Method for growing group III-nitride crystals in supercritical ammonia using an autoclave

Abstract

A method of growing high-quality, group-III nitride, bulk single crystals. The group III-nitride bulk crystal is grown in an autoclave in supercritical ammonia using a source material or nutrient that is a group III-nitride polycrystals or group-III metal having a grain size of at least 10 microns or more and a seed crystal that is a group-III nitride single crystal. The group III-nitride polycrystals may be recycled from previous ammonothermal process after annealing in reducing gas at more then 600° C. The autoclave may include an internal chamber that is filled with ammonia, wherein the ammonia is released from the internal chamber into the autoclave when the ammonia attains a supercritical state after the heating of the autoclave, such that convection of the supercritical ammonia transfers source materials and deposits the transferred source materials onto seed crystals, but undissolved particles of the source materials are prevented from being transferred and deposited on the seed crystals.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.