Patents by Inventor Makoto Kiyama

Makoto Kiyama has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20140004668
    Abstract: A substrate product is disposed in a growth furnace at time t0, and the substrate temperature is then raised to 950° C. At time t3 after the substrate temperature is sufficiently stable, trimethyl gallium and ammonia are supplied to the growth furnace, to grow an i-GaN film. The substrate temperature reaches 1080° C. at time t5. At time t6 after the substrate temperature is sufficiently stable, trimethyl gallium, trimethyl aluminum and ammonia are supplied to the growth furnace, to grow an i-AlGaN film. Supply of trimethyl gallium and trimethyl aluminum is stopped at time t7 to discontinue film deposition. Quickly thereafter, supply of ammonia and hydrogen to the growth furnace is stopped and supply of nitrogen is initiated, to change the atmosphere of ammonia and hydrogen in a growth furnace chamber to a nitrogen atmosphere. After formation of the nitrogen atmosphere, the substrate temperature starts being lowered at time t8.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2011
    Publication date: January 2, 2014
    Applicant: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yu Saitoh, Masaya Okada, Makoto Kiyama
  • Patent number: 8614446
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor layer (1) containing GaN and an electrode. The electrode includes an electrode main body (6), a connection-use electrode (8) containing Al and formed at a position farther from the semiconductor layer (1) than the electrode main body (6), and a barrier layer (7) formed between the electrode main body (6) and the connection-use electrode (8), the barrier layer (7) containing at least one selected from the group consisting of W, TiW, WN, TiN, Ta, and TaN. A surface roughness RMS of the barrier layer (7) is 3.0 nm or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2013
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomihito Miyazaki, Makoto Kiyama, Taku Horii
  • Publication number: 20130316507
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a heterojunction field effect transistor 1 comprises the steps of: epitaxially growing a drift layer 20a on a support substrate 10; epitaxially growing a current blocking layer 20b which is a p-type semiconductor layer on the drift layer 20a at a temperature equal to or higher than 1000° C. by using hydrogen gas as a carrier gas; and epitaxially growing a contact layer 20c on the current blocking layer 20b by using at least one gas selected from the group consisting of nitrogen gas, argon gas, helium gas, and neon gas as a carrier gas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2011
    Publication date: November 28, 2013
    Applicant: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yu Saitoh, Masaya Okada, Masaki Ueno, Makoto Kiyama
  • Patent number: 8581359
    Abstract: A Schottky barrier diode includes a GaN freestanding substrate having a front surface, a GaN epitaxial layer deposited on the front surface, and an insulation layer deposited on the GaN epitaxial layer at a front surface and having an opening. Furthermore, the Schottky barrier diode also includes an electrode. The electrode is configured by a Schottky electrode provided in the opening in contact with the GaN epitaxial layer, and a field plate electrode connected to the Schottky electrode and also overlapping the insulation layer. The GaN freestanding substrate has a dislocation density of at most 1×108 cm?2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2013
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Taku Horii, Tomihito Miyazaki, Makoto Kiyama
  • Publication number: 20130248876
    Abstract: In a vertical semiconductor device including a channel in an opening, a semiconductor device whose high-frequency characteristics can be improved and a method for producing the semiconductor device are provided. The semiconductor device includes n-type GaN-based drift layer 4/p-type GaN-based barrier layer 6/n-type GaN-based contact layer 7. An opening 28 extends from a top layer and reaches the n-type GaN-based drift layer. The semiconductor device includes a regrown layer 27 located so as to cover the opening, the regrown layer 27 including an electron drift layer 22 and an electron supply layer 26, a source electrode S, a drain electrode D, and a gate electrode G located on the regrown layer. Assuming that the source electrode serving as one electrode and the drain electrode serving as the other electrode constitute a capacitor, the semiconductor device includes a capacitance-decreasing structure that decreases the capacitance of the capacitor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 26, 2011
    Publication date: September 26, 2013
    Applicant: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Seiji Yaegashi, Makoto Kiyama, Mitsunori Yokoyama, Kazutaka Inoue, Masaya Okada, Yu Saitoh
  • Publication number: 20130240900
