We present a comprehensive and up-to-date compilation of band parameters for all of the nitrogen-containing III–V semiconductors that have been investigated to date. The two main classes are: (1) “conventional” nitrides (wurtzite and zinc-blende GaN, InN, and AlN, along with their alloys) and (2) “dilute” nitrides (zinc-blende ternaries and quaternaries in which a relatively small fraction of N is added to a host III–V material, e.g., GaAsN and GaInAsN). As in our more general review of III–V semiconductor band parameters [I. Vurgaftman et al., J. Appl. Phys. 89, 5815 (2001)], complete and consistent parameter sets are recommended on the basis of a thorough and critical review of the existing literature. We tabulate the direct and indirect energy gaps, spin-orbit and crystal-field splittings, alloy bowing parameters, electron and hole effective masses, deformation potentials, elastic constants, piezoelectric and spontaneous polarization coefficients, as well as heterostructure band offsets. Temperature an...

Band parameters for nitrogen-containing semiconductors

Atomic layer deposition(ALD), a chemical vapor deposition technique based on sequential self-terminating gas–solid reactions, has for about four decades been applied for manufacturing conformal inorganic material layers with thickness down to the nanometer range. Despite the numerous successful applications of material growth by ALD, many physicochemical processes that control ALD growth are not yet sufficiently understood. To increase understanding of ALD processes, overviews are needed not only of the existing ALD processes and their applications, but also of the knowledge of the surface chemistry of specific ALD processes. This work aims to start the overviews on specific ALD processes by reviewing the experimental information available on the surface chemistry of the trimethylaluminum/water process. This process is generally known as a rather ideal ALD process, and plenty of information is available on its surface chemistry. This in-depth summary of the surface chemistry of one representative ALD process aims also to provide a view on the current status of understanding the surface chemistry of ALD, in general. The review starts by describing the basic characteristics of ALD, discussing the history of ALD—including the question who made the first ALD experiments—and giving an overview of the two-reactant ALD processes investigated to date. Second, the basic concepts related to the surface chemistry of ALD are described from a generic viewpoint applicable to all ALD processes based on compound reactants. This description includes physicochemical requirements for self-terminating reactions,reaction kinetics, typical chemisorption mechanisms, factors causing saturation, reasons for growth of less than a monolayer per cycle, effect of the temperature and number of cycles on the growth per cycle (GPC), and the growth mode. A comparison is made of three models available for estimating the sterically allowed value of GPC in ALD. Third, the experimental information on the surface chemistry in the trimethylaluminum/water ALD process are reviewed using the concepts developed in the second part of this review. The results are reviewed critically, with an aim to combine the information obtained in different types of investigations, such as growth experiments on flat substrates and reaction chemistry investigation on high-surface-area materials. Although the surface chemistry of the trimethylaluminum/water ALD process is rather well understood, systematic investigations of the reaction kinetics and the growth mode on different substrates are still missing. The last part of the review is devoted to discussing issues which may hamper surface chemistry investigations of ALD, such as problematic historical assumptions, nonstandard terminology, and the effect of experimental conditions on the surface chemistry of ALD. I hope that this review can help the newcomer get acquainted with the exciting and challenging field of surface chemistry of ALD and can serve as a useful guide for the specialist towards the fifth decade of ALD research.

Surface chemistry of atomic layer deposition: A case study for the trimethylaluminum/water process

REVIEW High-efficiency light-emitting diodes emitting amber, green, blue, and ultraviolet light have been obtained through the use of an InGaN active layer instead of a GaN active layer. The localized energy states caused by In composition fluctuation in the InGaN active layer are related to the high efficiency of the InGaN-based emitting devices. The blue and green InGaN quantum-well structure light-emitting diodes with luminous efficiencies of 5 and 30 lumens per watt, respectively, can be made despite the large number of threading dislocations (1 x 10(8) to 1 x 10(12) cm-2). Epitaxially laterally overgrown GaN on sapphire reduces the number of threading dislocations originating from the interface of the GaN epilayer with the sapphire substrate. InGaN multi-quantum-well structure laser diodes formed on the GaN layer above the SiO2 mask area can have a lifetime of more than 10,000 hours. Dislocations increase the threshold current density of the laser diodes.

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The Roles of Structural Imperfections in InGaN-Based Blue Light-Emitting Diodes and Laser Diodes

During the last few years the developments in the field of III–nitrides have been spectacular. High quality epitaxial layers can now be grown by MOVPE. Recently good quality epilayers have also been grown by MBE. Considerable work has been done on dislocations, strain, and critical thickness of GaN grown on different substrates. Splitting of valence band by crystal field and by spin-orbit interaction has been calculated and measured. The measured values agree with the calculated values. Effects of strain on the splitting of the valence band and on the optical properties have been studied in detail. Values of band offsets at the heterointerface between several pairs of different nitrides have been determined. Extensive work has been done on the optical and electrical properties. Near band-edge spectra have been measured over a wide range of temperatures. Free and bound exciton peaks have been resolved. Valence band structure has been determined using the PL spectra and compared with the theoretically calcu...

