Patent Application
20060043884
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The present invention relates to a white light-emitting device and method for preparing the same, and more particularly, to a white light-emitting device with a silicon-containing active layer and method for preparing the same.
There are two methods for generating white light using a light-emitting device. One of the two methods uses the mixing of the red, green and blue lights to generate the white light by turning on a red light-emitting diode, a green light-emitting diode and a blue light-emitting diode simultaneously. Since there are differences such as the driving voltage, optical output, temperature characteristic and life span between the red, green and blue light-emitting diodes, many problems arise when this method is actually conducted. Another method uses the mixing of a light source and its complementary light to generate the white light, which uses a blue light or an ultra-violet light to excite a phosphor to generate the complementary light. This method needs only one light source and is easier for designing the driving circuits, but the luminescent and transforming efficiency from electricity to light of the phosphor is too low.
Under the increasing concern from countries all over the world about saving energy and preventing global warming, the white light-emitting device, which is power-saving, environmentally-friendly, and safe, has become a new light source in the Twenty-First Century. At present, the technology widely used to generate the white light-emitting device is proposed by Nichia Chemical Ltd. in 1996, which coats a YAG phosphor on an indium-gallium-nitride (InGaN) blue light-emitting diode emitting a blue light with a wavelength 460 nanometer. However, a portion of energy is dissipated in electricity-to-light transforming, wherein the blue light from the light-emitting diode irradiate on the YAG phosphor to generate a yellow light. Consequently, the present luminescent efficiency is only 10 to 15 lm/W. A Japanese company, Sumitomo Electric Ltd. successfully developed a white light-emitting device using Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) without the phosphors, but its luminescent efficiency is only 8 lm/W and life span is only 8,000 hours.
Since the invention of the transistor in 1947, silicon has always played an important role in the integrated circuit industry. According to the prediction of Moore's Law, the size of the integrated circuit device will shrink to half of the original during an interval of about 18 months. The basis of Moore's Law is the innovation of new technology and the development of potential applications, wherein silicon is an important footstone in this fast progress. With years of development, silicon is the most complete and inexpensive material used in the integrated circuit fabrication. Therefore, the light-emitting device can be integrated into the very large scale integration (VLSI) circuit if silicon can be further developed to serve as a light-emitting device.
At room temperature, silicon (an element of IV group in the periodic table) is an inefficient light-emitting source because it is one of the indirect band-gap materials with very low radioactive recombination rate and internal quantum efficiency of only about 10−6 to 10−7, so that silicon has not been used as a light-emitting source. As a result, silicon is only used in light receiving devices such as detector, charge coupled device (CCD), array type video sensor and solar battery in photoelectric industry.
In 1990, a British L. T. Canham found that porous silicon (PSi) generated by anode electrolysis of silicon in hydrofluoric acid solvent can emit a visible light at high efficiency (See: Canham L. T., Appl. Phys. Lett., 57, 1046 (1990)). This important discovery prompted research teams in many countries to develop the silicon light source. During 2000 to 2003, many academic research institutes and researchers all over the world participated in the development of a silicon-based LED and gained some great result (See: Mykola Sopinskyy and Viktoriya Khomchenko, Current Opinion in Solid State and Material Science 7 (2003) 97-109.). However, there are still not any commercial optoelectronic products such as the LED so far in spite of preferable result in research and development of the silicon-based LED at present.
Due to the sponge-like structure, the porous silicon has some major defects in the application of the light-emitting device. As to the mechanical property, it is inappropriate to integrate the porous silicon with the standard semiconductor fabrication process for the frangibility of the former. In addition, the porous silicon is highly reactive in chemical properties and is likely to react with oxygen in the atmosphere, which results in the degradation of the photoelectric property. The degradation of the photoelectric property causes more difficulty in controlling the variation of the photoelectric properties with time.