    Abstract: There is provided a semiconductor device or the like which includes a channel and a gate electrode in an opening and in which electric field concentration near a bottom portion of the opening can be reduced. The semiconductor device includes n?-type GaN drift layer 4/p-type GaN barrier layer 6/n+-type GaN contact layer. An opening 28 extends from the top layer and reaches the n-type GaN-based drift layer. The semiconductor device includes a regrown layer 27 located in the opening, the regrown layer 27 including an electron supply layer 26 and an electron drift layer 22, a source electrode S, a drain electrode D, a gate electrode G located on the regrown layer, and a semiconductor impurity adjustment region 31 disposed in the bottom portion of the opening. The impurity adjustment region 31 is a region that promotes a potential drop from the drain electrode side to the gate electrode side in a potential distribution in an off-state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2011
    Publication date: September 19, 2013
    Applicant: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Seiji Yaegashi, Makoto Kiyama, Kazutaka Inoue, Mitsunori Yokoyama, Yu Saitoh, Masaya Okada
  • Publication number: 20130234156
    Abstract: It is an object to improve the breakdown voltage characteristics of a vertical semiconductor device having an opening and including a channel formed of two-dimensional electron gas in the opening. A GaN-based stacked layer 15 includes n?-type GaN drift layer 4/p-type GaN barrier layer 6/n+-type GaN contact layer 7. An opening 28 extends from a top layer and reaches the n?-type GaN drift layer 4. The semiconductor device includes a regrown layer 27 located so as to cover a wall surface and a bottom portion of the opening, the regrown layer 27 including an electron drift layer 22 and an electron source layer 26, a source electrode S located around the opening, a gate electrode G located on the regrown layer in the opening, and a bottom insulating layer 37 located in the bottom portion of the opening.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2011
    Publication date: September 12, 2013
    Applicant: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD
    Inventors: Masaya Okada, Makoto Kiyama, Yu Saitoh, Seiji Yaegashi, Mitsunori Yokoyama, Kazutaka Inoue
  • Publication number: 20130221434
    Abstract: It is an object to improve the breakdown voltage characteristics of a vertical semiconductor device having an opening and including a channel formed of two-dimensional electron gas in the opening. The vertical semiconductor device includes a GaN-based stacked layer 15 having an opening 28 and the GaN-based stacked layer 15 includes n-type GaN-based drift layer 4/p-type GaN-based barrier layer 6/n-type GaN-based contact layer 7. The vertical semiconductor device includes a regrown layer 27 located so as to cover the opening, the regrown layer 27 including an electron drift layer 22 and an electron supply layer 26, a source electrode S, and a gate electrode G located on the regrown layer. The gate electrode G covers a portion having a length corresponding to the thickness of the p-type GaN-based barrier layer and is terminated at a position on the wall surface, the position being away from the bottom portion of the opening.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 5, 2011
    Publication date: August 29, 2013
    Applicant: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaya Okada, Makoto Kiyama, Yu Saitoh, Seiji Yaegashi, Mitsunori Yokoyama, Kazutaka Inoue
  • Patent number: 8502310
    Abstract: Provided is a III nitride semiconductor electronic device having a structure capable of reducing leakage current. A laminate 11 includes a substrate 13 and a III nitride semiconductor epitaxial film 15. The substrate 13 is made of a III nitride semiconductor having a carrier concentration of more than 1×1018 cm?3. The epitaxial structure 15 includes a III nitride semiconductor epitaxial film 17. A first face 13a of the substrate 13 is inclined at an angle ? of more than 5 degrees with respect to an axis Cx extending in a direction of the c-axis. A normal vector VN and a c-axis vector VC make the angle ?. The III nitride semiconductor epitaxial film 17 includes first, second and third regions 17a, 17b and 17c arranged in order in a direction of a normal to the first face 13a. A dislocation density of the third region 17c is smaller than that of the first region 17a. A dislocation density of the second region 17b is smaller than that of the substrate 13.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2013
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiromu Shiomi, Kazuhide Sumiyoshi, Yu Saitoh, Makoto Kiyama
  • Patent number: 8502337
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a Schottky barrier diode includes the following steps. First, a GaN substrate is prepared. A GaN layer is formed on the GaN substrate. A Schottky electrode including a first layer made of Ni or Ni alloy and in contact with the GaN layer is formed. The step of forming the Schottky electrode includes a step of forming a metal layer to serve as the Schottky electrode and a step of heat treating the metal layer. A region of the GaN layer in contact with the Schottky electrode has a dislocation density of 1×108 cm?2 or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2013
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Taku Horii, Tomihito Miyazaki, Makoto Kiyama
