Method of growing single crystal of compound semiconductor

Abstract

Disclosed is a method of growing a single crystal of a compound semiconductor, in which a compound semiconductor material is loaded in a vertical crucible and the compound semiconductor material is converted into a single crystal by utilizing a seed disposed in the center of the bottom portion of the vertical crucible. The method has the steps of using a crucible having a substantially flat bottom as part of said vertical crucible, producing a melt by melting the compound semiconductor material causing the melt to have a temperature distribution that an isotherm of the melt is convex with a drift toward the melt side, rapidly lowering the temperature of that portion of the melt of the compound semiconductor material which neighbors the seed in the initial stage of the crystal growth to a supercooled state so as to permit a crystal growth from the seed in substantially the horizontal direction without allowing the crystal to grow in a vertical direction to form a crystal of a desired diameter, and solidifying the compound semiconductor material in a molten state while maintaining a temperature gradient that the temperature of the melt gradually uptilts from the lower portion toward the upper portion so as to obtain a single crystal of the compound semiconductor. The particular method permits efficiently growing a single crystal of a large diameter while suppressing a twin generation.