The objective of the present invention is to provide a white light-emitting device with a silicon-containing active layer and method for preparing the same.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective, and to avoid the problems of the prior art, the present invention provides a white light-emitting device with a silicon-containing active layer and method for preparing the same. The present white light-emitting device comprises a substrate with an upper surface and a bottom surface, a first window layer positioned on the upper surface, a trisilicon tetranitride layer positioned on the first window layer, a plurality of silicon nanocrystals distributed in the trisilicon tetranitride layer, a second window layer positioned on the trisilicon tetranitride layer, a transparent conductive layer positioned on the second window layer, a first ohmic contact electrode positioned on the transparent conductive layer, and a second ohmic contact electrode positioned on the bottom surface. The substrate can be a p-silicon substrate or an n-silicon substrate. The first window layer and the second window layer are preferably made of microcrystal-SiC, amorphous-SiC, or gallium nitride. The transparent conductive layer is preferably made of indium tine oxide. The first ohmic contact electrode is preferably made of aluminum, nickel or an alloy consisting of nickel and aluminum. The thickness of the trisilicon tetranitride layer is between 1 and 10,000 nanometers, and the diameter of the silicon nanocrystal is between 1 and 10 nanometers.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the white light-emitting device comprises a substrate, a first window layer positioned on the substrate, a trisilicon tetranitride layer position on a portion of surface of the first window layer, a plurality of silicon nanocrystals distributed in the trisilicon tetranitride layer, a second window layer positioned on the trisilicon tetranitride layer, a transparent conductive layer positioned on the second window layer, a first ohmic contact electrode positioned on the transparent conductive layer, and a second ohmic contact electrode positioned on another portion of surface of the first window layer. The first window layer and the second window layer are made of amorphous-SiC, microcrystal-SiC or gallium nitride, and the substrate is a quartz substrate or a sapphire substrate.
The method for preparing the white light-emitting device first forms a sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride (SiNX) layer on a substrate, wherein the numerical ratio (x) of nitrogen atoms to silicon atoms is smaller than 4/3. A thermal treating process is then performed at a temperature between 800 and 1300° C. for 1 to 300 minutes to transform a portion of silicon atoms in the sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer into a plurality of silicon nanocrystals, so that the sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer is transformed into a trisilicon tetranitride (Si3N4) layer with a plurality of silicon nanocrystals distributed therein.
The sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer is formed on the substrate by an atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) process performed at a temperature between 700 and 1100° C. for 1 to 300 minutes. The APCVD process uses dichlorosilane (SiH2Cl2) and ammonia (NH3) at a flow ratio between 1:10 and 10:1 as reaction gases. In addition, silane (SiH4) and ammonia at a flow ratio between 1:10 and 10:1 can also be used as reaction gases. The APCVD uses hydrogen, nitrogen or argon as a carrier gas to deliver the reaction gas into a reaction chamber.
Other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following description and upon reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
The quantum confinement effect broadens the band-gap of materials as the size of the material becomes smaller, and the nanocrystal has a distinct photoelectric property from the ordinary crystal with a larger size. Therefore, besides the well-known porous silicon, researchers also attempted to prepare the silicon-based light source by generating silicon nanocrystals (Si—NC) in a highly stable silicon dioxide layer. However, silicon nanocrystals (Si—NC) in the silicon dioxide layer can only emit red light or infra-red light. The present invention prepares silicon nanocrystals (Si—NC) in a trisilicon tetranitride layer to emit a white light with a wavelength between 400 and 700 nanometers.
One of methods for preparing the Si—NC, which is capable of emitting red light or infra-red light, first forms a sub-stoichiometric silica (SiOx) layer with excess of silicon atoms by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), wherein the numerical ratio (x) of oxygen atoms to silicon atoms is smaller than 2. At least one high temperature annealing process is then carried out to respectively separate two different metallurgical phases (silicon and silicon dioxide), and to form the Si—NC with an order structure and the silicon dioxide with an amorphous structure simultaneously, wherein the silicon dioxide layer serves as a matrix for the Si—NC to lodge therein. Due to the amorphous structure of the silicon dioxide, it is strain-free between the Si—NC and the silicon dioxide. The crystal size and density of the Si—NC can be controlled by the process parameters such as the deposition temperature and annealing temperature.
