A METHOD OF GROWING A SEMICONDUCTOR LAYER

摘要

A method of growing a p-type nitride semiconductor material having magnesium as a p-type dopant by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), comprises supplying ammonia gas, gallium and magnesium to an MBE growth chamber containing a substrate so as to grow a p-type nitride semiconductor material over the substrate. Magnesium is supplied to the growth chamber at a beam equivalent pressure of at least 1 10-9 mbar, and preferably in the range from 1 10-9 mbar to 1 10-7 mbar during the growth process. This provides p-type GaN that has a high concentration of free charge carriers and eliminates the need to activate the magnesium dopant atoms by annealing or irradiating the material.