Method for growing tilted superlattices

US5013683A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• The Regents of the University of California · US

Inventors

• Pierre M. Petroff · Lompoc, US
• Herbert Kroemer · Lompoc, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jan 23, 1989
• Grant date: May 7, 1991
• Expiry date: Jan 23, 2009

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10S438/962
• WIPO field: Semiconductors
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A method for growing a superlattice structure on a substrate. First, a periodic array of monoatomic surface steps are created on the surface of the substrate at an area to have the superlattice structure grown thereon. There is apparatus for creating a beam of a material being input thereto and for selectively including or not including respective ones of a plurality of materials within the beam. The beam is directed at the steps of the substrate. Finally, logic causes control apparatus to include and not include respective ones of the materials within the beam in a pre-established pattern of time periods which will cause the materials to be deposited on the steps in a series of stacked monolayers. Tilted Superlattices (TSLs) and Coherent Tilted Superlattices (CTSLs) are created. The method can create pseudo ternary semiconductor alloys as part of a CTSL by employing at least two binary compound semiconductor alloys in the deposition process. It can also create a quantum wire superlattice by sandwiching a thin CTSL layer between two wider band gap layers. Additionally, it can create a tilted superlattice with zero misfit strain by using three binary compounds to produce a pseudo-te…