III–nitrides: Growth, characterization, and properties

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is gaining attention as a thin film deposition method, uniquely suitable for depositing uniform and conformal films on complex three-dimensional topographies. The deposition of a film of a given material by ALD relies on the successive, separated, and self-terminating gas–solid reactions of typically two gaseous reactants. Hundreds of ALD chemistries have been found for depositing a variety of materials during the past decades, mostly for inorganic materials but lately also for organic and inorganic–organic hybrid compounds. One factor that often dictates the properties of ALD films in actual applications is the crystallinity of the grown film: Is the material amorphous or, if it is crystalline, which phase(s) is (are) present. In this thematic review, we first describe the basics of ALD, summarize the two-reactant ALD processes to grow inorganic materials developed to-date, updating the information of an earlier review on ALD [R. L. Puurunen, J. Appl. Phys. 97, 121301 (2005)], and give an overview of the status of processing ternary compounds by ALD. We then proceed to analyze the published experimental data for information on the crystallinity and phase of inorganic materials deposited by ALD from different reactants at different temperatures. The data are collected for films in their as-deposited state and tabulated for easy reference. Case studies are presented to illustrate the effect of different process parameters on crystallinity for representative materials: aluminium oxide, zirconium oxide, zinc oxide, titanium nitride, zinc zulfide, and ruthenium. Finally, we discuss the general trends in the development of film crystallinity as function of ALD process parameters. The authors hope that this review will help newcomers to ALD to familiarize themselves with the complex world of crystalline ALD films and, at the same time, serve for the expert as a handbook-type reference source on ALD processes and film crystallinity.

Crystallinity of inorganic films grown by atomic layer deposition: Overview and general trends

A method of forming a partially etched nitride-based compound semiconductor crystal layer includes the following steps. A non-crystal layer of a nitride-based compound semiconductor is formed. At least a part of the non-crystal layer is then etched to form a partially etched non-crystal layer before the partially etched non-crystal layer is crystallized to form a partially etched nitride-based compound semiconductor crystal layer.

Group-III nitride semiconductor device

Continuous-wave operation at room-temperature has been demonstrated for InGaN multi-quantum-well (MQW) laser diodes (LDs) grown on low-dislocation-density n-GaN substrates with a backside n-contact. The current, current density and voltage at the lasing threshold were 144 mA, 10.9 kA/cm2 and 10.5 V, respectively, for a 3 µm wide ridge-geometry diode with high-reflection dielectric coated mirrors. Single-transverse-mode emission was observed in the far-field pattern of the LDs and the beam full width at half power in the parallel and perpendicular directions was 6° and 25°, respectively.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1143/JJAP.38.L184/pdf

Room-Temperature Continuous-Wave Operation of InGaN Multi-Quantum-Well Laser Diodes Grown on an n-GaN Substrate with a Backside n-Contact

A novel ridge structure fabricated by selective-area epitaxial re-growth is proposed for InGaN multiple-quantum-well (MQW) laser diodes (LDs). This technique is capable of precisely controlling the active ridge width and height, thus enabling stable single tran sverse-mode operation. Together with a backside n-contact on a low-dislocation-density GaN substrate, this structure provides high productivity and performance for GaN-based blue-violet LDs. A stable fundamental transverse mode up to 40 mW was demonstrated for the certain range of ridge dimensions. The minimum aspect ratio of the far-field patterns (FFPs) was about 2.1 in the fabricated ridge-type InGaN MQW LDs.

Novel Ridge-Type InGaN Multiple-Quantum-Well Laser Diodes Fabricated by Selective Area Re-Growth on n-GaN Substrates

High-quality InGaN MQW on low-dislocation-density GaN substrate grown by hydride vapor-phase epitaxy

The origin of the internal loss in ridge-type laser diodes (LDs) fabricated using selective re-growth is investigated through a systematic device characterization and additional optical measurements. We found that the internal loss of this LD is mainly caused by the absorptive'layers at the re-growth boundary and Mg-doped GaN layer. The internal loss can be significantly reduced through a re-design of the LD structure to avoid these absorptive regions by shifting the perpendicular optical field to the n-cladding side. The re-designed LDs had a very low threshold current of 10 mA and superior gain characteristics. These results indicate, that the InGaN-quantum-well (QW) active layer has a large differential gain and fewer non-radiative defects. The fabrication method of this LD, i.e. epitaxial growth on low-dislocation-density GaN substrates combined with a process without dry-etching, is responsible for the high quality of the QWs.

Chiaki Sasaoka

Papers

Group-III nitride semiconductor device

Room-Temperature Continuous-Wave Operation of InGaN Multi-Quantum-Well Laser Diodes Grown on an n-GaN Substrate with a Backside n-Contact

Novel Ridge-Type InGaN Multiple-Quantum-Well Laser Diodes Fabricated by Selective Area Re-Growth on n-GaN Substrates

High-quality InGaN MQW on low-dislocation-density GaN substrate grown by hydride vapor-phase epitaxy

Reduction of Internal Loss and Threshold Current in a Laser Diode with a Ridge by Selective Re-Growth (RiS-LD)