The present invention relates to semiconductor devices and more particularly to III-nitride semiconductor devices and methods of fabricating III-nitride semiconductor devices.
A III-V semiconductor is a semiconductor material that is composed of a group III element and a group V element. III-V semiconductors are desirable for power applications, but have not been exploited extensively due in part to difficulties in fabrication.
For example, one commercially desirable III-V semiconductor is III-nitride. Note that as used herein III-nitride semiconductor or GaN-based semiconductor refers to a semiconductor alloy from the InAlGaN system. Examples of alloys from the InAlGaN system include GaN, AlGaN, AlN, InN, InGaN, and InAlGaN. Note that while nitrogen is present in each alloy, the presence and proportion of In, Al, or Ga can be varied to obtain an alloy in the InAlGaN system.
III-nitride semiconductor devices are desirable for power applications due in large part to the high band gap of III-nitride semiconductor materials. To fabricate a III-nitride semiconductor device at least one III-nitride semiconductor alloy (i.e. an alloy from the InAlGaN system) needs to be formed over a substrate. The three well known substrate materials for III-nitride semiconductor devices are sapphire, SiC and Si.
Silicon substrates are more desirable commercially because of low cost, and high thermal conductivity. However, due to lattice mismatch and differences in the thermal expansion characteristics of III-nitride semiconductor alloys and silicon, thick III-nitride semiconductor layers (e.g. more than 1 micron thick) either crack or cause the silicon wafer to bend. It should be noted that the cracking problem associated with thick III-nitride semiconductor layers is not experienced only when a silicon substrate is used, and thus the problem is not limited to III-nitride semiconductor that is formed on silicon substrates.
It is an object of the present invention to reduce the stresses due to material incompatibility in the fabrication of a III-nitride semiconductor device in order to prevent cracking or the like mechanical failure. Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to reduce stresses due to material incompatibility when forming a thick (more than one micron) III-nitride semiconductor body on a substrate.
In a process according to the present invention a III-nitride semiconductor growth inhibitor body that is capable of inhibiting the growth of III-nitride semiconductor on the surface thereof is formed in a pattern over a surface of a substrate to define one growth surface or a plurality of growth surfaces on the substrate, and then a III-nitride semiconductor body is grown over the defined growth surface(s). Because the inhibitor body prevents the growth of the III-nitride semiconductor on its surface, the growth of the III-nitride body is limited to the defined growth surface(s). As a result, the dimensions of the growth surface(s) can be selected in order to prevent the cracking of the III-nitride semiconductor due to material incompatibility.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a trench may be formed to extend below the growth surface(s) to define a mesa, and filled with an oxide or the like filler. The trench can further relieve the stress due to material incompatibility.
In yet another embodiment, an amorphous region can be formed below the growth surface(s) in order to further relieve the stress due to material incompatibility.
A process according to the present invention can be configured for wafer level fabrication. Thus, a III-Nitride growth inhibitor body can be formed over a surface of a wafer, and selectively removed to define a plurality of growth surfaces. The III-nitride semiconductor body can then be grown over each growth surface.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings.
Referring first to
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In a process according to the present invention a III-nitride semiconductor body 20 can be grown over growth surface 18 within the boundaries set by growth barrier 16. That is, because growth barrier 16 is composed of a material that does not allow the growth of a III-nitride semiconductor material on any surface thereof, the III-nitride semiconductor only grows on growth surface 18. As a result, the dimensions of III-nitride semiconductor body 20 can be restricted by the area defined by growth barrier 16 such that internal stresses due to material incompatibility (lattice mismatch and/or thermal mismatch) can be managed to avoid the cracking of the III-nitride semiconductor. Stated another way, the area of the growth surface 18 may be defined by growth barrier 16 to minimize the stresses due to material incompatibility in order to prevent cracking in the III-nitride semiconductor body 20. The area of the growth surface may be preferably one millimeter square or more.
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Specifically, in the preferred embodiment, an interlayer 22 (or sometimes referred to as buffer layer) is first formed on growth surfaces 18, and then a III-nitride semiconductor body 20 is formed over interlayer 22. It should be noted that the material for forming growth barrier 16 is selected such that it does not allow interlayer 22 and III-nitride semiconductor body 20 to grow on any surface thereof. As a result, interlayer 22 only grows on growth surfaces 18 and then III-nitride semiconductor body 20 grows only on interlayer 22. It should be noted that after formation III-nitride semiconductor body may include a region of high dislocations 24 at the outer periphery thereof adjacent growth barrier 16.
Preferably, interlayer 22 is a compositionally graded III-nitride semiconductor material from the InAlGaN system such as AlN, AlGaInN or AlGaN. Compositionally graded as referred to herein means that the aluminum content changes along the thickness of interlayer 22 preferably from an aluminum rich composition, e.g. AlN, adjacent growth surface 18 to a composition that is essentially free from aluminum, e.g. GaN. Alternatively, interlayer 22 may include multiple layers of III-nitride semiconductor bodies from the InAlGaN system, each being of a different composition.
III-nitride semiconductor body 20 is preferably comprised of GaN, which is more than 1 μm thick and is suitable for power related applications. That is, III-nitride semiconductor body 20 is composed of GaN thick enough and configured to serve as a constituent body in a power semiconductor device such as a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT), metal insulator semiconductor HEMT (MISHEMT), or the like device.
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After forming III-nitride semiconductor body 20, further processing can be carried out as desired to form semiconductor devices such as HEMTs in each cell on substrate 14. Thus, for example, a layer of AlGaN can be grown over a GaN (when GaN is used to form III-nitride semiconductor body 20) to form a heterojunction in a process for fabricating a HEMT.
Thereafter, individual semiconductor device die can be obtained by dicing. Preferably, wafer 15 can be diced by cutting through growth barriers 16 to obtain individual singulated die 34, which may have barrier 16 at the outer periphery thereof and a semiconductor device 36 within barrier 16 as seen in
Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.
This application is based on and claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/690,627, filed Jun. 15, 2005, entitled III-Nitride Semiconductor Device Fabrication, to which a claim of priority is hereby made and the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.
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