GROWTH OF GAP LAYERS FROM THIN ALIQUOT MELTS - LIQUID-PHASE EPITAXY AS A COMMERCIAL PROCESS

The highest electroluminescent device performance in most III-V semiconductor materials was obtained on thin layers grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE). LPE has not been developed, however, as a commercial process. From a comparison of the factors affecting layer quality and process economy, it is concluded that a commercial LPE process favors the use of thin melts (possibly discarded after deposition), should provide substrate protection prior to deposition, and should be able to terminate LPE growth. A system has been designed in which a large volume of a saturated melt is sectioned into many small but equal thin melts (aliquot) for each substrate. The key to forming aliquots is wetting the substrate by the large volume of the melt in an apparatus constructed of nonwetted materials. The application of the above concepts to a multislice operation is described.