Method of forming electrode for compound semiconductor device

Abstract

Provided is a method of forming an electrode for a compound semiconductor device. The method includes forming a first electrode layer on a p-type compound semiconductor layer, and performing plasma treatment on the first electrode layer in an oxygen (O2)-containing atmosphere.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2004-0090351, filed on Nov. 8, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

1. Field of the Disclosure

The present invention relates to a method of forming an electrode for a compound semiconductor device.

2. Description of the Related Art

The formation of a high quality ohmic contact between a semiconductor layer and an electrode is of considerable importance in realizing optical devices such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes (LDs) that use compound semiconductor devices.

In a gallium nitride (GaN)-based semiconductor device, a nickel (Ni)-based metallic thin film structure, e.g., a Ni/gold (Au) transparent metallic thin film, can be used as an electrode on a p-GaN semiconductor layer (See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,877,558 and 6,008,539).

It is known that the Ni/Au metallic thin film can be annealed in an oxygen (O₂) atmosphere to form an ohmic contact with low specific contact resistivity of about 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻³ Ωcm². Due to the low specific contact resistivity, annealing the Ni/Au layer at a temperature of 500 to 600° C. in an oxygen (O₂) atmosphere leads to the formation of a nickel oxide (NiO) on the island-like Au thin films, thereby reducing a Schottky barrier height at the p-GaN/Ni interface. Thus, holes that are majority carriers can be easily injected into the surface of GaN, increasing the effective carrier concentration near the GaN surface.

However, depositing the Ni/Au layer on the p-GaN semiconductor layer and annealing the same in the O₂ atmosphere will cause voids in the Ni/Au layer. The voids increase the operating voltage of an LD or decrease the output power of an LED.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Embodiments of the present invention may provide a method of forming an electrode for a compound semiconductor device, which can suppress void formation during the formation of the electrode.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there may be provided a method of forming an electrode for a compound semiconductor device. The method may include forming a first electrode layer on a p-type compound semiconductor layer, and performing plasma treatment on the first electrode layer in an oxygen (O₂)-containing atmosphere.

The method may further include forming a second electrode layer on the first electrode layer. At least a portion of the first electrode layer may be oxidized or made to contain O₂, by performing the plasma treatment in the O₂-containing atmosphere.

The method may further include annealing the first electrode layer in an atmosphere containing at least one of nitrogen (N₂) and O₂, or in a vacuum atmosphere. The p-type compound semiconductor layer may include a p-type gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor layer.

The first electrode layer may be made from at least one selected from the group consisting of nickel (Ni), Ni-alloy, zinc (Zn), Zn-alloy, magnesium (Mg), Mg-alloy, ruthenium (Ru), Ru-alloy, and lanthanum (La)-alloy. Alternatively, the first electrode layer may be made from a transparent conducting oxide such as indium tin oxide (ITO) or zinc oxide (ZnO). It may be formed to less than about 5 μm using electron-beam (e-beam) deposition or sputtering.

The second electrode layer may be made from at least one selected from the group consisting of gold (Au), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), ruthenium (Ru), and a transparent conducting oxide. Alternatively, it can be made from a highly reflective material such as silver (Ag), aluminum (Al), or rhodium (Rh).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIGS. 1A-1E are cross-sectional views for explaining a method of forming an electrode for a compound semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of a light emitting diode (LED) measured before and after performing rapid thermal annealing (RTA) in a nitrogen (N₂) atmosphere of the structure obtained after performing plasma oxidation of a nickel (Ni) layer (first electrode layer) and depositing a gold (Au) layer (second electrode layer) on the Ni layer; and

FIG. 3 illustrates I-V characteristics of an LED measured before and after performing RTA in a N₂ ambient of the structure obtained after performing plasma oxidation on a ruthenium (Ru) layer (first electrode layer) and depositing a highly reflective silver (Ag) layer (second electrode layer) on the Ru layer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE DISCLOSURE

Hereinafter, the exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals denote like elements throughout the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a first electrode layer 110 may be formed on a p-type compound semiconductor layer 100. The p-type compound semiconductor layer 100 may be made from p-type gallium nitride (p-GaN). Here, the p-type compound semiconductor layer 100 may be a p-cladding layer in a light emitting device including an n-cladding layer, a p-cladding layer, and a light-emitting layer sandwiched between the n- and p-cladding layers. The first electrode layer 110 may be an ohmic contact layer formed on the p-cladding layer.

The first electrode layer 110 may be formed to less than 5 μm using electron-beam (e-beam) deposition and sputtering. The first electrode layer 110 may be made from at least one selected from the group consisting of nickel (Ni), Ni-alloy, zinc (Zn), Zn-alloy, magnesium (Mg), Mg-alloy, ruthenium (Ru), Ru-alloy, and lanthanum (La)-alloy. Alternatively, the first electrode layer 110 may be made from a transparent conducting oxide such as indium tin oxide (ITO) or zinc oxide (ZnO).

Referring to FIG. 1B, plasma oxidation may be performed on the first electrode layer 110 overlying the p-type compound semiconductor layer 100, in an oxygen (O₂) atmosphere. Referring to FIG. 1C, the plasma oxidation forms an oxide layer 110′ in an upper portion of the first electrode layer 110. Alternatively, an O₂-containing layer may also be formed in the upper portion of the first electrode layer 110 by the plasma oxidation.