  • Publication number: 20130181255
    Abstract: There is provided a vertical GaN-based semiconductor device in which the on-resistance can be decreased while the breakdown voltage characteristics are improved using a p-type GaN barrier layer. The semiconductor device includes a regrown layer 27 including a channel located on a wall surface of an opening 28, a p-type barrier layer 6 whose end face is covered, a source layer 7 that is in contact with the p-type barrier layer, a gate electrode G located on the regrown layer, and a source electrode S located around the opening. In the semiconductor device, the source layer has a superlattice structure that is constituted by a stacked layer including a first layer (a layer) having a lattice constant smaller than that of the p-type barrier layer and a second layer (b layer) having a lattice constant larger than that of the first layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 6, 2011
    Publication date: July 18, 2013
    Applicant: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Makoto Kiyama, Yu Saitoh, Masaya Okada, Seiji Yaegashi, Kazutaka Inoue, Mitsunori Yokoyama
  • Publication number: 20130181226
    Abstract: There are provided a semiconductor device in which a drain leak current can be reduced in the transistor operation while high vertical breakdown voltage is achieved and a method for producing the semiconductor device. In the semiconductor device, an opening 28 that extends from an n+-type contact layer 8 and reaches an n-type drift layer 4 through a p-type barrier layer 6 is formed. The semiconductor device includes a regrown layer 27 located so as to cover portions of the p-type barrier layer 6 and the like that are exposed to the opening, the regrown layer 27 including an undoped GaN channel layer 22 and a carrier supply layer 26; an insulating layer 9 located so as to cover the regrown layer 27; and a gate electrode G located on the insulating layer 9. In the p-type barrier layer, the Mg concentration A (cm?3)and the hydrogen concentration B (cm?3) satisfy 0.1<B/A<0.9 . . . (1).
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 6, 2011
    Publication date: July 18, 2013
    Applicant: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yu Saitoh, Masaya Okada, Masaki Ueno, Makoto Kiyama
  • Publication number: 20130175543
    Abstract: A composite GaN substrate of the present invention includes: a conductive GaN substrate having a specific resistance of less than 1 ?cm; and a semi-insulative GaN layer disposed on the conductive GaN substrate, having a specific resistance of 1×104 ?cm or more, and having a thickness of 5 ?m or more. A group III nitride semiconductor device of the present invention includes: the above-described composite GaN substrate; and at least one group III nitride semiconductor layer disposed on the semi-insulative GaN layer of the composite GaN substrate. In this way, there can be obtained the composite GaN substrate and the group III nitride semiconductor device each having a high characteristic with reasonable cost.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 22, 2011
    Publication date: July 11, 2013
    Applicant: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Makoto Kiyama, Hideki Matsubara, Takuji Okahisa
  • Publication number: 20130168739
    Abstract: A vertical semiconductor device in which pinch-off characteristics and breakdown voltage characteristics can be stably improved by fixing the electric potential of a p-type GaN barrier layer with certainty is provided. The semiconductor device includes a GaN-based stacked layer having an opening, a regrown layer including a channel located so as to cover a wall surface of the opening, an n+-type source layer that is in ohmic contact with the source electrode, a p-type GaN barrier layer, and a p+-type GaN-based supplementary layer located between the p-type GaN barrier layer and the n+-type source layer. The p+-type GaN-based supplementary layer and the n+-type source layer form a tunnel junction to fix the electric potential of the p-type GaN barrier layer at a source potential.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 6, 2011
    Publication date: July 4, 2013
    Applicant: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Makoto Kiyama, Yu Saitoh, Masaya Okada, Masaki Ueno, Seiji Yaegashi, Kazutaka Inoue, Mitsunori Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 8476086
    Abstract: Method of high-yield manufacturing superior semiconductor devices includes: a step of preparing a GaN substrate having a ratio St/S—of collective area (St cm2) of inversion domains in, to total area (S cm2) of the principal face of, the GaN substrate—of no more than 0.5, with the density along the (0001) Ga face, being the substrate principal face, of inversion domains whose surface area where the polarity in the [0001] direction is inverted with respect to the principal domain (matrix) is 1 ?m2 or more being D cm?2; and a step of growing on the GaN substrate principal face an at least single-lamina semiconductor layer to form semiconductor devices in which the product Sc×D of the area Sc of the device principal faces, and the density D of the inversion domains is made less than 2.3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2013
