further embodiments, the determined tilt angle or the
determined minimum values of the orthogonal distance and the
lateral distance can be tested to see if further optimization is
needed. At a step 734, the configuration of the material source 118
with respect to the substrate deposition plane 126 as determined in
the steps 714, 718, 726, and 730 is physically implemented and
tested to determine whether the target film non-uniformity is
achieved in combination with a suitable growth rate to support a
high-throughput film formation process. For example and referring
to FIG. 2, the material source 118, which has a certain cosine N
factor (as determined in the step 714), is positioned at the
distances X and Z from the substrate deposition plane 126 that are
determined in the step 730 and at the VFP tilt angle
.alpha.=45.degree. that is selected in the step 718. The vacuum
environment 114 of the high-vacuum reaction chamber 100 is pumped
to a certain vacuum pressure (e.g., from about 10.sup.-11 torr to
about 10.sup.-7 torr), the rotation mechanism of step 710 is used
to rotate the substrate 122, and the material source 118 is
activated. Periodically, the thickness of the epitaxially grown
film is measured at multiple sample points along the substrate
deposition plane 126. This measurement may be performed, for
example, using a reflection high-energy electron diffraction
(RHEED) system that is directed at the substrate deposition plane
126.
[0089] At a decision step 738, based on the measurements taken in
the step 734, it is determined whether both the desired
non-uniformity that is selected in the step 726 and a growth rate
suitably high to support a high-throughput film formation process
have been achieved. If both the target non-uniformity and growth
rate are achieved, the method 700 ends. Any configuration of the
material source 118 with respect to the substrate deposition plane
126 is a balance between film quality and film growth rate.
Therefore, if the target non-uniformity and growth rate are not
achieved, either the desired film quality or the desired film
growth rate may be slightly relaxed. In one example, if the target
non-uniformity is not achieved, the method 700 may proceed to a
step 742.
[0090] At the step 742, at least one of the tilt angle, the desired
growth rate, the lateral distance, and the orthogonal distance is
changed if the testing does not meet the desired layer deposition
uniformity. For example, the desired growth rate may be reduced for
that particular application (semiconductor product,
manufacturing/cost goals). The method 700 then returns to the step
730 in which another point is selected within the desired film
non-uniformity area of a certain plot of the configuration space,
where the new point corresponds to a slightly greater distance X or
Z, or both, and, hence, a slightly reduced growth rate. In another
example, the lateral and/or orthogonal distances are adjusted, such
as increasing their values if a slower growth rate is acceptable.
In a further example, the tilt angle or an exit aperture geometry
is changed and another iteration of method 700 is performed, in
which the material ejection spatial distribution corresponding to
the new tilt angle or exit aperture geometry is used to
re-determine the orthogonal distance and the lateral distance.
[0091] In some embodiments, the desired layer deposition uniformity
of the film may be changed at step 746 if the desired objectives
are not being attained. For example, it may be acceptable to reduce
the desired uniformity of the film or increase the non-uniformity
of the film for a certain application. The method 700 returns to
the step 726 in which the uniformity value is reduced (i.e., the
non-uniformity value is increased), and then another iteration of
the method 700 begins.
[0092] In some embodiments, the rotation mechanism and the material
source are housed in a reaction chamber, and the method 700 can
also include a step 750 of using a relationship of the lateral
distance and the orthogonal distance to a radius of the substrate
R.sub.SUB for scaling a size of the reaction chamber. For example,
once minimal distances for positioning the material sources is
determined, the reaction chamber size can be scaled down. Reducing
the size of the reaction chamber can provide benefits such as
decreasing costs of the fabricating the chamber and occupying less
space in a manufacturing facility.
[0093] The method 700 may also include step 760 of emitting
material to form a semiconductor layer. The substrate is heated
while the material is emitted onto the substrate. Step 760 can
include using the optimal positioning of the material source
relative to the substrate, as determined in step 710 through step
738. The tilt angle, the orthogonal distance, and the lateral
distance are dynamically adjustable so that the positioning may be
adjusted according to which material source(s) are used, which may
vary between runs. The tilt angle, the orthogonal distance, and the
lateral distance may be dynamically adjustable by adjusting a
position of the substrate, or by adjusting the position of the
material source.
[0094] The VFP tilt angle may be chosen in step 718 with a-priori
reference to the type of material source 118 that is chosen. For
example, if the material source 118 is a single, open-ended orifice
crucible of a liquid effusion source, then its tilt angle is
limited by the inclination relative to the vertical direction (if
placed in a gravitational field) of the crucible for a given
material volume capacity and melt surface position with respect to
the exit aperture 130, which is the exit orifice. In general, a
well-defined VFP is created at the exit plane defined by the single
exit aperture 130 of a cylindrical crucible of body diameter
D.sub.C if the melt surface is sufficiently displaced from the exit
aperture 130. Furthermore, the VFP at the exit aperture 130 may be
characterized by the aperture diameter D.sub.O and aperture depth
L.sub.O, such that D.sub.O/L.sub.O<1 and D.sub.O<D.sub.C.
Therefore, in practice, liquid sources are suitable when
0.degree.<.alpha.<70.degree., and more preferably when
30.degree.<.alpha.<60.degree., and typically when
40.degree.<.alpha.<50.degree.. A standard configuration for a
large-capacity material source of this type is .alpha.=45.degree..
In contrast, a gas-injector material source is not constrained by
the internal details of the source and can be used when
0.degree..ltoreq..alpha.<90.degree.. Clearly, a gas-injector
material source type is capable of grazing incidence applications
wherein 70.degree.<.alpha.<90.degree..
[0095] In the operation of the high-vacuum reaction chamber 100 in
which the position of the material source 118 has been improved
with respect to the substrate deposition plane 126 according to the
method 700, in one example, the substrate deposition plane 126
(i.e., the substrate 122) is rotating. There is a speed at which
species are being ejected from the material source 118 and,
therefore, there is an arrival rate of the species at the substrate
deposition plane 126. The arrival rate may be expressed, for
example, in numbers of atoms or species per unit area per unit
time. When the high-vacuum reaction chamber 100 is operating, the
rotational speed of the substrate 122 may be, for example, from
about 1 rpm to about 1000 rpm. However, the minimum rotational
speed of the substrate 122 is determined by the arrival rate of the
species per unit time per unit area. That is, there is a
correlation between the time it takes for one rotation at the
periphery of the substrate 122 and the arrival rate of the species.
