A method for forming a semiconductor device includes depositing an epitaxial layer on a semiconductor substrate, forming an oxygen diffusion region within the epitaxial layer by oxygen diffusion from the semiconductor substrate into a part of the epitaxial layer and tempering at least the oxygen diffusion region of the epitaxial layer at a temperature between 400° C. and 480° C. for more than 15 minutes.

A manufacturing method for a semiconductor element includes providing a mask including an opening on a surface of a substrate while leaving a step difference in the mask at an upper surface region around the opening, epitaxially growing a semiconductor from the surface exposed through the opening to over the upper surface region around the opening, to produce a semiconductor element including a semiconductor layer including a first surface to which the step difference is transferred, and dry-etching the first surface of the semiconductor layer to transfer the step difference, the first surface being a contact surface with the mask before the dry etching is performed. The mask contains an element that serves as a donor or an acceptor in the semiconductor layer.

An additive-containing aluminium nitride film containing an additive element selected from Sc, Y or Er is plasma etched through a mask for a period of time, t, with a plasma formed in a gaseous atmosphere having an associated gas pressure while an RF bias power is applied to the additive-containing aluminium nitride film. The gas pressure is reduced and/or the RF bias power is increased for a majority of the period of time t, so that the plasma etching becomes less chemical and more physical over a majority of the period of time, t.

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.

A periodic table Group 13 metal nitride crystals grown with a non-polar or semi-polar principal surface have numerous stacking faults. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a period table Group 13 metal nitride crystal wherein the occurrence of stacking faults of this kind are suppressed. The present invention achieves the foregoing by a periodic table Group 13 metal nitride crystal being characterized in that, in a Qx direction intensity profile that includes a maximum intensity and is derived from an isointensity contour plot obtained by x-ray reciprocal lattice mapping of (100) plane of the periodic table Group 13 metal nitride crystal, a Qx width at 1/300th of peak intensity is 6×10.sup.−4 rlu or less.

A C-plane GaN substrate only mildly restricts the shape and dimension of a nitride semiconductor device formed on the substrate. The variation of an off-angle on the main surface of the substrate is suppressed. In the C-plane GaN substrate: the substrate comprises a plurality of facet growth areas each having a closed ring outline-shape on the main surface; the number density of the facet growth area accompanied by a core among the plurality of facet growth areas is less than 5 cm.sup.−2 on the main surface; and, when any circular area of 4 cm diameter is selected from an area which is on the main surface and is distant by 5 mm or more from the outer peripheral edge of the substrate, the variation widths of an a-axis direction component and an m-axis direction component of an off-angle within the circular area is each 0.25 degrees or less.

Systems and methods described herein may include a first semiconductor layer with a first lattice constant, a rare earth pnictide buffer epitaxially grown over the first semiconductor, wherein a first region of the rare earth pnictide buffer adjacent to the first semiconductor has a net strain that is less than 1%, a second semiconductor layer epitaxially grown over the rare earth pnictide buffer, wherein a second region of the rare earth pnictide buffer adjacent to the second semiconductor has a net strain that is a desired strain, and wherein the rare earth pnictide buffer may comprise one or more rare earth elements and one or more Group V elements. In some examples, the desired strain is approximately zero.

A gallium nitride power device, including: a gallium nitride substrate; cathodes; a plurality of gallium nitride protruding structures arranged on the gallium nitride substrate and between the cathodes, a groove is formed between adjacent gallium nitride protruding structures; an electron transport layer, covering a top portion and side surfaces of each of the gallium nitride protruding structures; a gallium nitride layer, arranged on the electron transport layer and filling each of the grooves; a plurality of second conductivity type regions, where each of the second conductivity type regions extends downward from a top portion of the gallium nitride layer into one of the grooves, and the top portion of each of the gallium nitride protruding structures is higher than a bottom portion of each of the second conductivity type regions; and an anode, arranged on the gallium nitride layer and the second conductivity type regions.

Provided is an optical semiconductor device including a laminate structural body 20 in which an n-type compound semiconductor layer 21, an active layer 23, and a p-type compound semiconductor layer 22 are laminated in this order. The active layer 23 includes a multiquantum well structure including a tunnel barrier layer 33, and a compositional variation of a well layer 31.sub.2 adjacent to the p-type compound semiconductor layer 22 is greater than a compositional variation of another well layer 31.sub.1. Band gap energy of the well layer 31.sub.2 adjacent to the p-type compound semiconductor layer 22 is smaller than band gap energy of the other well layer 31.sub.1. A thickness of the well layer 31.sub.2 adjacent to the p-type compound semiconductor layer 22 is greater than a thickness of the other well layer 31.sub.1.

The present disclosure provides a fabrication of M-plane gallium nitride which is able to grow M-plane gallium nitride without the need of expensive substrates, such as LiAlO.sub.2, LiGaO.sub.2 or SiC. The fabrication of M-plane gallium nitride includes preparing a zinc oxide hexagonal prism having a growth face, and growing a gallium nitride layer on the growth face of the zinc oxide hexagonal prism. The growth face is an M-plane perpendicular to a direction of gravity.