Another method for preparing the Si—NC uses ion implantation technology. Ion implantation technology has matured and been used in fabricating large-scale semiconductor integrated circuit. With the ion implantation technology, accelerated silicon ions are implanted into the silicon dioxide layer directly to form excessive silicon atoms in a portion of the silicon dioxide layer. An annealing process is then carried out to activate nucleation of excessive silicon atoms to form the Si—NC lodged in the silicon dioxide layer, which serves as the matrix for the Si—NC.
With ion implantation technology, excessive silicon concentration and distribution profile can be achieved within a predetermined region and depth by adjusting the energy and dosage of the implanted ion. In addition, many structural defects will be formed during the ion implantation process, which can decrease the activation energy of diffusion to lower the required annealing temperature for metallurgical phase separation accordingly. However, compared to chemical vapor deposition process, the implantation time for forming excessive silicon atom concentration by ion implantation technology is too long to be applied to preparing the active layer of the light-emitting device.
According to the deposition temperature (from 100 to 1000° C.) and pressure (from the atmospheric pressure to 7 Pa), the chemical vapor deposition widely used in semiconductor fabrication can be divided into atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD), low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) and plasma enhancement chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Compared to the ion implantation technology, CVD has many advantages such as precise composition and structure control for the deposited layer, uniform and fast deposition rate, high throughput, and low manufacturing cost.
The metallurgical phase structure of a silicon-containing layer formed by low temperature deposition process such as the PECVD and LPCVD is looser and possesses some structural defects and impurities that can restrain crystallization. The present invention prepares a silicon-containing active layer of the light-emitting device by the APCVD performed at a high temperature. The silicon-containing active layer prepared at high temperature possesses less structural defects and impurities, and complex Si—N—O compounds can form the Si—NC with high compactness and high density.
The temperature of the reaction chamber 10 is maintained at the deposition temperature TD for a predetermined period tD to form a sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride (SiNx) layer 20 with excessive silicon atoms on the first window layer 25, wherein the numerical ratio (x) of nitrogen atoms to silicon atoms is smaller than 4/3. Other reaction by-products 19 such as hydrogen (H2) and chlorine hydride (HCl) will be discharged continuously via the outlet pipe 18. Nitrogen is then delivered into the reaction chamber 10 to form a nitrogen-containing atmosphere, and the temperature of the reaction chamber 10 is increased to a treating temperature TP for a predetermined period tP to carry out a thermal treating process. Hydrogen or Argon can be selectively delivered into to the reaction chamber 10 to perform the thermal treating process in a hydrogen or argon atmosphere.
The atmosphere in the reaction chamber 10 drives excessive silicon atoms in the sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer 20 to grow crystals so as to transform the sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer 20 into a trisilicon tetranitride layer 26 with the Si—NC 24 distributed therein. The thickness of the trisilicon tetranitride layer 26 is between 1 and 10,000 nanometers, and the crystal size of the Si—NC 24 is preferably between 1 and 10 nanometers. The trisilicon tetranitride layer 26 serving as a matrix for the Si—NC 24 to lodge therein.