The accumulation of material is averaged over one rotation of the
substrate 122. For a high growth rate that is suitable to support a
high throughput system, the rotational speed of the substrate 122
may be, for example, on the order of from about tens of rpm to
about hundreds of rpm. While there is a lower limit to the
fundamental deposition plane rotation speed relative to the
smallest incident arrival rate of species, in general a faster
rotation speed may be advantageous.
[0096] In summary, the method 700 configures the position of the
material source 118 with respect to the substrate deposition plane
126 to epitaxially grow a high-quality film at a growth rate
suitable for supporting a continuous, high-throughput film
formation process, such as for a continuous, high-throughput
semiconductor fabrication process. A distance of the material
source 118 from the substrate deposition plane 126 that is suitably
short for film growth rates that are suitably high to support a
high-throughput film formation process, which is not otherwise
possible using conventional MBE; for example, the method may
provide at least a 1 Angstrom per second film growth rate
improvement over conventional MBE.
[0097] Oxide-Based Semiconductor Structures
[0098] The above systems, in which material sources are placed at
specifically designed locations and angles to achieve highly
uniform film layers at high throughput growth rates, may be used to
produce oxide-based semiconductor devices. P-type doping of various
materials may also be achieved, including p-type doped Mg-based
layers. For example, magnesium-based and zinc-based oxides may be
formed, including oxide-based layers of Mg.sub.xZn.sub.1-xO, with
x>0, p-type doped Mg.sub.xZn.sub.1-xO layers where
0.ltoreq.x<0.45, or a MgZnON layer. In some embodiments, the
oxide-based layer is a superlattice comprising sublayers of a) MgO
and ZnO, b) MgZnO and ZnO or c) MgZnO and MgO. In some embodiments,
the oxide-based layer is a p-type doped layer, and materials are
emitted using at least one of: active nitrogen plasma, nitrous
oxide (N.sub.2O), ammonia (NH.sub.3), phosphorus, oxygen plasma, or
defective Mg or Zn. In this disclosure, DUV LEDs shall be
described; however, other types of semiconductors may be
manufactured using the same techniques.
[0099] FIG. 9 is a side view of an example of a plasma treatment
system 900 that may be used to form high-quality, oxide-based films
on the substrate 901. The plasma treatment system 900 comprises a
reaction chamber 904, a heater 908, a nitrogen plasma source 912
that produces nitrogen species 916, an Mg (magnesium) source 920
that produces Mg species 924, a P (phosphorous) source 928 that
produces P species 932, an Al (aluminum) source 936 that produces
Al species 940, a Zn (zinc) source 944 that produces Zn species
948, and an oxygen plasma source 952 that produces oxygen species
956. The emission of the Mg species 924 is controlled by a shutter
960. The emission of the Zn species 948 is controlled by a shutter
964. The emission of the nitrogen plasma source 912, the P source
928, the Al source 936, and the oxygen plasma source 952 are each
similarly controlled by shutters that for the purpose of clarity
are not shown in FIG. 9. The plasma treatment system 900 also
comprises a vacuum pump 972, which is fluidly coupled to the
reaction chamber 904. Positioning mechanisms (not shown) can be
coupled to each of the material sources 912, 920, 928, 936, 944 and
952 to adjust the position (lateral distance, orthogonal distance,
and tilt angle) of the material source relative to the substrate
901 to meet the desired layer deposition specifications. A
positioning mechanism (not shown) may also be coupled to substrate
901 to adjust and move the position of the substrate horizontally
(in a direction of the plane of the substrate) or vertically
(perpendicular to the plane of the substrate).
[0100] The plasma treatment system 900 may also include an optical
detector (not shown) and/or a reflection high-energy electron
diffraction (RHEED) system (not shown). The plasma treatment system
900 includes a controller (not shown), which may be any computing
device, such as a handheld computer, a tablet computer, a laptop
computer, a desktop computer, a centralized server, a mobile
computing device, and the like.
[0101] The substrate 901 is placed in the reaction chamber 904
where it is subjected to a plasma treatment process to create
defect-free oxide-based films on the substrate 901. The substrate
901 is rotatable around a center axis of rotation AX. The substrate
901 may be held or manipulated using, for example, a wafer handling
system (not shown). The substrate 901 has a certain radius
R.sub.SUB. For example, a 6-inch substrate 901 has a radius
R.sub.SUB of 3 inches, an 8-inch substrate 901 has a radius
R.sub.SUB of 4 inches, a 12-inch substrate 901 has a radius
R.sub.SUB of 6 inches, and so on. The side of the substrate 901
that is facing the material sources is a film formation surface
906. The film formation surface 906 is the surface of the substrate
901 that will be subjected to the plasma treatment process in
preparation for subsequent film formation processes. The substrate
901 may also have a backside coating (not shown) for absorbing heat
from the heater 908.
[0102] Whereas the material sources are located on the film
formation surface 906 side of the substrate 901, the heater 908 is
located on the opposite side of the substrate 901. The heater 908
is used to heat the substrate 901 and, in turn, the film formation
surface 906 of the substrate 901 to a growth temperature T.sub.g
suitable for film growth, such as a growth temperature T.sub.g of
from about 300.degree. C. to about 700.degree. C. In one example,
the heater 908 is a radiative heater with heating elements that are
made of rhenium.
[0103] The nitrogen plasma source 912 is, for example, an
inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source that emits a plasma formed
of N* or N.sub.2*, shown as the nitrogen species 916. Active
nitrogen is an allotrope of nitrogen and is formed by the passage
of an electrical discharge through a stream of nitrogen. Unlike the
non-active nitrogen used in conventional film formation, which has
a very high bond energy that can be dissociated only at
temperatures as high as 2,700 kelvins (K), active nitrogen may be
dissociated at relatively low temperatures (e.g., 700-800 K). The
nitrogen plasma source 912 comprises an excitation apparatus (not
shown) and a pressure reducing aperture plate (not shown).
