ZNO-GROUP SEMICONDUCTOR ELEMENT

摘要

This aims to provide a ZnO-group semiconductor element capable of causing flat ZnO-group semiconductor layers to grow over a MgZnO substrate, of which a principal plane on a laminate side has a C-plane. The ZnO-group semiconductor element uses a MgxZn1-xO (0 = x < 1) substrate (1), of which the principal plane has the C-plane, and the ZnO-group semiconductor layers (2 to 5) are caused to grow epitaxially over the principal plane. This principal plane is formed so that an angle (Fm) made between a projective axis, on which the normal of the principal plane is projected to the plane of an m-axis and a c-axis of substrate crystal axes, and a c-axis, may be 0 < Fm = 3. A p-electrode (8) is formed over the ZnO-group semiconductor layer (5), and an n-electrode (9) is formed on the lower side of the MgxZn1-xO substrate (1). Regular steps arranged in the m-axis direction are thus formed on the surface of the MgxZn1-xO substrate (1), so that the phenomenon called the "step bunching" can be prevented to improve the flatness of the films of the semiconductor layers laminated over the substrate (1).