Subsequently, referring to FIG. 1D, a second electrode layer 120 may be formed on the oxide layer 110′ or the O₂-containing layer using e-beam deposition or sputtering. The second electrode layer 120 may be made from at least one selected from the group consisting of gold (Au), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), ruthenium (Ru), and transparent conducting oxide such as ITO or ZnO. Alternatively, the second electrode layer 120 may be made from a highly reflective material such as silver (Ag), aluminum (Al), or rhodium (Rh).

Referring to FIG. 1E, when rapid thermal annealing (RTA) is performed on the resulting structure shown in FIG. 1D, in an atmosphere containing either or both nitrogen (N₂) and O₂, or in a vacuum atmosphere, O₂ may diffuse from the oxide layer 110′ or the O₂-containing layer into the first electrode layer 110, forming a fully oxidized first electrode layer 130 on the p-type compound semiconductor layer 100. Since the oxidation of the first electrode layer 110 occurs by diffusion rather than by external O₂ injection, voids do not form. While it is described above that the plasma oxidation forms the oxide layer 110′ or the O₂-containing layer in the upper portion of the first electrode layer 110, the first electrode layer 110 may be fully oxidized, or the O₂ may be contained in the entire first electrode layer 110.

FIG. 2 illustrates current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of a light emitting diode (LED) measured before and after performing RTA in a nitrogen (N₂) ambient of the structure obtained after performing plasma oxidation on a Ni layer (first electrode layer) and depositing an Au layer (second electrode layer) on the Ni layer. The Ni layer was subjected to plasma oxidation for 1, 3, 5 and 10 minutes.

As is evident from FIG. 2, the forward voltage increases as the plasma oxidation time increases, which means that the Ni layer becomes oxidized over time. However, when RTA is performed in the N₂ atmosphere after depositing the Au layer on the Ni layer, and then the Ni layer combines with O₂ to form nickel oxide (NiO), the forward voltage rapidly decreases.

FIG. 3 illustrates I-V characteristics of an LED measured before and after performing RTA in a N₂ ambient of the structure obtained after performing plasma oxidation on a Ru layer (first electrode layer) and depositing a highly reflective Ag layer (second electrode layer) on the Ru layer. The Ru layer was subjected to plasma oxidation for 1, 3, 5 and 10 minutes.

As is evident from FIG. 3, the forward voltage increases as the plasma oxidation time increases. This means that the Ru layer becomes oxidized over time. However, after RTA is performed in the N₂ atmosphere after depositing the Ag layer on the Au layer, and then the Ru layer combines with O₂ to form ruthenium oxide (RuO), the forward voltage rapidly decreases.

As described above, the method of forming an electrode for a compound semiconductor device according to the present invention prevents void formation within the electrode, thereby decreasing the operating voltage of a laser diode (LD) or increasing the output power of an LED.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. For example, while it is described above that the first and second electrode layers are formed on the p-type compound semiconductor layer, additional electrode layers may be formed on the second electrode layer. Furthermore, a single electrode layer formed on the p-type compound semiconductor layer may be subjected to plasma treatment, or the plasma-treated electrode layer may be annealed in order to form an electrode.

Claims

1. A method of forming an electrode for a compound semiconductor device, the method comprising: forming a first electrode layer on a p-type compound semiconductor layer; and performing plasma treatment on the first electrode layer in an oxygen (O2)-containing atmosphere.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming a second electrode layer on the first electrode layer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the first electrode layer is oxidized or made to contain O2 by performing the plasma treatment in the O2-containing atmosphere.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein at least a portion of the first electrode layer is oxidized or made to contain O2 by performing the plasma treatment in the O2-containing atmosphere.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising annealing the first electrode layer in an atmosphere containing at least one of nitrogen (N2) and O2, or in a vacuum atmosphere.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising annealing the first and second electrode layers in an atmosphere containing at least one of N2 and O2, or in a vacuum atmosphere

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the p-type compound semiconductor layer comprises a p-type gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor layer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first electrode layer comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of nickel (Ni), Ni-alloy, zinc (Zn), Zn-alloy, magnesium (Mg), Mg-alloy, ruthenium (Ru), Ru-alloy, and lanthanum (La)-alloy.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first electrode layer comprises a transparent conducting oxide.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the transparent conducting oxide is indium tin oxide (ITO) or zinc oxide (ZnO).

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first electrode layer is formed using electron-beam (e-beam) deposition or sputtering.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first electrode layer is formed to less than about 5 μm.

13. The method of claim 2, wherein the second electrode layer is made from at least one selected from the group consisting of gold (Au), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), ruthenium (Ru), and a transparent conducting oxide.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the transparent conducting oxide is ITO or ZnO.

15. The method of claim 2, wherein the second electrode layer comprises from a highly reflective material.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the second electrode layer comprises from at least one selected from the group consisting of silver (Ag), aluminum (Al), and rhodium (Rh).

17. The method of claim 2, wherein the second electrode layer is formed using e-beam deposition or sputtering.