Furthermore, one or more mass flow controllers (MFC), shown as an
MFC 976, is fluidly coupled to the nitrogen plasma source 912 via a
gas line 980. The MFC 976 controls the gas flow rate from a gas
source (not shown) containing, for example, N.sub.2. In operation,
an N.sub.2 feedstock gas is supplied via the MFC 976 to the
nitrogen plasma source 912 and is then dissociated by energy
imparted by the excitation apparatus (not shown) to produce the
nitrogen species 916. The nitrogen species 916 enters the
deionizer/aperture (not shown), where substantially all the
nitrogen species 916 that are in an excited (i.e., ionized) state
are neutralized before exiting the deionizer/aperture (not shown).
In one example, the beam pressure of the nitrogen species 916 is
10.sup.-8 Torr, which is a beam pressure that is appropriate for
doping epitaxial films.
[0104] The Mg source 920 is, for example, an effusion cell that
emits the Mg species 924, which may be controlled using the shutter
960. In another example, the Mg source 920 produces the Mg species
924 as a precursor gas. Utilizing effusion cells and precursor
gases to produce the Mg species 924 reduces the complexity and
processing costs associated with the plasma treatment system 900.
The Mg species 924 are emitted through sublimation of solid
magnesium within the Mg source 920. The flux of the Mg species 924
is expressed as .PHI.(Mg). Flux is a measure of the number of atoms
per second impinging the substrate surface and is expressed as a
beam pressure. In one example, .PHI.(Mg) is about 10.sup.-7
Torr.
[0105] The P source 928 is an effusion cell that emits the P
species 932, which may be controlled using a shutter (not shown).
The P species 932 may be elemental phosphorous or an allotrope of
phosphorous, for example, diphosphorous (P.sub.2) generated by
sublimating gallium phosphide (GaP) or cracking tetraphosphorus
(P.sub.4) using a conventional cracker. The P species 932 serves as
a p-type dopant during film formation and contributes to the
formation of highly uniform oxide-based films. The flux of the P
species 932 is expressed as .PHI.(P). In one example, .PHI.(P) is
about 10.sup.-7 Torr.
[0106] The Al source 936 is, for example, an effusion cell that
emits the Al species 940, which may be controlled using a shutter
(not shown). In another example, the Al source 936 produces the Al
species 940 as a precursor gas. Utilizing effusion cells and
precursor gases to produce the Al species 940 reduces the
complexity and processing costs associated with the plasma
treatment system 900. The Al species 940 is, for example, an
aluminum monospecies (e.g., pure aluminum). The flux of the Al
species 940 is expressed as .PHI.(Al). In one example, .PHI.(Al) is
about 10.sup.-7 Torr. In another embodiment, instead of aluminum
species, an indium monospecies or a gallium monospecies is
used.
[0107] The Zn source 944 is, for example, an effusion cell that
emits the Zn species 948, which may be controlled using the shutter
964. In another example, the Zn source 944 produces the Zn species
948 as a precursor gas. Utilizing effusion cells and precursor
gases to produce the Zn species 948 reduces the complexity and
processing costs associated with the plasma treatment system 900.
In the example in which the Zn source 944 is an effusion cell, the
Zn species 948 is formed through sublimation of solid zinc within
the Zn source 944. The flux of the Zn species 948 is expressed as
.PHI.(Zn). In one example, .PHI.(Zn) is about 10.sup.-7 Torr.
[0108] The oxygen plasma source 952 is, for example, an ICP source
that emits a plasma formed of one or more gases selected from the
group consisting of active atomic oxygen (O*), molecular oxygen
(O.sub.2*), oxygen-nitrogen (ON), N*, and N.sub.2*. The resulting
plasma is shown as the oxygen species 956. In another example, the
oxygen source 952 is a source of pure oxygen supplied to the
reaction chamber 904. In the example in which the oxygen plasma
source 952 is a plasma source, the oxygen plasma source 952
comprises an excitation apparatus (not shown), and a
deionizer/aperture (not shown). Furthermore, one or more mass flow
controllers (MFC), shown as an MFC 984, an MFC 988, and an MFC 992,
are fluidly coupled to the oxygen plasma source 952 via a gas line
996. The MFC 984, the MFC 988, and the MFC 992 control gas flow
rates from gas sources (not shown) containing, for example,
N.sub.2, O.sub.2, or N.sub.2O. In one example of operation, N.sub.2
and O.sub.2 are combined in a fixed proportion and supplied to the
oxygen plasma source 952 and are then in their combined form
dissociated by energy imparted by the excitation apparatus (not
shown) to produce oxygen species 956. The oxygen species 956 enters
the deionizer/aperture (not shown), where substantially all the
oxygen species 956 that are in an excited (i.e., ionized) state are
neutralized before exiting the deionizer/aperture (not shown). In
one example, 99% of O.sub.2 is mixed with 1% of N.sub.2 to produce
a plasma of the oxygen species 956, which then produces a p-type
doped film on the film formation surface 906. The oxygen species
956 enhances the operating efficiency of the plasma treatment
system 900 by reducing the required processing temperature levels
and operating costs of the plasma treatment system 900. In some
embodiments, p-type doping of oxides (i.e., forming a p-type oxide
layer) is uniquely achieved by i) replacing (i.e., substituting)
some oxygen atoms in the semiconductor crystal structure with
nitrogen (e.g., 1 oxygen atom in every 1000), ii) replacing (i.e.,
substituting) some Mg or Zn atoms in the crystal structure with Al
or Ga (e.g., 1 Mg or Zn atom in every 10), or both (i) and
(ii).
[0109] Film deposition of oxide-based films in the plasma treatment
system 900 occurs at from about 500.degree. C. to about 700.degree.
