N-Type Contact Electrode Comprising a Group III Nitride Semiconductor, and Method Forming Same

Abstract

A method for forming an n-type contact electrode comprising an n-type nitride semiconductor such as AlxInyGazN (with x, y, and z being rational numbers that sum to 1.0 and fulfill the relations 0<x≦1.0, 0≦y≦0.1, and 0≦z<1.0) includes: a step in which a first electrode metal layer including at least one metal selected from titanium, vanadium, and tantalum is formed on a layer of the aforementioned n-type semiconductor and then heat-treated at a temperature between 800° C. and 1200° C.; and a step in which a second electrode metal layer is formed on top of the first electrode metal layer and then heat-treated at a temperature between 700° C. and 1000° C. The second electrode metal layer contains a layer comprising a metal, such as aluminum, that has a work function between 4.0 and 4.8 eV and a resistivity between 1.5×10−6 Ω·cm and 4.0×10−6 Ω·cm.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.