Compound semiconductor
Encyclopedia
A compound semiconductor is a semiconductor
compound
composed of elements
from two or more different groups of the periodic table
. These semiconductors typically form in groups 13-16 (old groups III-VI),
for example of elements from group 13
(old group III, Boron
, Aluminium
, Gallium
, Indium
) and from group 15
(old group V, Nitrogen
, Phosphorus
, Arsenic
, Antimony
, Bismuth
). The range of possible formulae is quite broad because these elements can form binary (two elements, e.g. Gallium(III) arsenide
(GaAs)), ternary (three elements, e.g. Indium gallium arsenide
(InGaAs)) and quaternary (four elements, e.g. Aluminium gallium indium phosphide
(AlInGaP)) alloys.
For compound families and other examples see list of semiconductor materials.
(MOVPE) is the most popular deposition technology for the formation of compound semiconducting thin films for devices . It uses ultrapure metalorganics
and / or hydride
s as precursor
source materials in an ambient gas such as hydrogen
.
Other techniques of choice include:
scientists and non-scientists.
Semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
compound
Chemical compound
A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...
composed of elements
Chemical element
A chemical element is a pure chemical substance consisting of one type of atom distinguished by its atomic number, which is the number of protons in its nucleus. Familiar examples of elements include carbon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, copper, gold, mercury, and lead.As of November 2011, 118 elements...
from two or more different groups of the periodic table
Periodic table
The periodic table of the chemical elements is a tabular display of the 118 known chemical elements organized by selected properties of their atomic structures. Elements are presented by increasing atomic number, the number of protons in an atom's atomic nucleus...
. These semiconductors typically form in groups 13-16 (old groups III-VI),
for example of elements from group 13
Boron group
The boron group is the series of elements in group 13 of the periodic table, comprising boron , aluminium , gallium , indium , thallium , and ununtrium . The elements in the boron group are characterized by having three electrons in their outer energy levels...
(old group III, Boron
Boron
Boron is the chemical element with atomic number 5 and the chemical symbol B. Boron is a metalloid. Because boron is not produced by stellar nucleosynthesis, it is a low-abundance element in both the solar system and the Earth's crust. However, boron is concentrated on Earth by the...
, Aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
, Gallium
Gallium
Gallium is a chemical element that has the symbol Ga and atomic number 31. Elemental gallium does not occur in nature, but as the gallium salt in trace amounts in bauxite and zinc ores. A soft silvery metallic poor metal, elemental gallium is a brittle solid at low temperatures. As it liquefies...
, Indium
Indium
Indium is a chemical element with the symbol In and atomic number 49. This rare, very soft, malleable and easily fusible post-transition metal is chemically similar to gallium and thallium, and shows the intermediate properties between these two...
) and from group 15
Nitrogen group
The nitrogen group is a periodic table group consisting of nitrogen , phosphorus , arsenic , antimony , bismuth and ununpentium ....
(old group V, Nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
, Phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
, Arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
, Antimony
Antimony
Antimony is a toxic chemical element with the symbol Sb and an atomic number of 51. A lustrous grey metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite...
, Bismuth
Bismuth
Bismuth is a chemical element with symbol Bi and atomic number 83. Bismuth, a trivalent poor metal, chemically resembles arsenic and antimony. Elemental bismuth may occur naturally uncombined, although its sulfide and oxide form important commercial ores. The free element is 86% as dense as lead...
). The range of possible formulae is quite broad because these elements can form binary (two elements, e.g. Gallium(III) arsenide
Gallium(III) arsenide
Gallium arsenide is a compound of the elements gallium and arsenic. It is a III/V semiconductor, and is used in the manufacture of devices such as microwave frequency integrated circuits, monolithic microwave integrated circuits, infrared light-emitting diodes, laser diodes, solar cells and...
(GaAs)), ternary (three elements, e.g. Indium gallium arsenide
Indium gallium arsenide
Indium gallium arsenide is a semiconductor composed of indium, gallium and arsenic. It is used in high-power and high-frequency electronics because of its superior electron velocity with respect to the more common semiconductors silicon and gallium arsenide. InGaAs bandgap also makes it the...