C. in one example, and at about 600.degree. C. in another example.
With the oxygen plasma source 952 in place to enhance system
efficiency, film growth in the plasma treatment system 900 may
occur at temperatures as low as 350.degree. C. By contrast,
conventional film deposition temperatures for group III-N materials
range from about 900.degree. C. to about 1,200.degree. C., and
growth temperature tolerances must be controlled to within
5.degree. C. The lower deposition temperatures supported by the
plasma treatment system 900 of the present embodiments enables (1)
less complex and less costly processing equipment, (2) lower
process energy usage, and (3) larger growth temperature tolerances
than in conventional systems. Lower growth temperatures and larger
growth temperature tolerances facilitate high-quality film growth
on larger substrates and, thus, higher production throughput.
[0110] A vacuum environment 968 is maintained within the reaction
chamber 904 by the vacuum pump 972. The vacuum pump 972 may be a
conventional variable-speed vacuum pump that can evacuate the
reaction chamber 904 at a certain rate known as the pumping speed.
A valve (not shown) may be associated with the vacuum pump 972. A
pressure sensor (not shown) may be provided for monitoring the
vacuum pressure inside the reaction chamber 904. The vacuum pump
972 is used to maintain adequate vacuum pressure within the
reaction chamber 904. The vacuum pressure within the reaction
chamber 904 during film formation is, for example, from about
10.sup.-11 Torr to about 10.sup.-5 Torr.
[0111] In another embodiment of the plasma treatment system 900,
pure oxygen (O.sub.2) is supplied to the reaction chamber 904
through a heated pipe (not shown) rather than the oxygen plasma
source 952. The temperature of the oxygen entering the reaction
chamber 904 is, for example, from about 200.degree. C. to about
300.degree. C. In one example, the heated pipe (not shown) is
formed of sapphire.
[0112] The film formation surface 906 of the substrate 901 is the
target of the material delivered from the nitrogen plasma source
912, the Mg source 920, the P source 928, the Al source 936, the Zn
source 944, and the oxygen plasma source 952. The shutter 960 is
positioned in the path of the Mg species 924 emitted from the Mg
source 920. When open, the shutter 960 allows the Mg species 924 to
impinge the film formation surface 906 of the substrate 901. When
closed, the shutter 960 prevents the Mg species 924 from impinging
the film formation surface 906 of the substrate 901. The shutter
964 is positioned in the path of the Zn species 948 emitted from
the Zn source 944. When open, the shutter 964 allows the Zn species
948 to impinge the film formation surface 906 of the substrate 901.
When closed, the shutter 964 prevents the Zn species 948 from
impinging the film formation surface 906 of the substrate 901.
Other shutters (not shown) similarly control the impingement of the
nitrogen species 916, the P species 932, the Al species 940, and
the oxygen species 956 upon the film formation surface 906 of the
substrate 901.
[0113] When the reaction chamber 904 is at the desired film growth
temperature T.sub.g and vacuum pressure, the nitrogen plasma source
912, the Mg source 920, the P source 928, the Al source 936, the Zn
source 944, and the oxygen plasma source 952 are turned on. The
combined impingement of the nitrogen species 916, the Mg species
924, the P species 932, the Al species 940, the Zn species 948, and
the oxygen species 956 upon the film formation surface 906 of the
substrate 901 forms oxide-based layers on the film formation
surface 906.
[0114] FIG. 9 shows that the Mg source 920 and the Zn source 944
are located a certain lateral distance X from the center axis of
rotation AX of the substrate 901 and a certain vertical distance Z
from the plane of the film formation surface 906. This positioning
is shown for example purposes. The lateral distance X and the
vertical distance Z are the coordinates of the Mg source 920 and
the Zn source 944 with respect to the center of the film formation
surface 906. Further, the Mg source 920 and the Zn source 944 are
positioned at a virtual flux plane (VFP) tilt angle .alpha. with
respect to the plane of the film formation surface 906. The
nitrogen plasma source 912, the P source 928, the Al source 936,
and the oxygen plasma source 952 are each similarly positioned at a
lateral distance X from the center axis of rotation AX of the
substrate 901 and a vertical distance Z from the plane of the film
formation surface 906. Hence, the Mg source 920, the Zn source 944,
the nitrogen plasma source 912, the P source 928, the Al source
936, and the oxygen plasma source 952 are "off-axis" material
sources.
[0115] FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view of an example of an LED
device structure 1000, which is an example of an oxide-based
structure to be manufactured according to some embodiments. The LED
device structure 1000 is useful for forming, for example, a DUV
LED. The DUV LED may operate in the UVC wavelength range of about
100 nm to about 280 nm. The LED device structure 1000 may be used
to form a single completed device or may be used to form multiple
devices as part of a high-volume, high-throughput production
process. The LED device structure 1000 comprises a substrate 1004,
upon which a plurality of oxide-based layers is deposited.
Specifically, the LED device structure 1000 comprises the substrate
1004 on which are deposited, in order, an MgZnO buffer layer 1008,
an MgO--MgZnO multilayer 1012, an n-type MgZnO layer 1016, an NID
layer 1020, and a p-type MgZnO layer 1024.
[0116] The LED device structure 1000 is an example of a lateral PIN
diode. The NID layer 1020 serves as an intrinsic heterojunction
between the n-type MgZnO layer 1016 and the p-type MgZnO layer
1024. A heterojunction is defined as the interface between two
layers of dissimilar crystalline semiconductors that feature
unequal bandgaps.
[0117] In one example, the substrate 1004 is formed of sapphire,
calcium chloride, or magnesium oxide, which is substantially
transparent to light (e.g., light 1028). In this example, the
thickness of the substrate 1004 is from about 500 .mu.m to about
1,000 .mu.m; further, the diameter of the substrate 1004 is from
about 4 inches to about 12 inches. In another example, the
substrate 1004 is formed of silicon carbide, silicon or gallium
nitride (GaN), which absorbs light and therefore is not transparent
to the light 1028.
[0118] The MgZnO buffer layer 1008 is formed of MgZnO and has a
thickness of, for example, from about 200 nm to about 1 .mu.m. The
MgZnO buffer layer 1008 serves to minimize threading dislocations
and thus reduce the defect density in films formed atop the MgZnO
buffer layer 1008.
