EPITAXIAL FILM FORMING METHOD, VACUUM PROCESSING APPARATUS, SEMICONDUCTOR LIGHT EMITTING ELEMENT MANUFACTURING METHOD, SEMICONDUCTOR LIGHT EMITTING ELEMENT, AND ILLUMINATING DEVICE

摘要

The present invention provides: an epitaxial film forming method capable of fabricating a +c-polarity epitaxial film made of a Group III nitride semiconductor by sputtering; and a vacuum processing apparatus suitable for this epitaxial film forming method. In one embodiment of the present invention, a Group III nitride semiconductor thin film is epitaxially grown by sputtering on an α-Al2O3 substrate heated to a desired temperature by using a heater. First, the α-Al2O3 substrate is disposed on a substrate holder including the heater in such a way that the α-Al2O3 substrate is disposed away from the heater by a predetermined distance. Then, an epitaxial film of a Group III nitride semiconductor thin film is formed on the α-Al2O3 substrate in the state where the α-Al2O3 substrate is disposed away from the heater by the predetermined distance.