Modeling halogen chemical vapor deposition for III-V semiconductor compounds

Halogen chemical vapor deposition is a well-developed technique widely used for growing semiconductors, in which the best growing conditions are obtai ned on an empirical way. From the theoretical point of view, most of the ti me the developed models are too complex and not accurate enough to correctl y adjust the experimental results. Here, we present a general model to expl ain the epitaxial growth kinetics of III-V semiconductor materials by halog en chemical vapor deposition. The model considers one reversible chemical r eaction between the transporting gas and the III element at its reservoir, and the same reaction at the substrate surface. This means that the reactio n producing the volatile compounds that transport the III element from its reservoir to the substrate is active at the substrate surface as well. Howe ver, the model considers that the III element might have a different chemic al activity at each one of those surfaces. The proposed model correctly exp lains experimental results reported in the literature on different III-V ma terials, by different laboratories, over decades. (C) 2001 Published by Els evier Science B.V.