[0119] The MgO--MgZnO multilayer 1012 is a superlattice layer
formed of a plurality of alternating MgO sub-layers 1013a and MgZnO
sub-layers 1013b, where two of each sub-layer 1013a and 1013b are
illustrated for simplicity but may contain more sub-layers. The
MgO--MgZnO multilayer 1012 serves to further minimize threading
dislocations and thus reduce the defect density in films formed
atop the MgO--MgZnO multilayer 1012.
[0120] The n-type MgZnO layer 1016 is formed of MgZnO and is n-type
doped with, for example, aluminum, gallium, or indium. Aluminum,
for example, is a group III metal with the desirable property of
being highly evaporable. The n-type MgZnO layer 1016 has a
thickness of, for example, from about 200 nm to about 1 .mu.m.
[0121] The NID layer 1020 is a superlattice layer of alternating
sub-layers 1021a and 1021b where two of each sub-layer 1021a and
1021b are illustrated for simplicity but may contain more
sub-layers. Some sub-layers may be formed of, for example,
intrinsic MgZnO or MgO. Additionally, the NID layer 1020 may
contain one or more quantum-well structures formed of a narrow
bandgap material. In one example, the NID layer 1020 is formed
primarily of MgO (i.e., the barrier material) for sub-layer 1021a,
and contains one or more narrow bandgap ZnO quantum-well sub-layers
1021b. The NID layer 1020 has a thickness of, for example, from
about 10 nm to about 50 nm. In another example, the NID layer 1020
is formed as a superlattice structure using a MgZnO or MgZnO--ZnO
alloy.
[0122] The p-type MgZnO layer 1024 is formed of, for example,
nitrogen-doped MgZnO and has a minimum thickness of, for example,
about 200 nm. P-type doping of the p-type MgZnO layer 1024 is
achieved using, for example, a plasma of N* or N.sub.2* according
to the method described below in reference to FIG. 11. In another
example, p-type doping of the p-type MgZnO layer 1024 is achieved
using independent sources of nitrous oxide (N.sub.2O) or ammonia
(NH.sub.3). The p-type MgZnO layer 1024 provides the ability to
tune the bandgap of the device across a broad wavelength range,
whereas conventional group III-N films are limited in their
bandgap-tuning ability. For example, it is extremely difficult to
create a UV LED operating at 190 nm (i.e., 6 eV) or below using AlN
alone. In some cases, boron-AlN compounds may be used. However,
this material entails high levels of nitrogen and high deposition
temperatures, both of which may be extremely costly, technically
infeasible, and/or commercially infeasible. Moreover, it is quite
problematic to dope boron-AlN compounds to an electrical
conductivity type. In contrast, p-type MgZnO films can be produced
at easily achieved deposition temperatures and can be doped to
p-type conductivity with easily achieved levels of nitrogen.
[0123] Following the formation of the p-type MgZnO layer 1024,
electrical contacts (e.g., anodes and cathodes; not shown) are
formed using standard metallization and lithographic processing.
The electrical contacts are formed of, for example, nickel (Ni),
palladium (Pd), titanium (Ti), aluminum (Al), titanium nitride
(TiN), or titanium aluminum (TiAl).
[0124] In one example, the epitaxial layers of the LED device
structure 1000 are deposited such that the charge carriers (i.e.,
electrons and holes) move vertically and light (i.e., photons),
shown as light 1028 in FIG. 10A, is also emitted vertically. In
another example, the epitaxial layers of the LED device structure
1000 are deposited such that the charge carriers move laterally,
and light is also emitted laterally. "Laterally" in FIG. 10A refers
to the direction substantially along the plane of the layer growth,
while "vertically" refers to the direction substantially
perpendicular or normal to the plane of the layer growth.
[0125] In operation, the n-type MgZnO layer 1016 produces electrons
that move vertically into the NID layer 1020. Continuing the
example, the p-type MgZnO layer 1024 emits holes that move
vertically into the NID layer 1020. The charge carriers interact
and recombine within the NID layer 1020 and are emitted as light
1028 from the LED device structure 1000. In the example in which
the LED device structure 1000 is a UVC LED, the NID layer 1020 is
designed to emit light in the wavelength range of from about 100 nm
to about 280 nm. In the example in which the substrate 1004 is
substantially transparent to light, a certain percentage of the
light emitted from the NID layer 1020 is emitted directly through
the substrate 1004.
[0126] FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view of an optoelectronic
device embodied as an LED device structure 1030, in which a
multi-region stack 1031 comprises a crystal polarity that has
either an oxygen-polar crystal structure or metal polar crystal
structure along a growth direction 1032. The growth direction 1032
is vertical in FIG. 10B, relative to the horizontal plane of the
layers of the multi-region stack 1031. The LED device structure
1030 is useful for forming, for example, a DUV LED. The DUV LED may
operate in the UVC wavelength range of about 100 nm to about 280
nm. The LED device structure 1030 may be used to form a single
completed device or may be used to form multiple devices as part of
a high-volume, high-throughput production process. The LED device
structure 1030 has a substrate 1034, upon which the crystal polar
multi-region stack 1031 of at least five regions is epitaxially
deposited. The multi-region stack 1031 includes regions (i.e.,
layers) 1038, 1042, 1046, 1050 and 1054.
[0127] In one embodiment, the substrate 1034 is formed of sapphire,
calcium chloride, or magnesium oxide, which is substantially
transparent to light (e.g., light 1058). In this example, the
thickness of the substrate 1034 may be from about 500 .mu.m to
about 1,000 .mu.m. The diameter of the substrate 1034 may be from
about 4 inches to about 12 inches. In another example, the
substrate 1034 is formed of silicon carbide, silicon or gallium
nitride (GaN), which absorbs light and therefore is not transparent
to the light 1058.
[0128] A first region 1038 of the multi-region stack 1031 is a
buffer layer that is formed on a surface of the substrate 1034.
