A semiconductor crystal substrate includes a crystal substrate that is formed of a material including one of GaSb and InAs, a first buffer layer that is formed on the crystal substrate and formed of a material including GaSb, and a second buffer layer that is formed on the first buffer layer and formed of a material including GaSb. The first buffer layer has a p-type conductivity, and the second buffer layer has an n-type conductivity.

A method of manufacturing a nitride semiconductor substrate includes providing a silicon substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposing each other, growing a nitride template on the first surface of the silicon substrate in a first growth chamber, in which a silicon compound layer is formed on the second surface of the silicon substrate in a growth process of the nitride template, removing the silicon compound layer from the second surface of the silicon substrate, growing a group III nitride single crystal on the nitride template in a second growth chamber, and removing the silicon substrate from the second growth chamber.

There is provided a method for manufacturing a flexible electrode, the method comprising: cleaning a plastic substrate; forming a metal-oxide seed layer on the plastic substrate by sputtering a metal oxide on the plastic substrate; and forming a metal plating layer on the metal oxide seed layer using an electroless plating.

The invention relates to a process for fabricating a solar cell. The process comprises depositing a layer of amorphous silicon on a substrate using physical vapour deposition, said substrate being a layer of a dielectric disposed on a silicon wafer. The amorphous silicon is then annealed so as to generate a layer of polycrystalline silicon on the substrate.

A novel oxide semiconductor, a novel oxynitride semiconductor, a transistor including them, or a novel sputtering target is provided. A composite target includes a first region and a second region. The first region includes an insulating material and the second region includes a conductive material. The first region and the second region each include a microcrystal whose diameter is greater than or equal to 0.5 nm and less than or equal to 3 nm or a value in the neighborhood thereof. A semiconductor film is formed using the composite target.

A method of growing a conductive Ga.sub.2O.sub.3-based crystal film by MBE includes producing a Ga vapor and a Si-containing vapor and supplying the vapors as molecular beams onto a surface of a Ga.sub.2O.sub.3-based crystal substrate so as to grow the Ga.sub.2O.sub.3-based crystal film. The Ga.sub.2O.sub.3-based crystal film includes a Si-containing Ga.sub.2O.sub.3-based single crystal film. The Si-containing vapor is produced by heating Si or a Si compound and Ga while allowing the Si or a Si compound to contact with the Ga.

A doped diamond semiconductor and method of production using a laser is disclosed herein. As disclosed, a dopant and/or a diamond or sapphire seed material may be added to a graphite based ablative layer positioned below a confinement layer, the ablative layer also being graphite based and positioned above a backing layer, to promote formation of diamond particles having desirable semiconductor properties via the action of a laser beam upon the ablative layer. Dopants may be incorporated into the process to activate the reaction sought to produce a material useful in production of a doped semiconductor or a doped conductor suitable for the purpose of modulating the electrical, thermal or quantum properties of the material produced. As disclosed, the diamond particles formed by either the machine or method of confined pulsed laser deposition disclosed may be arranged as semiconductors, electrical components, thermal components, quantum components and/or integrated circuits.

To provide a sputtering apparatus capable of forming a semiconductor film in which impurities such as hydrogen or water are reduced. The sputtering apparatus is capable of forming a semiconductor film and includes a deposition chamber, a gas supply device connected to the deposition chamber, a gas refining device connected to the gas supply device, a vacuum pump for evacuating the deposition chamber, a target disposed in the deposition chamber, and a cathode disposed to face the target. The gas supply device is configured to supply at least one of an argon gas, an oxygen gas, and a nitrogen gas. The partial pressure of hydrogen molecules is lower than or equal to 0.01 Pa and the partial pressure of water molecules is lower than or equal to 0.0001 Pa in the deposition chamber.

A method (200) and deposition zone apparatus (300) for fabricating thin-film optoelectronic devices (100), the method comprising: providing a potassium-nondiffusing substrate (110), forming a back-contact layer (120); forming at least one absorber layer (130) made of an ABC chalcogenide material, adding at least two different alkali metals, and forming at least one front-contact layer (150) wherein one of said at least two different alkali metals is potassium and where, following forming said front-contact layer, in the interval of layers (470) from back-contact layer (120), exclusive, to front-contact layer (150), inclusive, the comprised amounts resulting from adding at least two different alkali metals are, for potassium, in the range of 500 to 10000 ppm and, for the other of said at least two different alkali metals, in the range of 5 to 2000 ppm and at most ½ and at least 1/2000 of the comprised amount of potassium. The method (200) and apparatus (300) are advantageous for more environmentally-friendly production of photovoltaic devices (100) on flexible substrates with high photovoltaic conversion efficiency and faster production rate.

The invention provides an oxide semiconductor target including an oxide sintered body including zinc, tin, oxygen, and aluminum in a content ratio of from 0.005% by mass to 0.2% by mass with respect to the total mass of the oxide sintered body, in which the content ratio of silicon to the total mass of the oxide sintered body is less than 0.03% by mass.