An Introduction to OMVPE of III-V Compounds

Abstract

Of the four existing methods mainly used for epitaxial growth of III-V compounds — Liquid Phase Epitaxy, Chloride transport epitaxy, organometallic vapour phase epitaxy and Molecular Beam Epitaxy — OMVPE has been used to grow the largest variety of possible III-V compounds. The non-equilibrium character with respect to the deposition of the group III element adds much to the easy application of the method to grow binary, ternary and quaternary alloys, with precise control of composition and thickness. In some materials systems, virtually monolayer control can be achieved when switching from one compound to another. Doping profiles can be reealized with transitions of two decades over distances of the order of 50 (switch on) to 100 (switch off) angstroms.