First region 1038 serves to improve the atomic surface quality of
the substrate 1034 by minimizing threading dislocations and thus
reducing the defect density in films formed atop the first region
1038. A second region 1042 on buffer layer 1038 serves as a crystal
structure improvement layer. The second region 1042 further
minimizes threading dislocations and thus reduces the defect
density in films formed atop the second region 1042.
[0129] A third region 1046 on second region 1042 has a first
conductivity type, such as n-type or p-type conductivity. A fifth
region 1054 has a second conductivity type, with a fourth region
1050 being an intrinsic conductivity type (NID) layer in between
third region 1046 and fifth region 1054. The second conductivity
type is opposite the first conductivity type. For example, if third
region 1046 is n-type, then fifth region 1054 is p-type.
Conversely, if third region 1046 is p-type, then fifth region 1054
is n-type.
[0130] The multi-region stack 1031 includes at least one region
(i.e., layer) that is a bulk semiconductor material comprising
Mg.sub.(x)Zn.sub.(1-x)O and at least one region that is a
superlattice, where the superlattice comprises at least two
compositions selected from ZnO, MgO and Mg.sub.(x)Zn.sub.(1-x)O. In
one embodiment, the buffer layer (first region 1038) may be made of
MgZnO with a thickness of, for example, from about 200 nm to about
1 .mu.m. In one embodiment, the second region 1042 is a
superlattice layer formed of a plurality of alternating MgO
sub-layers 1043a and MgZnO sub-layers 1043b, where two of each
sub-layer 1043a and 1043b are illustrated for clarity but may
contain more sub-layers.
[0131] In some embodiments, at least one of the third region 1046
or the fifth region 1054 (the n-type or p-type conductivity layers)
is formed by introducing at least one of silicon, germanium,
nitrogen, aluminum, gallium, nickel, or phosphorous into the
oxygen-polar or a metal-polar crystal structure of the multi-region
stack 1031. In some embodiments, at least one of the third region
1046 or the fifth region 1054 is formed using compositional grading
of a bulk or bulk-like composition of the form of
Mg.sub.(x)Zn.sub.(1-x)O. X is a spatially dependent value that
varies along the growth direction. That is, the third region 1046
or the fifth region 1054 may be comprised of a spatially dependent
composition of Mg.sub.(x)Zn.sub.(1-x)O that changes along the
oxygen-polar or metal-polar (vertical in FIG. 10B) growth direction
1032. An example of compositional grading is represented by the
gradient shading in third region 1046 in FIG. 10B.
[0132] In some embodiments, at least one of the third region 1046
or the fifth region 1054 (the n-type or p-type conductivity layers)
is formed using compositional grading of an effective alloy
composition of a superlattice. The superlattice has a plurality of
bilayer pairs formed of alternating layers of
Mg.sub.(x)Zn.sub.(1-x)O and Mg.sub.(y)Zn.sub.(1-y)O, where
x.noteq.y. The effective alloy composition of the superlattice
varies spatially along the growth direction. That is, the spatially
dependent effective alloy of the superlattice, as determined by x
and y, varies along the oxygen-polar or metal-polar growth
direction 1032. An example of a compositional grading of a
superlattice is represented by fifth region 1054 in FIG. 10B, in
which sub-layers 1055a1 and 1055a2 may be Mg.sub.(x)Zn.sub.(1-x)O
and sub-layers 1055b1 and 1055b2 may be Mg.sub.(y)Zn.sub.(1-y)O.
The alternating sub-layers of Mg.sub.(x)Zn.sub.(1-x)O and
Mg.sub.(y)Zn.sub.(1-y)O form bilayers. For sub-layers 1055a1 and
1055a2, x changes along the growth direction 1032. Similarly, for
sub-layers 1055b1 and 1055b2, y changes along the growth direction
1032.
[0133] In other embodiments, FIG. 10B may also represent
optoelectronic devices, such as LEDs, having non-polar crystalline
material structures. In such embodiments, the multi-region stack
1031 comprises a non-polar crystalline material structure along the
growth direction 1032. Similar to the polar crystal structure
described above, the multi-region stack 1031 for a non-polar
crystalline structure includes regions (i.e., layers) 1038, 1042,
1046, 1050 and 1054. First region 1038 of the multi-region stack
1031 is a buffer layer that is formed on a surface of the substrate
1034. Second region 1042 on buffer layer 1038 serves as a crystal
structure improvement layer. Third region 1046 on second region
1042 has a first conductivity type, such as n-type or p-type
conductivity. Fourth region 1050 is an intrinsic conductivity type
(NID) layer. Fifth region 1054 has a second conductivity type
opposite the first conductivity type. At least one region of the
multi-region stack 1031 is a bulk or bulk-like semiconductor
material comprising Mg.sub.(x)Zn.sub.(1-x)O. At least one region of
the multi-region stack 1031 is a superlattice, where the
superlattice comprises at least two compositions selected from ZnO,
MgO and Mg.sub.(x)Zn.sub.(1-x)O.
[0134] In some embodiments of a non-polar crystalline structure of
FIG. 10B, at least one of the third region 1046 or the fifth region
1054 is formed by introducing at least one of silicon, germanium,
nitrogen, aluminum, gallium, nickel or phosphorous into the
non-polar crystalline material structure. In some embodiments, at
least one of the third region 1046 or the fifth region 1054 (n-type
or p-type conductivity regions) is formed using compositional
grading of an elective alloy composition of a superlattice, where
the superlattice has a plurality of bilayer pairs formed of
Mg.sub.(x)Zn.sub.(1-x)O/Mg.sub.(y)Zn.sub.(1-y)O, in which x.noteq.y
and M is selected from Zn, Al, Ga, Ni, N, and P. The effective
alloy composition of the superlattice varies along the growth
direction (i.e., x and y are spatially dependent in the growth
direction). For example, for fifth region 1054, sub-layers 1055a1
and 1055a2 may be Mg.sub.(x)Mn.sub.(1-x)O while sub-layers 1055b1
and 1055b2 may be Mg.sub.(y)Zn.sub.(1-y)O. In some embodiments, the
multi-region stack 1031 consists of (i.e., all the compositions of
the multi-region stack 1031 are selected from)
Mg.sub.(x)Mn.sub.(1-x)O compositions, where 0.55<x.ltoreq.1.0,
and M is selected from Zn, Al, Ga, Ni, N, and P.
