Design and construction of a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system

Includes bibliographical references (pages [69]-71)Progress in solid state device technology has depended heavily on the advances in fabrication technologies. One of the most important and versatile steps in device fabrication is the growth of epitaxial layers to form the material structure of the device. Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) is one of the most versatile epitaxial growth techniques that is widely used. This technique allows the formation of a wide range of materials, including alloys consisting of combinations of four or more elements. MOCVD allows also for a tight control of the growth parameters. This, in turn, results in the growth of materials with the desired uniformity and quality. The growth chamber of an MOCVD system can be put either under atmospheric or low-pressure condition. For atmospheric pressure, MOCVD can provide the advantage of growing high-quality materials as well as simplicity in design and operation. This thesis describes design, construction and operation of an atmospheric pressure Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) system capable of handling up to six reactants at the same time. This system was designed and built at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Northern Illinois University. This system can be used to fabricate many different types of device structures, using up to six different materials, without removing the substrate from the reactor. Zinc Selenitic and Zinc Sulphide material technology and current device research being done based on these materials are also discussed since, at present, efforts will be concentrated towards fabricating devices based on these materials.M.S. (Master of Science