Single crystal and quasi-single crystal, composition, apparatus, and associated method
A single crystal or quasi-single crystal including one or more Group III material and an impurity. The impurity includes one or more elements from Group IA, Group IIA, Groups IIIB to VIIB, Group VIII, Group IB, Group IIB, or Group VIIA elements of the periodic table of elements. A composition for forming a crystal is also provided. The composition includes a source material comprising a Group III element, and a flux comprising one or more of P, Rb, Cs, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Pd, Ag, Hf, Ta, W, Pt, Au, Hg, Ge, or Sb; or the flux may comprise a rare earth metal.
1 . A single crystal or quasi-single crystal, comprising one or more Group III material and an impurity, wherein
the impurity comprises one or more element selected from the group consisting of Group IA, Group IIA, Groups IIIB to VIIB, Group VIII, Group IB, Group IIB, and Group VIIA of the periodic table of elements, and the impurity is present at a predetermined concentration.
2 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the Group IA impurity comprises one or both of Rb or Cs.
3 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the Group II impurity comprises one or more of Ca, Sr, or Ba.
4 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the impurity selected from Groups IIIB to VIIB comprises one or more of Cr, Mo, Sc, W, or Y.
5 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the impurity selected from Groups IIIB to VIIB comprises one or more of Ti, Zr, or Hf.
6 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the impurity selected from Groups IIIB to VIIB comprises one or more of V, Ta, or Nb.
7 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the Group VIII impurity comprises one or more of Ir, Ni, Pd, Pt, or Rh.
8 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the Group IB impurity comprises one or more of Cu, Ag, or Au.
9 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the Group IIB impurity comprises one or more of Cd, Hg, or Zn.
10 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the Group VIIA impurity comprises one or more of F, Cl, Br, or I.
11 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the impurity further comprises one or more element selected from the group consisting of Group IIIA, Group IVA, and Group VA of the periodic table of elements.
12 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 11 , wherein the Group IIIA impurity comprises one or more of Al or Tl.
13 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 11 , wherein the Group IVA impurity comprises Ge.
14 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 11 , wherein the Group VA impurity comprises one or both of Sb or B.
15 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the single crystal or quasi-single crystal is GaN, and the impurity comprises at least one of Fe, Mn, or Zn.
16 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the single crystal or quasi-single crystal is GaN, and the impurity further comprises at least one of Al, In, Sn, Pb, Ga, or TI.
17 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the single crystal or quasi-single crystal comprises GaN.
18 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 17 , wherein the single crystal or quasi-single crystal further comprises one or both of Al or In.
19 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 18 , wherein the single crystal or quasi-single crystal comprises AlInGaN.
20 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the single crystal or quasi-single crystal consists essentially of GaN and the impurity.
21 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the impurity concentration is in a range of from about 100 ppm by weight to about 0.1 weight percent based on the total weight.
22 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the impurity concentration is in a range of greater than about 0.1 weight percent.
23 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 22 , wherein the impurity concentration is in a range of greater than about 1 weight percent.
24 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the single crystal or quasi-single crystal has a dislocation density of fewer than 10,000 per cm −2.
25 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the single crystal or quasi-single crystal has a dislocation density of fewer than 1000 per cm −2.
26 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the single crystal or quasi-single crystal is free of tilt boundaries, grain boundaries, or both tilt boundaries and grain boundaries.
27 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the impurity is present at a concentration in a range of greater than about 50 ppm based on the total weight.
28 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 27 , wherein the impurity is present at a concentration in a range of greater than about 100 ppm based on the total weight.
29 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 28 , wherein the impurity is present at a concentration in a range from about 1000 ppm to about 10,000 ppm based on the total weight.
30 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the single crystal or quasi-single crystal has electrical properties that are the same as a single crystal or quasi-single crystal that does not have the impurity, such that the single crystal or quasi-single crystal impurity has little effect or no effect on the single crystal or quasi-single crystal electrical properties.
31 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the impurity comprises an inclusion in the single crystal or quasi-single crystal.
32 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 1 , wherein the impurity is atomically dispersed in the single crystal or quasi-single crystal.
33 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 32 , wherein the impurity is interstitial.
34 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal of claim 32 , wherein the impurity is a substituted impurity.
35 . A composition for forming a crystal, comprising:
a source material comprising a Group III element, and
a flux material comprising one or more of P, Rb, Cs, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Pd, Ag, Hf, Ta, W, Pt, Au, Hg, Ge, or Sb; or a rare earth metal.
36 . The composition as defined in claim 35 , further comprising an encapsulant.