[0135] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of an example of a method 1100 for
forming high-quality, oxide-based LED device structures using, for
example, the plasma treatment system 900 of FIG. 9. The method 1100
comprises the steps below which shall be described using the device
structure 1000 of FIG. 10A but may also apply to the device
structures of FIG. 10B and other oxide devices.
[0136] Step 1110 involves rotating a substrate around a center axis
of a substrate deposition plane of the substrate and heating the
substrate. The substrate is loaded in a reaction chamber in
preparation for producing a high-quality, oxide-based LED. The
substrate is formed of, for example, calcium fluoride, MgO (111)
and (001) surface orientations, Ga.sub.2O.sub.3 (-201) and (010)
surface orientations, Al.sub.2O.sub.3 (c-plane and r-plane), Si
(111), Si (001), rare-earth oxide buffer layers, or MgZnO
superlattice buffer layers. Using a vacuum pump, the vacuum
pressure inside the reaction chamber is pumped down to about
10.sup.-5 Torr or less to evacuate the chamber such that the
substrate is contained within a vacuum environment. Further, a
heater is activated to provide a desired growth temperature T.sub.g
at a film formation surface of the substrate.
[0137] Step 1115 includes providing at least one material source
that supplies a material to the substrate. The material source is
contained within the vacuum environment of the reaction chamber.
Each material source has i) an exit aperture with an exit aperture
plane and ii) a predetermined material ejection spatial
distribution from the exit aperture plane. The predetermined
material ejection spatial distribution has a symmetry axis which
intersects the substrate at a point offset from the center axis.
The exit aperture is positioned at an orthogonal distance, a
lateral distance, and a tilt angle relative to the center axis of
the substrate. All material sources in the plasma reaction chamber
are activated while the shutters remain closed. The material
sources may include, for example, one or more of a nitrogen plasma
source, a Mg source, a P source, an Al source, a Zn source, a
nitrous oxide (N.sub.2O) source, an ammonia (NH.sub.3) source and
an oxygen plasma source which are activated while their associated
shutters remain closed so that no species impinge the film
formation surface of the substrate.
[0138] Step 1120 involves emitting material from the material
sources to form semiconductor layers on the substrate, such as
oxide-based layers and p-type doped layers. Step 1120 may include
steps 1122, 1125, 1130, 1135, 1140 and 1145 for forming individual
layers of the semiconductor device. During the emitting of step
1120, the exit aperture for at least one of the material sources is
positioned such that either i) the orthogonal distance and the
lateral distance are minimized for a set tilt angle, to achieve a
desired layer deposition uniformity for a desired layer growth rate
of the semiconductor layer on the substrate, or ii) the tilt angle
is determined for a set orthogonal distance and a set lateral
distance, to achieve the desired layer deposition uniformity for
the desired layer growth rate of the semiconductor layer on the
substrate.
[0139] The layers of device structure 1000 of FIG. 10A shall now be
used to describe the steps of FIG. 11; however, other layers may be
formed using the methods and systems disclosed herein. At step
1122, the MgZnO buffer layer (e.g., layer 1008) is formed to a
desired thickness. Namely, the shutters associated with the oxygen
plasma source, Mg species (e.g., shutter 960) and Zn species (e.g.,
shutter 964) are opened, and thereby the oxygen species impinges
the film formation surface of the substrate. In one example, the
thickness of the MgZnO buffer layer formed is about 200 nm. During
film growth, the vacuum pressure inside the reaction chamber is
maintained via the vacuum pump at about 10.sup.-5 Torr or less to
ensure ballistic transport of the Mg species, the Zn species, and
the oxygen species to the film formation surface of the
substrate.
[0140] At step 1125, the MgO--MgZnO multilayer (e.g., layer 1012)
is formed to a desired thickness. Namely, the shutters associated
with the oxygen plasma source, Mg species and Zn species are
opened, and thereby the oxygen species impinges the film formation
surface of the substrate to form the MgZnO component (sub-layer) of
the MgO--MgZnO multilayer. The shutter for the Zn species (e.g.,
shutter 964) is then closed to form the MgO component (sub-layer)
of the MgO--MgZnO multilayer. The Zn shutter is alternately opened
and closed during formation of the multiple respective sub-layers
of the superlattice MgO--MgZnO multilayer until a desired layer
thickness is achieved.
[0141] At step 1130, the n-type MgZnO layer (e.g., layer 1016) is
formed to a desired thickness. Namely, the shutters associated with
the oxygen plasma source, Mg species and Zn species are opened, and
thereby the oxygen species impinges the film formation surface of
the substrate to form the MgZnO component of the n-type MgZnO
layer. Simultaneously, the shutter that controls the Al source is
opened and the Al species impinges the film formation surface of
the substrate to serve as an n-type dopant in the n-type MgZnO
layer.
[0142] At step 1135, the NID layer (e.g., layer 1020) is formed to
a desired thickness. In the example in which the NID layer contains
one or more quantum-well structures formed of narrow bandgap
zinc-oxide (ZnO) quantum-well sub-layers, the MgO barrier material
is formed by opening the Mg shutter (e.g., shutter 260) and the
shutter associated with the oxygen plasma source to allow the Mg
species and the oxygen species to impinge the film formation
surface of the substrate. The ZnO quantum-well sub-layers are
formed by simultaneously closing the Mg shutter and opening the Zn
shutter (e.g., shutter 264) to allow the Zn species to impinge the
film formation surface of the substrate. The Mg and Zn shutters are
alternately opened and closed during the formation of the multiple
respective sub-layers of the NID layer until a desired layer
thickness is achieved. In one example, the thickness of the NID
layer is about 25 nm.