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinsuke Fujiwara, Takashi Sakurada, Makoto Kiyama, Yusuke Yoshizumi
  • Patent number: 8410524
    Abstract: Affords Group III nitride semiconductor devices in which the leakage current from the Schottky electrode can be reduced. In a high electron mobility transistor 11, a supporting substrate 13 is composed of AlN, AlGaN, or GaN, specifically. An AlYGa1?YN epitaxial layer 15 has a full-width-at-half maximum of (0002) plane XRD of 150 sec or less. A GaN epitaxial layer 17 is provided between the gallium nitride supporting substrate and the AlYGa1?YN epitaxial layer (0<Y?1). A Schottky electrode 19 is provided on the AlYGa1?YN epitaxial layer 15. The Schottky electrode 19 constitutes a gate electrode of the high electron mobility transistor 11. The source electrode 21 is provided on the gallium nitride epitaxial layer 15. The drain electrode 23 is provided on the gallium nitride epitaxial layer 15.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2013
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tatsuya Tanabe, Kouhei Miura, Makoto Kiyama, Takashi Sakurada
  • Patent number: 8405125
    Abstract: The semiconductor device includes a GaN-based layered body having an opening and including an n-type drift layer and a p-type layer located on the n-type drift layer, a regrown layer including a channel and located so as to cover the opening, and a gate electrode located on the regrown layer and formed along the regrown layer, wherein the opening reaches the n-type drift layer, and an edge of the gate electrode is not located outside a region of the p-type layer when viewed in plan.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaya Okada, Makoto Kiyama
  • Patent number: 8362521
    Abstract: Group III nitride semiconductor crystals of a size appropriate for semiconductor devices and methods for manufacturing the same, Group III nitride semiconductor devices and methods for manufacturing the same, and light-emitting appliances. A method of manufacturing a Group III nitride semiconductor crystal includes a process of growing at least one Group III nitride semiconductor crystal substrate on a starting substrate, a process of growing at least one Group III nitride semiconductor crystal layer on the Group III nitride semiconductor crystal substrate, and a process of separating a Group III nitride semiconductor crystal, constituted by the Group III nitride semiconductor crystal substrate and the Group III nitride semiconductor crystal layer, from the starting substrate, and is characterized in that the Group III nitride semiconductor crystal is 10 ?m or more but 600 ?m or less in thickness, and is 0.2 mm or more but 50 mm or less in width.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2013
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Seiji Nakahata, Hideaki Nakahata, Koji Uematsu, Makoto Kiyama, Youichi Nagai, Takao Nakamura
  • Patent number: 8349078
    Abstract: The present method of forming a nitride semiconductor epitaxial layer includes the steps of growing at least one layer of nitride semiconductor epitaxial layer on a nitride semiconductor substrate having a dislocation density lower than or equal to 1×107 cm?2 with a chemical decomposition layer interposed therebetween, the chemical decomposition layer being chemically decomposed at least with either a gas or an electrolytic solution, and decomposing the chemical decomposition layer at least with either the gas or the electrolytic solution at least either during or after the step of growing the nitride semiconductor epitaxial layer, thereby separating the nitride semiconductor epitaxial layer from the nitride semiconductor substrate. A high-quality nitride semiconductor epitaxial layer suffering less damage when separated from the nitride semiconductor substrate is thereby formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiromu Shiomi, Yu Saitoh, Kazuhide Sumiyoshi, Akihiro Hachigo, Makoto Kiyama, Seiji Nakahata
  • Publication number: 20120273797
    Abstract: There are provided a semiconductor device that includes a bypass protection unit against surge voltage or the like, achieves good withstand voltage characteristics and low on-resistance (low On-state voltage), has a simple structure, and is used for large-current purpose and a method for producing the semiconductor device. In the present invention, the semiconductor device includes an n+-type GaN substrate 1 having a GaN layer that is in ohmic contact with a supporting substrate, a FET having an n?-type GaN drift layer 2 in a first region R1, and an SBD having an anode electrode in a second region R2, the anode electrode being in Schottky contact with the d?-type GaN drift layer 2. The FET and the SBD are arranged in parallel. A drain electrode D of the FET and a cathode electrode C of the SBD are formed on the back of the n+-type GaN substrate 1.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2012
    Publication date: November 1, 2012
    Applicants: Sumitomo Electric Device Innovations, Inc., Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaya Okada, Makoto Kiyama, Seiji Yaegashi, Ken Nakata