Sumitomo Electric Industries, Limited

Shin-ichi Iguchi

Shin-ichi Akai

Hideki Mori

Takashi Shimoda

Nobuo Takahashi

A plurality of single-crystal epitaxial layers of semiconductors are simultaneously grown on a plurality of suitable substrates from the liquid phase by a method which includes the step of consecutively, and at times simultaneously, supplying small portions of liquid solution from a solution reservoir onto all the surfaces of the substrates in a plurality of wells which are provided on a surface of a rotatable circular lower plate so that epitaxial growth can be simultaneously carried out in all wells. The solution reservoir is positioned on a radius of the lower plate on which a circular upper plate is also provided in a non-rotatable state relative to the solution reservoir. Small portions of liquid solution are supplied by rotating the lower plate relative to the upper plate and the solution reservoir, and constrained in shape and volume which are adjusted by the upper plate and the wells. The composition and doping level of epitaxial layers are controlled through vapor-liquid communication.

Method for growing epitaxial layers on multiple semiconductor wafers

Single-crystal epitaxial layers of compound semiconductors or mixed semiconductors are grown on suitable substrates from the liquid phase, which consists of a molten metallic solvent dissolving a source material of the semiconductors, and within which the temperature gradient is produced so that in a high temperature region of the liquid solution a solid source material is dissolving into the liquid solution with at least a portion of the solid source material always at an undissolved state and in a low temperature region of the liquid solution an epitaxial layer is depositing onto the substrate, the temperatures in the liquid solution being kept constant during the epitaxial growth. Each substrate is positioned in one of a number of slots which are provided in the upper surface of a slider and it is successively transferred with the slider to contact with the liquid solution. The composition and/or the doping level of each epitaxial layer are controlled by the composition and/or the doping level of the solid source material which is selected from a pre-synthesized material, i.e., a solid film produced on the liquid solution by supersaturation and a film deposited on the liquid solution from the vapor phase.

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Osaka, Japan

Shin-ichi Iguchi