Method and apparatus for depositing thin films of group III nitrides and other films and devices made therefrom

Abstract

In this invention, one or more metal-containing sources and one or more ammonium halides are heated such that they evaporate into a vacuum environment (except that, in MOMBE, a beam of the organometallic source compound may be created by other means) and made to impinge on a substrate. The materials interact on the substrate to form a film of the desired nitride compound or alloy; the substrate usually will be heated to promote chemical reaction and good film properties such as high crystallinity. Other sources—to provide dopant impurities like silicon or magnesium, for example—would be part of a deposition system envisioned in this invention. Multiple film layers, including quantum wells and superlattices, may be formed using this method, in addition to a single film.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.