[0143] At step 1140, the p-type MgZnO layer (e.g., layer 1024) is
formed to a desired thickness. Namely, the shutters associated with
the oxygen plasma source, Mg species and Zn species are opened, and
thereby the oxygen species impinges the film formation surface of
the substrate to form the MgZnO component of the p-type MgZnO
layer. Simultaneously, the shutter associated with the nitrogen
plasma source is opened and thereby the nitrogen species impinge
the film formation surface of the substrate. The nitrogen species
are, for example, N* or N.sub.2* and serve as a p-type dopant in
the p-type MgZnO layer. A beam flux monitor, such as a RHEED
system, may be used to monitor the flux of the nitrogen
species.
[0144] At step 1145, electrical contacts are formed on the LED
device structure (e.g., device 1000) using a conventional
lithographic and metallization process. The LED device structure is
a vertical conduction LED in which charge carriers interact and
recombine within the NID layer to generate the light emitted from
the LED device structure. In another example, the method 1100 is
used to form a lateral conduction LED in which light emission
occurs laterally.
[0145] In summary, the plasma treatment systems and the methods of
forming high-quality, oxide-based devices (e.g. DUV LEDs) exhibit
advantages over conventional systems for and methods of forming
group III-N films using epitaxial growth. Conventional
semiconductor manufacturing equipment and epitaxial processes are
unable to maintain the film growth temperature tolerances and
precursor gas levels necessary for high-quality film deposition,
especially for substrates larger than 4 inches in diameter. This
limitation may result in non-uniform temperature profiles across
the film formation surface and therefore yield low-quality or
unusable devices. Finally, conventional group III-N films are
limited in their device bandgap tuning ability. This limits
flexibility in semiconductor device design and application,
particularly in the manufacturing of DUV LEDs. In contrast, the
present plasma treatment systems and methods disclosed herein
emphasize the production of high-quality films on larger
substrates, greater device application flexibility, higher
production throughput, and reduced manufacturing costs.
[0146] The present methods and systems may be used in general to
form structures having one or more MgZnO layers, thus providing
metal-rich and/or oxygen-rich compositions. These are classed as
non-stoichiometric materials and exhibit oxygen and/or metal
vacancies which can be engineered to exhibit excess electrons or
holes depending on the crystallographic defect introduced in the
crystal. In some embodiments, the structures are
Mg.sub.yZn.sub.1-yO/Mg.sub.xZn.sub.1-XO superlattices or MgZn(O,N)
oxynitride compositions. For example, the semiconductor layers may
be a superlattice comprising sublayers of a) MgO and ZnO, b) MgZnO
and ZnO or c) MgZnO and MgO.
[0147] Examples of MgZnO structures that are grown according to the
present embodiments include MgO as a layer and substrate; an
Mg.sub.xZn.sub.1-xO layer, with x>0.5 (rocksalt); and
MgO/Mg.sub.xZn.sub.1-xO, x>0.55 (non-polar rocksalt). In some
embodiments, polar structures comprising wurtzitic
Mg.sub.xZn.sub.1-xO, x<0.45 may be fabricated, such as
superlattices of Mg.sub.xZn.sub.1-xO, where 0.ltoreq.x<0.45;
superlattices of [Mg.sub.xZn.sub.1-xO,
0.ltoreq.x<0.45]/[Mg.sub.yZn.sub.1-yO, 0.ltoreq.y<0.45],
where x.noteq.y; and graded compositions of bulk
Mg.sub.xZn.sub.1-xO, 0.ltoreq.x<0.45. The graded compositions of
bulk Mg.sub.xZn.sub.1-xO can include p- or n-type doping that is
induced. For example, some methods can induce p-type by grading WBG
to NBG for O-polar on substantially C-plane oriented, or by grading
NBG to WBG for metal-polar on substantially C-plane oriented. In
other examples, methods can induce n-type by grading WBG to NBG for
metal-polar on substantially C-plane oriented, or by grading NBG to
WBG for O-polar on substantially C-plane oriented. In some
embodiments, a graded effective alloy composition can be created by
grading a superlattice unit cell using the bulk criteria described
for bulk Mg.sub.xZn.sub.1-xO.
[0148] In addition to the polarization-type doping as described in
the previous paragraph, impurity type doping may also be used. In
some embodiments, both impurity and polarization type doping can be
used.
[0149] Other embodiments include forming a device using
polarization doping of MgZnO for compositions x<0.45. Yet other
embodiments include forming a mixed type superlattice comprising
MgO/ZnO, or comprising a superlattice of [Mg.sub.xZn.sub.1-xO,
0.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.1]/[Mg.sub.yZn.sub.1-yO, 0.ltoreq.y.ltoreq.1],
where x.noteq.y. Yet further embodiments include forming non-polar
Mg.sub.xZn.sub.1-xO structures, where x>0.55.
[0150] The structures may be grown on various substrates, such as:
MgO (111) and (001) surface orientations, Ga.sub.2O.sub.3 (-201)
and (010) surface orientations, Al.sub.2O.sub.3 (c-plane and
r-plane), Si (111) for use with wurtzitic MgZnO x<0.45, Si (001)
for use with MgZnO x>0.55, rare-earth oxide buffer layers, and
MgZnO superlattice buffer layers.
[0151] MgZnO superlattices and multiple quantum wells (MQWs) enable
thicker layers for quantization effects, and are easier to grow
than AlGaN or AlN/GaN superlattices.
[0152] Reference has been made in detail to embodiments of the
disclosed invention, one or more examples of which have been
illustrated in the accompanying figures. Each example has been
provided by way of explanation of the present technology, not as a
limitation of the present technology. In fact, while the
specification has been described in detail with respect to specific
embodiments of the invention, it will be appreciated that those
skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the
foregoing, may readily conceive of alterations to, variations of,
and equivalents to these embodiments. For instance, features
illustrated or described as part of one embodiment may be used with
another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is
intended that the present subject matter covers all such
modifications and variations within the scope of the appended
claims and their equivalents. These and other modifications and
variations to the present invention may be practiced by those of
ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the scope of the
present invention, which is more particularly set forth in the
appended claims. Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art
will appreciate that the foregoing description is by way of example
only, and is not intended to limit the invention.
* * * * *