Method and apparatus for production of liquid phase epitaxial layers of semiconductors

A method for successively growing single crystal epitaxial layers of semiconductors which have the ternary or more multi-component homogeneous composition and/or uniform doping level in the binary or more multi-component semiconductors on suitable substrates from the liquid phase comprising the steps of:

• applying heat to a molten metallic solvent solution unsaturated with said semiconductor and thereby establishing a temperature gradient therein with a high temperature region and a low temperature region;
• contacting at least one substrate surface with the low temperature region of said solution to supply a small amount of said liquid solution onto said substrate;
• transferring said substrate with the small amount of said solution thereon into a different location and there contacting a solid source material with the high temperature region of said small amount of solution so that said source material dissolves into said high temperature region of said solution and saturates said solution with said semiconductor such that at least a portion of said solid source material acquires an undissolved state thereby growing the epitaxial layers on the substrate by diffusion of the dissolved source material through said solution and supersaturation of said material in the low temperature region;
• maintaining the temperatures in said solution constant during said epitaxial growth;
• controlling the composition and/or doping level of said epitaxial layers by selecting substantially equal composition and/or doping level of the undissolved solid source material to said semiconductor to be grown;
• contacting at least one other substrate surface with said solution unsaturated with said semiconductor for successive growth of epitaxial layers on a plurality of different substrate portions.