The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 20, 2014
Filed:
Jun. 26, 2012
Vladimir Ivantsov, Adelphi, MD (US);
Anna Volkova, Gaithersburg, MD (US);
Lisa Shapovalov, Gaithersburg, MD (US);
Alexander Syrkin, Montgomery Village, MD (US);
Philippe Spiberg, Laguna Beach, CA (US);
Hussein S. El-ghoroury, Carlsbad, CA (US);
Vladimir Ivantsov, Adelphi, MD (US);
Anna Volkova, Gaithersburg, MD (US);
Lisa Shapovalov, Gaithersburg, MD (US);
Alexander Syrkin, Montgomery Village, MD (US);
Philippe Spiberg, Laguna Beach, CA (US);
Hussein S. El-Ghoroury, Carlsbad, CA (US);
Ostendo Technologies, Inc., Carlsbad, CA (US);
Abstract
The present invention relates to a method for producing a modified surface of a substrate that stimulates the growth of epitaxial layers of group-III nitride semiconductors with substantially improved structural perfection and surface flatness. The modification is conducted outside or inside a growth reactor by exposing the substrate to a gas-product of the reaction between hydrogen chloride (HCl) and aluminum metal (Al). As a single-step or an essential part of the multi-step pretreatment procedure, the modification gains in coherent coordination between the substrate and group-III nitride epitaxial structure to be deposited. Along with epilayer, total epitaxial structure may include buffer inter-layer to accomplish precise substrate-epilayer coordination. While this modification is a powerful tool to make high-quality group-III nitride epitaxial layers attainable even on foreign substrates having polar, semipolar and nonpolar orientation, it remains gentle enough to keep the surface of the epilayer extremely smooth. Various embodiments are disclosed.