37 . The composition as defined in claim 36 , wherein the encapsulant comprises B 2 O 3 .
38 . The composition as defined in claim 35 , wherein the Group III element is gallium.
39 . The composition as defined in claim 35 , wherein the source material comprises a salt of a Group III element.
40 . The composition as defined in claim 35 , wherein the source material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of gallium metal, gallium halide, GaN powder, polycrystalline GaN, amorphous GaN, single crystal GaN, quasi-single crystal GaN, and combinations of two or more thereof.
41 . The composition as defined in claim 35 , wherein the flux material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of metallic alloys, halides, mixed halides and phosphates.
42 . The composition as defined in claim 35 , wherein the flux material comprises one or more of rare earth metal or alkaline earth metal; or, a halide, a nitride or a halonitride of one or both thereof.
43 . The composition as defined in claim 35 , wherein the flux material comprises one or more of a phosphorus compound, urea, or an ammonium salt.
44 . The composition as defined in claim 35 , wherein the flux material comprises one or more of Mg 3 N 2 , Ca 3 N 2 , Sr 3 N 2 , Ba 3 N 2 , KF, KCl, or NaCl
45 . The composition as defined in claim 35 , wherein the flux material comprises one or more of LiNH 2 , NaNH 2 , KNH 2 , NH 4 F, NH 4 Cl, NH 4 Br, or NH 4 I.
46 . The composition as defined in claim 45 , wherein the flux material consists essentially of one or more of LiNH 2 , NaNH 2 , KNH 2 , NH 4 F, NH 4 Cl, NH 4 Br, or NH 4 I.
47 . The composition as defined in claim 35 , wherein the flux material comprises one or more of Li 3 N, NaPO 3 LiPN 2 , or P 3 N 5 .
48 . The composition as defined in claim 35 , wherein the flux material comprises one or more of CrN x ; MnN x ; FeN x ; or CuN x , and wherein x is greater than 1.
49 . The composition as defined in claim 35 , wherein the source material has an oxygen content of less than about 100 ppm.
50 . The composition as defined in claim 35 , wherein the source material has an oxygen content of less than about 10 ppm.
51 . The composition as defined in claim 50 , further comprising one or more seed crystals, wherein each of the seed crystals has a dislocation density of fewer than 10,000 per cm −2.
52 . The composition as defined in claim 51 , wherein the seed crystal comprises one or both of single crystal GaN or quasi-single crystal GaN.
53 . The composition as defined in claim 35 , wherein a solubility of the source material in the flux material decreases in response to an increase in temperature.
54 . The composition as defined in claim 35 , wherein a solubility of the source material in the flux material increases in response to an increase in temperature.
55 . A single crystal or quasi-single crystal, comprising:
a salt comprising one or more of gallium nitride, indium nitride, aluminum nitride, gallium indium nitride, gallium aluminum nitride, indium aluminum nitride, or aluminum indium gallium nitride; and
an impurity comprising one or more element selected from the group consisting of Group IA, Group IIA, Groups IIIB to VIIB, Group VIII, Group IB, Group IIB, and Group VIIA of the periodic table of elements, wherein the impurity is present in a predetermined amount.
56 . The single crystal or quasi-single crystal as defined in claim 55 , wherein the impurity is present in an amount in a range of greater than about 50 ppm based on the total weight of the single crystal or quasi-single crystal.
57 . A semiconductor structure, comprising the single crystal or quasi-single crystal as defined in claim 55 .
58 . The semiconductor structure as defined in claim 57 , further comprising at least one homoepitaxial layer disposed on the single crystal or quasi-single crystal.
59 . The semiconductor structure as defined in claim 58 , wherein the homoepitaxial layer comprises an Al x In y Ga 1-x-y N layer, where 0≦x≦1, 0≦y≦1 and 0≦x+y≦1.
60 . The semiconductor structure of claim 58 , wherein the semiconductor structure forms at least a portion of one or more of a light emitting diode, a laser diode, a photodetector, an avalanche photodiode, a transistor, a rectifier, a thyristor, a Schottky rectifier, a p-i-n diode, a metal-semiconductor-metal diode, a high-electron mobility transistor, a metal semiconductor field effect transistor, a metal oxide field effect transistor, a power metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor, a power metal insulator semiconductor field effect transistor, a bipolar junction transistor, a metal insulator field effect transistor, a heterojunction bipolar transistor, a power insulated gate bipolar transistor, a power vertical junction field effect transistor, a cascade switch, an inner sub-band emitter, a quantum well infrared photodetector, or a quantum dot infrared photodetector.