Please refer to
The present invention prepares the sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer 20 by the APCVD process performed at a high temperature; the chemical equation thereof is:
SiH2Cl2+xNH3→SiNX+(3/2)xH2+2HCl
The carrier gas delivers the reaction gas 17 consisting of SiH2Cl2 and NH3 mixed at a predetermined molar ratio or volume ratio uniformly into the reaction chamber 10 at the deposition temperature (TD) between 700 to 1100° C. In the reaction chamber 10 at the high deposition temperature (TD), both SiH2Cl2 and NH3 are dissociated into atoms by the high temperature and recombined into sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride on the substrate 22. The silicon nitride deposited on the first window layer 25 contains excessive silicon atoms, while the relative numerical ratio of nitrogen atoms and excessive silicon atoms (N/Si) in the silicon nitride can be determined by non-destructive testing. For example, the relative numerical ratio of nitrogen atoms and excessive silicon atoms (N/Si) can be determined by measuring the refractive index relative to a standard trisilicon tetranitride (Si3N4).
The melting point (TM) of silicon is about 1430° C., and its nucleation temperature (TN) for the crystallization is about 0.6×TM≅858° C. The deposition temperature TD of the sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer 20 is between 700° C. to 1100° C., which is obviously above the nucleation temperature. Consequently, during the deposition process of the sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer 20, the reaction chamber 10 at the high temperature (TD) can simultaneously drive most of the excessive silicon atoms in the sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer 20 to form Si—NC nucleus and the interstate structure between the Si—NC nucleus and matrix (made up of trisilicon tetranitride). The interstate structure between Si—NC nucleus primarily consists of dangling bonds around Si—NC and N—O bonds, for example, Si—N bonds, Si—O bonds and Si—Nx—Oy bonds. The interstate structure is the major luminescence center.
The annealing process for growing and curing the Si—NC 24 is then performed. The main constitution of the sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer 20 contains the amorphous silicon nitride and clusters formed of excessive silicon atoms, wherein most of excessive silicon clusters form Si—NC nucleus. The sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer 20 is then positioned in the high treating temperature (TP) for a period tP to grow all Si—NCs and cure the interstate structure, i.e., to transform the sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer 20 into the trisilicon tetranitride layer 26 with the Si—NC 24. In addition, if excessive silicon atoms in the sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer 20 do not form Si—NC nucleus in the deposition process, the high temperature (TP) during the subsequent thermal treating process will further drive excessive silicon atoms in the sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer 20 to nucleate.
Compared with the prior art, the present invention prepares the white light-emitting device 50 with a silicon-containing active layer (i.e. the trisilicon tetranitride layer 26 with the Si—NC 24) by the high temperature APCVD incorporated with the thermal treating process, and possesses the following advantages:
1. Without the complicated epitaxial crystal process and expensive equipment according to the prior art, the present invention only needs to deposit the sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer 20 followed by the thermal treating process. Consequently, the present invention is simpler and faster.
2. The present invention prepares the sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer 20 by the APCVD process, which can be easily integrated into standard semiconductor process. Therefore, the present invention can produce great amount of light-emitting device efficiently.
3. The prior art uses III-V group compound to prepare the active layer of a light-emitting device, therefore the manufacturing cost is high. The present invention uses the silicon nitride to prepare the silicon-containing active layer of the white light-emitting device 50, so the cost for the material and the manufacturing is relatively lower.
4. III-V group compound used in prior art will produce toxic chemical substance. The present invention is an environmentally friendly process since the silicon-containing active layer of the white light-emitting device 50 is prepared by the silicon nitride without using or discharging toxic heavy metal.
5. The present invention forms the sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer 20 with excessive silicon atoms at the high temperature TD, and the sub-stoichiometric silicon nitride layer 20 is then transformed into the trisilicon tetranitride layer 26 with the Si—NC 24 by the thermal treating process, so the white light-emitting device 50 possesses high temperature stability, and can emit the white light without mixing with another light beam.
6. After the thermal treating process performed at the high temperature (TP), the stoichiometric trisilicon tetranitride layer 26 with the Si—NC 24 possesses high compactness, high-density distribution and low impurity. Consequently, the Si—NC 24 and its interstate structure can generate a clear and high-luminance white light under excitation.
The above-described embodiments of the present invention are intended to be illustrative only. Numerous alternative embodiments may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the following claims.
