Methods of fabricating dilute nitride semiconductor materials for use in photoactive devices and related structures

Abstract

Dilute nitride III-V semiconductor materials may be formed by substituting As atoms for some N atoms within a previously formed nitride material to transform at least a portion of the previously formed nitride into a dilute nitride III-V semiconductor material that includes arsenic. Such methods may be employed in the fabrication of photoactive devices, such as photovoltaic cells and photoemitters. The methods may be carried out within a deposition chamber, such as a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) or a vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) chamber.

Description

technical field [0001] Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods of fabricating dilute nitride III-V semiconductor materials for photoactive devices, methods of fabricating photoactive devices including dilute nitride III-V semiconductor materials, and methods utilizing the dilute nitride III-V semiconductor materials. formed photosensitive device. Background technique [0002] Photosensitive devices are semiconductor devices that use semiconductor materials to convert electromagnetic radiation into electrical energy or convert electrical energy into electromagnetic radiation. Photosensitive devices include, for example, photovoltaic cells, light emitting diodes, and laser diodes. [0003] Photovoltaic cells (also referred to in this field as "solar cells" or "photovoltaic cells") are used to convert energy from light (eg, sunlight) into electricity. Photovoltaic cells typically include one or more pn junctions and can be fabricated from conventional...

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Problems solved by technology

[0007] Such dilute nitride III-V semiconductor materials have proven difficult to fabricate, at least on a commercial scale

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