(InGaAs)) and quaternary (four elements, e.g. Aluminium gallium indium phosphide
Aluminium gallium indium phosphide
Aluminium gallium indium phosphide is a semiconductor material.AlGaInP is used in manufacture of light-emitting diodes of high-brightness red, orange, green, and yellow color, to form the heterostructure emitting light...
(AlInGaP)) alloys.
Examples
- Gallium nitride
- Gallium(III) arsenideGallium(III) arsenideGallium arsenide is a compound of the elements gallium and arsenic. It is a III/V semiconductor, and is used in the manufacture of devices such as microwave frequency integrated circuits, monolithic microwave integrated circuits, infrared light-emitting diodes, laser diodes, solar cells and...
- Indium arsenide
- Zinc selenideZinc selenideZinc selenide , is a light yellow binary solid compound. It is an intrinsic semiconductor with a band gap of about 2.70 eV at 25 °C. ZnSe rarely occurs in nature...
- Zinc sulfideZinc sulfideZinc sulfide is a inorganic compound with the formula ZnS. ZnS is the main form of zinc in nature, where it mainly occurs as the mineral sphalerite...
- Silicon CarbideSilicon carbideSilicon carbide , also known as carborundum, is a compound of silicon and carbon with chemical formula SiC. It occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite. Silicon carbide powder has been mass-produced since 1893 for use as an abrasive...
- Indium(III) selenideIndium(III) selenideIndium selenide is a compound of indium and selenium. It has potential for use in photovoltaic devices and it has been the subject of extensive research. The two most common forms α- and β- have defect wurtzite structures, however there are five known forms The α- β phase transition is...
For compound families and other examples see list of semiconductor materials.
Fabrication
Metalorganic vapour phase epitaxyMetalorganic vapour phase epitaxy
Metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy , also known as organometallic vapour phase epitaxy or metalorganic chemical vapour deposition , is a chemical vapour deposition method of epitaxial growth of materials, especially compound semiconductors, from the surface reaction of organic compounds or...
(MOVPE) is the most popular deposition technology for the formation of compound semiconducting thin films for devices . It uses ultrapure metalorganics
Metalorganics
Metalorganic compounds are a class of chemical compounds that contain metals and organic ligands. Metalorganic compounds are used extensively in materials science in applications such as metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy or sol-gel processing using alkoxides...
and / or hydride
Hydride
In chemistry, a hydride is the anion of hydrogen, H−, or, more commonly, a compound in which one or more hydrogen centres have nucleophilic, reducing, or basic properties. In compounds that are regarded as hydrides, hydrogen is bonded to a more electropositive element or group...
s as precursor
Precursor (chemistry)
In chemistry, a precursor is a compound that participates in the chemical reaction that produces another compound. In biochemistry, the term "precursor" is used more specifically to refer to a chemical compound preceding another in a metabolic pathway....
source materials in an ambient gas such as hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
.
Other techniques of choice include:
- Molecular beam epitaxyMolecular beam epitaxyMolecular beam epitaxy is one of several methods of depositing single crystals. It was invented in the late 1960s at Bell Telephone Laboratories by J. R. Arthur and Alfred Y. Cho.-Method:...
(MBE) - Hydride vapour phase epitaxyHydride Vapour Phase EpitaxyHydride vapour phase epitaxy is an epitaxial growth technique often employed to produce semiconductors such as GaN, GaAs, InP and their related compounds. Carrier gasses commonly used include ammonia, hydrogen and various chlorides....
(HVPE) - Liquid phase epitaxy (LPE)
- Metal-organic molecular beam epitaxy (MOMBE)
- Atomic layer depositionAtomic layer depositionAtomic layer deposition is a thin film deposition technique that is based on the sequential use of a gas phase chemical process. The majority of ALD reactions use two chemicals, typically called precursors. These precursors react with a surface one-at-a-time in a sequential manner...
(ALD)
Resources
An interesting online resource for compound semiconductors and their fabrication, Britney's Guide to Semiconductor Physics , is also available as reference material for semiconductorSemiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
scientists and non-scientists.