Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device

1. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device by forming a stripe-pattern embossment on a surface of a sapphire substrate, and forming a layered structure, on the substrate, which layer structure includes a Group III nitride semiconductor layer whose main surface is a non-polar plane or a semi-polar plane, through growing of a Group III nitride semiconductor crystal on side surfaces of dents or mesas of the embossment, the method comprising:

forming, on a surface of a sapphire substrate, a first stripe-pattern embossment including a plurality of first grooves which are arranged in a stripe pattern as viewed from above and are aligned parallel to a first direction, the first direction being parallel to the main surface of the sapphire substrate;

forming an insulating film over the entire surface of the first stripe-pattern embossment on the surface of the sapphire substrate;

forming, on the insulating film, a stripe-pattern resist mask so that the stripe is aligned in a second direction, the second direction being inclined by a specific angle with respect to the first direction;

forming a second stripe-pattern embossment by dry-etching a portion of the insulating film in a region which is not covered with the resist mask, and then dry-etching the thus-exposed portion of the sapphire substrate until the bottom surface of the thus-etched portion becomes flat; and

forming a Group III nitride semiconductor layer whose main surface is a non-polar plane or a semi-polar plane by removing the resist mask, and growing, through MOCVD, a Group III nitride semiconductor crystal on a surface which has been exposed through the forming the second stripe-pattern embossment and which is perpendicular to the main surface of the sapphire substrate so that crystal growth proceeds in a direction perpendicular to the exposed surface.

2. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 1 , wherein the first direction is orthogonal to the second direction.

3. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 1 , wherein side surfaces of the second grooves are continuously formed along the second direction.

4. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 2 , wherein side surfaces of the second grooves are continuously formed along the second direction.

5. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 1 , wherein the non-polar plane is m-plane, a-plane, or (11-24) plane, and the semi-polar plane is (11-22) plane, (20-21) plane, (10-11) plane, or (10-12) plane.

6. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 2 , wherein the non-polar plane is m-plane, a-plane, or (11-24) plane, and the semi-polar plane is (11-22) plane, (20-21) plane, (10-11) plane, or (10-12) plane.

7. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 3 , wherein the non-polar plane is m-plane, a-plane, or (11-24) plane, and the semi-polar plane is (11-22) plane, (20-21) plane, (10-11) plane, or (10-12) plane.

8. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 4 , wherein the non-polar plane is m-plane, a-plane, or (11-24) plane, and the semi-polar plane is (11-22) plane, (20-21) plane, (10-11) plane, or (10-12) plane.

9. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 1 , wherein the sapphire substrate has an a-plane main surface, and the first direction is the c-axis direction of the sapphire substrate.

10. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 2 , wherein the sapphire substrate has an a-plane main surface, and the first direction is the c-axis direction of the sapphire substrate.

11. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 3 , wherein the sapphire substrate has an a-plane main surface, and the first direction is the c-axis direction of the sapphire substrate.

12. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 4 , wherein the sapphire substrate has an a-plane main surface, and the first direction is the c-axis direction of the sapphire substrate.

13. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 5 , wherein the sapphire substrate has an a-plane main surface, and the first direction is the c-axis direction of the sapphire substrate.

14. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 6 , wherein the sapphire substrate has an a-plane main surface, and the first direction is the c-axis direction of the sapphire substrate.

15. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 7 , wherein the sapphire substrate has an a-plane main surface, and the first direction is the c-axis direction of the sapphire substrate.

16. A method for producing a Group III nitride semiconductor light-emitting device according to claim 8 , wherein the sapphire substrate has an a-plane main surface, and the first direction is the c-axis direction of the sapphire substrate.