Method for Growing High-Quality Group III-Nitride Crystals

Brief Description

A novel method for growing group Ill-nitride crystals in supercritical ammonia.

Background

The growth of a bulk crystal of a group III-nitride (such as GaN, AlN, and LiN) presents some difficulties, since group III-nitrides have a high melting point and high nitrogen vapor pressure at high temperature. Some methods, such as high-pressure high-temperature synthesis and sodium flux, have been used to obtain bulk group III-nitride crystals. However, the crystal shape obtained by these methods is a thin platelet because these methods are based on a melt of group III metal, in which nitrogen has very low solubility and a low diffusion coefficient.

Description

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have developed a novel method for growing group Ill-nitride crystals in supercritical ammonia. The group III-nitride bulk crystal is grown in an autoclave in supercritical ammonia using a source material or nutrient and a seed crystal. The supercritical ammonia provides for high solubility of the source materials and high transport speed of dissolved precursors. This method uses an internal chamber equipped with a pressure releasing device that enables the safe filling of ammonia and an exact balancing of the pressure inside and outside the internal chamber.  The present invention suppresses the generation of particles from the source material and prevents the adhesion of the particles from the source material on the seed crystals. Thus, this invention produces high quality group III-nitride crystals and reduces production costs, since the source materials and nutrients are recyclable.

Advantages

• Allows the production of high-quality group III-nitride crystals

• Impurities are prevented from being incorporated into grown crystals

• Lower production costs (source materials and nutrients can be recycled)

Applications

• Production of group III-nitride crystals

This technology is available for a non-exclusive license.

Patent Status