APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY:

• LEDs for display and lighting applications
• Continuous wave (CW) lasers
• Detectors
• Solar cells
• Sensors

ADVANTAGES:

• Reduces threading defects in integrated semiconductor devices based on III-nitrides (GaN, InGaN, AlGaN)
• Use of well-developed silicon technology substantially lowers cost

ABSTRACT:

Scientists at Berkeley Lab have devised a method for reducing the defects in III-nitrides grown on silicon substrates. This promises to remove obstacles to the production of efficient integrated devices using gallium nitride (GaN) and other III-nitrides while taking advantage of abundantly available silicon substrates and the lower costs of mature silicon processing technology.

In this new technique, defect densities in the III-nitride layer are minimized by a novel method that eases the inevitable stresses at the interface with the substrate. Various low-temperature film-growth techniques may be used, including molecular beam epitaxy, energetic neutral atomic-beam lithography/epitaxy, and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. The GaN layer can then form with substantially fewer structural defects than are produced in conventional growth processes. Further, the defects are distributed in a relatively uniform fashion throughout the wafer, as opposed to on laterally overgrown areas, where only some areas have lower defect densities.

STATUS:

• Published Patent Application 12/540,274 available at www.uspto.gov. Available for licensing or collaborative research.

To learn more about licensing a technology from LBNL see http://www.lbl.gov/Tech-Transfer/licensing/index.html.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Z. Liliental-Weber, R.L. Maltez, J. Xie, and H. Morkoc, "Propagation of misfit dislocations from AlN/Si interface into Si," J. Cryst. Growth , 310:3917-3923 (2008).

REFERENCE NUMBER: IB-2485

SEE THESE OTHER BERKELEY LAB TECHNOLOGIES IN THIS FIELD:

• Growth of GaN with a Low Density of Structural Defects, IB-1619