# US 9,040,322 B2 · Method for manufacturing semiconductor light emitting element > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,040,322 B2 - Document ID: US9040322B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/601,231 - Filed: 2012-08-31 - Published: 2013-09-19 - Granted: 2015-05-26 - Earliest claimed: 2011-12-09 - Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba - Applicants: Taisuke Sato; Kotaro Zaima; Jumpei Tajima; Naoharu Sugiyama; Shinya Nunoue - Inventors: Taisuke Sato; Kotaro Zaima; Jumpei Tajima; Naoharu Sugiyama; Shinya Nunoue - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9040322B2 ## CPC - H10H 20/815: having stress relaxation structures, e.g. buffer layers - H10H 20/01: Manufacture or treatment - H10H 20/018: {Bonding of wafers} - H10H 20/0137: {the light-emitting regions comprising nitride materials} - H10H 20/82: Roughened surfaces, e.g. at the interface between epitaxial layers - H10H 20/821: of the light-emitting regions, e.g. non-planar junctions - H10H: INORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES HAVING POTENTIAL BARRIERS ## Abstract According to one embodiment, a method is disclosed for manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting element. The method can include bonding a stacked main body of a structural body to a substrate main body. The structural body includes a growth substrate and the stacked main body provided on the growth substrate. The stacked main body includes a first nitride semiconductor film, a light emitting film provided on the first nitride semiconductor film, and a second nitride semiconductor film provided on the light emitting film. The method can include removing the growth substrate. The method can include forming a plurality of stacked bodies. The method can include forming an uneven portion in a surface of a first nitride semiconductor layer. The method can include forming a plurality of the semiconductor light emitting elements. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting element, comprising: bonding a stacked main body to a substrate main body, the stacked main body being included in a structural body, the structural body further including a growth substrate, the stacked main body being provided on the growth substrate, the stacked main body including a first nitride semiconductor film of a first conductivity type, a light emitting film provided on the first nitride semiconductor film, and a second nitride semiconductor film of a second conductivity type provided on the light emitting film, tensile stress being applied to the stacked main body; removing the growth substrate; forming a plurality of stacked bodies by dividing the stacked main body into a plurality of regions by removing a portion of the stacked main body, the stacked bodies including a first nitride semiconductor layer formed from the first nitride semiconductor film, a second nitride semiconductor layer formed from the second nitride semiconductor film, and a light emitting layer formed from the light emitting film; forming an uneven portion in a surface of the first nitride semiconductor layer on a side opposite to the light emitting layer for each of the stacked bodies; and forming a plurality of the semiconductor light emitting elements by dividing the substrate main body for each of the stacked bodies, each of the semiconductor light emitting elements including the stacked body and a supporting substrate formed from the divided substrate main body, wherein the removing of the growth substrate includes polishing the growth substrate to cause a thickness of the growth substrate to be not less than 5 μm and not more than 50 μm. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising forming the structural body by: forming the first nitride semiconductor film on the growth substrate; forming the light emitting film on the first nitride semiconductor film; and forming the second nitride semiconductor film on the light emitting film. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method according to claim 2, wherein: the forming of the structural body further includes forming a buffer layer between the growth substrate and the first nitride semiconductor film, the buffer layer being used as a stopper when removing the growth substrate; and the removing of the growth substrate further includes removing the buffer layer. ### Claim 4 A method for manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting element, comprising: forming a structural body, the structural body including a growth substrate and a stacked main body, the stacked main body being provided on the growth substrate, the stacked main body including a first nitride semiconductor film of a first conductivity type, a light emitting film provided on the first nitride semiconductor film, and a second nitride semiconductor film of a second conductivity type provided on the light emitting film, tensile stress being applied to the stacked main body; bonding the stacked main body to a substrate main body; removing the growth substrate; forming a plurality of stacked bodies by dividing the stacked main body into a plurality of regions by removing a portion of the stacked main body, the stacked bodies including a first nitride semiconductor layer formed from the first nitride semiconductor film, a second nitride semiconductor layer formed from the second nitride semiconductor film, and a light emitting layer formed from the light emitting film; forming an uneven portion in a surface of the first nitride semiconductor layer on a side opposite to the light emitting layer for each of the stacked bodies; and forming a plurality of the semiconductor light emitting elements by dividing the substrate main body for each of the stacked bodies, each of the semiconductor light emitting elements including the stacked body and a supporting substrate formed from the divided substrate main body, the forming of the structural body including: forming the first nitride semiconductor film on the growth substrate; forming the light emitting film on the first nitride semiconductor film; and forming the second nitride semiconductor film on the light emitting film, the forming of the structural body further including forming a buffer layer between the growth substrate and the first nitride semiconductor film, the buffer layer being used as a stopper when removing the growth substrate, the removing of the growth substrate further including removing the buffer layer, the forming of the first nitride semiconductor film further including forming a first layer on the buffer layer and forming a second layer on the first layer, a concentration of an impurity of the second layer being higher than a concentration of an impurity of the first layer, and the removing of the growth substrate further including removing the first layer. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the growth substrate is a Si substrate. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising forming a first electrode on the surface of the first nitride semiconductor layer on the side opposite to the light emitting layer, the first electrode being electrically connected to the first nitride semiconductor layer. