UNIFORM RADIAL FLOW EPITAXY FOR THIN-LAYER HETEROSTRUCTURES

We describe an epitaxial growth technique called uniform radial flow epitaxy (URFE) for growing thin layer heterostructures of III-V compound semiconductors. The geometry of the URFE reactor is similar to the configuration used in vapor levitation epitaxy (VLE) but the growth vapors are delivered to the top of the substrate which is resting on a paddle. This design allows samples of arbitrary shape to be used while retaining the proven ability of the VLE to grow thin layer heterostructures with abrupt interfaces. The relaxed tolerances of the URFE reactor result in easier fabrication of the quartz reactor. A unique feature of the URFE reactor incorporates an isolating gas curtain between the deposition chambers to assure interface abruptness. Early growths have yielded epitaxial layers of the InP and InGaAs less than 100 angstrom thick with 5%-8% uniformity in layer thickness over 1 inch square samples.