# US 10,865,469 B2 · Compound semiconductor, method for manufacturing same, and nitride semiconductor

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 10,865,469 B2
- Document ID: US10865469B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/329,037
- Filed: 2017-06-01
- Published: 2019-06-27
- Granted: 2020-12-15
- Earliest claimed: 2016-08-31
- Assignees: Japan Science and Technology Policy
- Applicants: Japan Science and Technology Agency
- Inventors: Hiroshi Fujioka; Kohei Ueno
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10865469B2

## CPC

- H10P 14/3216: {Nitrides}
- C23C 14/06: characterised by the coating material ({C23C14/0021} , C23C14/04 take precedence)
- C23C 14/0641: {Nitrides (C23C14/0617 takes precedence)}
- C23C 14/34: Sputtering
- H01S 5/042: Electrical excitation {; Circuits therefor (monolithically integrated laser drive components H01S5/0261)}
- H01S 5/183: having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL]
- H01S 5/18341: {Intra-cavity contacts}
- H01S 5/3095: {Tunnel junction}
- H01S 5/343: in AIIIBV compounds, e.g. AlGaAs-laser {, InP-based laser}
- H10D 30/47: having two-dimensional [2D] charge carrier gas channels, e.g. nanoribbon FETs or high electron mobility transistors [HEMT]
- H10D 30/477: {Vertical HEMTs or vertical HHMTs}
- H10D 30/67: Thin-film transistors [TFT] {(Stacked nanowire, nanosheet or nanoribbon FETs H10D30/501)}
- H10D 30/6758: {characterised by the insulating substrates}
- H10D 30/87: FETs having Schottky gate electrodes, e.g. metal-semiconductor FETs [MESFET] {(FETs having Schottky contact on top of heterojunction gate H10D30/801)}
- H10H 20/825: containing nitrogen, e.g. GaN
- H10H 20/8252: {characterised by the dopants}
- H10P 14/20: of semiconductor materials
- H10P 14/22: using physical deposition, e.g. vacuum deposition or sputtering
- H10P 14/3416: {Nitrides}
- H10P 14/3442: {N-type}
- H10P 14/6329: {using physical ablation of a target, e.g. physical vapour deposition or pulsed laser deposition}
- H01S 5/04253: {having specific optical properties, e.g. transparent electrodes}
- H01S 5/04257: {having positive and negative electrodes on the same side of the substrate}
- H01S 5/18308: {having a special structure for lateral current or light confinement}
- H01S 5/34333: {with a well layer based on Ga(In)N or Ga(In)P, e.g. blue laser}
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
- C23C: COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL (making metal-coated products by extrusion B21C23/22; covering with metal by connecting pre-existing layers to articles, see the relevant places, e.g. B21D39/00, B23K; metallising of glass C03C; metallising mortars, concrete, artificial stone, ceramics or natural stone C04B41/00; enamelling of, or applying a vitreous layer to, metals C23D; treating metal surfaces or coating of metals by electrolysis or electrophoresis C25D; single-crystal film growth C30B; by metallising textiles D06M11/83; decorating textiles by locally metallising D06Q1/04)
- H01S: DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
- H10D: INORGANIC ELECTRIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
- H10H: INORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES HAVING POTENTIAL BARRIERS

## Abstract

A compound semiconductor has a high electron concentration of 5×1019 cm−3 or higher, exhibits an electron mobility of 46 cm2/V·s or higher, and exhibits a low electric resistance, and thus is usable to produce a high performance semiconductor device. The present invention provides a group 13 nitride semiconductor of n-type conductivity that may be formed as a film on a substrate having a large area size at a temperature of room temperature to 700° C.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A two-, three-, or four-component compound semiconductor containing nitrogen and one element selected from the group consisting of B, Al, Ga and In, which are group 13 elements,
wherein:
the compound semiconductor has a thin film shape,
the compound semiconductor contains Si or Ge as an electron donor,
the compound semiconductor contains oxygen as an impurity at 1×1017 cm−3 or higher,
in a case where the compound semiconductor contains Si as the electron donor, the compound semiconductor has an electron concentration of 8.09×1019 cm−3 or higher and has n-type conductivity,
in a case where the compound semiconductor contains Ge as the electron donor, the compound semiconductor has an electron concentration of 3.04×1020 cm−3 or higher and has n-type conductivity, and
the compound semiconductor exhibits an electron mobility, measured at room temperature, of 46 cm2/V·s or higher.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The compound semiconductor according to claim 1, wherein the compound semiconductor contains GaN.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The compound semiconductor according to claim 2, wherein the compound semiconductor has an absorption coefficient of 2000 cm−1 or lower to light having a wavelength region of 405 nm.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The compound semiconductor according to claim 2, wherein the compound semiconductor has an absorption coefficient of 1000 cm−1 or lower to light having a wavelength region of 450 nm.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The compound semiconductor according to claim 1, wherein the compound semiconductor has an RMS value of 5.0 nm or less obtained by a surface roughness measurement performed by an AFM.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The compound semiconductor according to claim 1, wherein the compound semiconductor has a contact resistance, measured at room temperature, of 1×10−4 Ω·cm2 or lower against an n-type ohmic electrode metal.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The compound semiconductor according to claim 1, wherein the compound semiconductor contains Ga as the group 13 element and further contains Al and/or In as the group 13 element.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

A contact structure comprising a conductive portion and an electrode connected with each other, the conductive portion being formed using the compound semiconductor according to claim 1.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

A semiconductor device comprising the contact structure according to claim 8.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

A transparent electrode formed using the compound semiconductor according to claim 1.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

A method for manufacturing a compound semiconductor, the method comprising forming a film using the compound semiconductor according to claim 1 by a pulse sputtering method in a process atmosphere containing oxygen.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The method for manufacturing a compound semiconductor according to claim 11, wherein the film is formed at a substrate temperature of 700° C. or lower.