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method according to claim 6, wherein the forming of the first electrode includes making a recess in the surface of the first nitride semiconductor layer on the side opposite to the light emitting layer and forming the first electrode inside the recess. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising forming an etching stop film on the second nitride semiconductor film prior to the bonding of the major surface of the structural body to the substrate main body, the forming of the stacked bodies by dividing the stacked main body including dividing the stacked main body by etching the stacked main body from the first nitride semiconductor film side to the etching stop film. ### Claim 9 A method for manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting element, comprising: bonding a stacked main body to a substrate main body, the stacked main body being included in a structural body, the structural body further including a growth substrate, the stacked main body being provided on the growth substrate, the stacked main body including a first nitride semiconductor film of a first conductivity type, a light emitting film provided on the first nitride semiconductor film, and a second nitride semiconductor film of a second conductivity type provided on the light emitting film, tensile stress being applied to the stacked main body; removing the growth substrate; forming a plurality of stacked bodies by dividing the stacked main body into a plurality of regions by removing a portion of the stacked main body, the stacked bodies including a first nitride semiconductor layer formed from the first nitride semiconductor film, a second nitride semiconductor layer formed from the second nitride semiconductor film, and a light emitting layer formed from the light emitting film; forming an uneven portion in a surface of the first nitride semiconductor layer on a side opposite to the light emitting layer for each of the stacked bodies; and forming a plurality of the semiconductor light emitting elements by dividing the substrate main body for each of the stacked bodies, each of the semiconductor light emitting elements including the stacked body and a supporting substrate formed from the divided substrate main body, the bonding the stacked main body to the substrate main body including: forming an etching stop film on the second nitride semiconductor film prior to the bonding of the major surface of the structural body to the substrate main body; exposing a portion of the second nitride semiconductor film by removing a portion of the etching stop film prior to the bonding of the major surface of the structural body to the substrate main body; and forming an electrode on the portion of the second nitride semiconductor film, the electrode being electrically connected to the second nitride semiconductor film, the forming of the stacked bodies by dividing the stacked main body including dividing the stacked main body by etching the stacked main body from the first nitride semiconductor film side to the etching stop film. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method according to claim 9, wherein a thickness of the electrode along a stacking direction of the stacked main body is the same as a thickness of the etching stop film along the stacking direction. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The method according to claim 8, wherein the etching stop film is an oxide film of at least one selected from Si, Al, Ti, Zr, In, Sn, and Ni, a nitride film of the at least one, or an oxynitride film of the at least one. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The method according to claim 8, wherein the etching stop film is a metal including at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ni, Pt, W, Au, Ti, and Al. ### Claim 13 (depends on 8) The method according to claim 8, wherein the etching of the stacked main body is dry etching including one element selected from chlorine, argon, fluorine, and boron. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the bonding of the structural body to the substrate main body includes forming a first bonding film on the stacked main body, forming a second bonding film on the substrate main body, and bonding the first bonding film to the second bonding film. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the forming of the uneven portion includes forming an insulating film on the first nitride semiconductor layer, exposing a portion of the first nitride semiconductor layer by removing a portion of the insulating film, and etching the portion of the first nitride semiconductor layer using the insulating film as a mask. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The method according to claim 15, wherein the insulating film covers a side surface of the stacked bodies. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein a surface roughness of the uneven portion is not less than 100 nm and not more than 3000 nm. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising forming a back surface electrode on a back surface of the substrate main body, the back surface being a surface of the substrate main body on a side opposite to a bonding surface of the substrate main body, the bonding surface being bonded to the stacked main body. ### Claim 19 A method for manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting element, comprising: bonding a stacked main body to a substrate main body, the stacked main body being included in a structural body, the structural body further including a growth substrate, the stacked main body being provided on the growth substrate, the stacked main body including a first nitride semiconductor film of a first conductivity type, a light emitting film provided on the first nitride semiconductor film, and a second nitride semiconductor film of a second conductivity type provided on the light emitting film, tensile stress being applied to the stacked main body; removing the growth substrate; forming a plurality of stacked bodies by dividing the stacked main body into a plurality of regions by removing a portion of the stacked main body, the stacked bodies including a first nitride semiconductor layer formed from the first nitride semiconductor film, a second nitride semiconductor layer formed from the second nitride semiconductor film, and a light emitting layer formed from the light emitting film; forming an uneven portion in a surface of the first nitride semiconductor layer on a side opposite to the light emitting layer for each of the stacked bodies; forming a back surface electrode on a back surface of the substrate main body, the back surface being a surface of the substrate main body on a side opposite to a bonding surface of the substrate main body the bonding surface being bonded to the stacked main body; and forming a plurality of the semiconductor light emitting elements by dividing the substrate main body for each of the stacked bodies, each of the semiconductor light emitting elements including the stacked body and a supporting substrate formed from the divided substrate main body, the forming of the back surface electrode further including polishing the substrate main body to cause a thickness of the substrate main body to be not less than 50 μm and not more than 250 μm.