Patents by Inventor Yoshitaka Kuraoka

Yoshitaka Kuraoka 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).

  • Patent number: 9543473
    Abstract: Provided is a self-supporting polycrystalline GaN substrate composed of GaN-based single crystal grains having a specific crystal orientation in a direction approximately normal to the substrate. The crystal orientations of individual GaN-based single crystal grains as determined from inverse pole figure mapping by EBSD analysis on the substrate surface are distributed with tilt angles from the specific crystal orientation, the average tilt angle being 1 to 10°. There is also provided a light emitting device including the self-supporting substrate and a light emitting functional layer, which has at least one layer composed of semiconductor single crystal grains, the at least one layer having a single crystal structure in the direction approximately normal to the substrate. The present invention makes it possible to provide a self-supporting polycrystalline GaN substrate having a reduced defect density at the substrate surface, and to provide a light emitting device having a high luminous efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2017
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Morimichi Watanabe, Jun Yoshikawa, Yoshitaka Kuraoka, Tsutomu Nanataki
  • Publication number: 20160343906
    Abstract: Provided are a composite substrate suitable for low-cost manufacture of light emitting devices having a three-dimensional shape such as a curved shape or a concave-convex shape, and a light emitting device having a three-dimensional shape manufactured with such a substrate. The composite substrate of the present invention comprises a substrate having a surface with a three-dimensional shape and a group 13 element nitride crystal layer provided on the substrate. The substrate is a substrate in which the surface with a three-dimensional shape comprises a layer composed of oriented polycrystalline alumina, or a substrate an entirety of which is composed of oriented polycrystalline alumina. The group 13 element nitride crystal layer 14 is formed on the oriented polycrystalline alumina of the substrate. Optionally, a light emitting functional layer is provided on the group 13 element nitride crystal layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2016
    Publication date: November 24, 2016
    Applicant: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Masahiko Namerikawa, Takashi Yoshino, Yoshitaka Kuraoka, Masahiro Sakai
  • Publication number: 20160233380
    Abstract: A device substrate in which no streaked morphological abnormality occurs is achieved. A GaN template substrate includes: a base substrate; and a first GaN layer epitaxially formed on the base substrate, wherein the first GaN layer has a compressive stress greater than or equal to 260 MPa that is intrinsic in an inplane direction, or a full width at half maximum of a peak representing E2 phonons of GaN near a wavenumber of 568 cm?1 in a Raman spectrum is lower than or equal to 1.8 cm?1. With all of these requirements, a device substrate includes: a second GaN layer epitaxially formed on the first GaN layer; and a device layer epitaxially formed on the second GaN layer and made of a group 13 nitride.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2016
    Publication date: August 11, 2016
    Applicant: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Mikiya Ichimura, Yoshitaka Kuraoka, Masahiko Namerikawa
  • Publication number: 20160197234
    Abstract: Provided is a self-supporting polycrystalline GaN substrate composed of GaN-based single crystal grains having a specific crystal orientation in a direction approximately normal to the substrate. The crystal orientations of individual GaN-based single crystal grains as determined from inverse pole figure mapping by EBSD analysis on the substrate surface are distributed with tilt angles from the specific crystal orientation, the average tilt angle being 1 to 10°. There is also provided a light emitting device including the self-supporting substrate and a light emitting functional layer, which has at least one layer composed of semiconductor single crystal grains, the at least one layer having a single crystal structure in the direction approximately normal to the substrate. The present invention makes it possible to provide a self-supporting polycrystalline GaN substrate having a reduced defect density at the substrate surface, and to provide a light emitting device having a high luminous efficiency.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2016
    Publication date: July 7, 2016
    Inventors: Morimichi WATANABE, Jun YOSHIKAWA, Yoshitaka KURAOKA, Tsutomu NANATAKI
  • Publication number: 20160190392
    Abstract: A light emitting device that is inexpensive, is easy to manufacture, and has high light extraction efficiency is provided. The light emitting device includes an oriented polycrystalline substrate, a plurality of columnar light emitting parts, and a light confinement layer. The oriented polycrystalline substrate includes a plurality of oriented crystal grains. The plurality of columnar light emitting parts are discretely located on or above one main surface of the oriented polycrystalline substrate in areas in which there are no crystal defects, and are each a columnar part having a longitudinal direction matching a normal direction of the oriented polycrystalline substrate. The light confinement layer is made of a material having a lower refractive index than a material for the plurality of columnar light emitting parts, and is located on or above the oriented polycrystalline substrate so as to surround the plurality of columnar light emitting parts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 10, 2016
    Publication date: June 30, 2016
    Applicant: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Kuraoka, Shohei Oue, Masahiko Namerikawa, Morimichi Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20160108552
    Abstract: A composite substrate includes a polycrystalline ceramic substrate, a silicon substrate directly bonded to the polycrystalline ceramic substrate, a seed crystal film formed on the silicon substrate by vapor phase process and made of a nitride of a group 13 element, and a gallium nitride crystal layer grown on the seed crystal film by flux method.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 15, 2015
    Publication date: April 21, 2016
    Applicant: NKG INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Kuraoka, Yasunori Iwasaki, Takashi Yoshino
  • Publication number: 20160049554
    Abstract: The maximum value of peak intensities of cathode luminescence of a wavelength corresponding to a band gap of gallium nitride and in a measured visual field of 0.1 mm×0.1 mm is 140 percent or higher of an average value of the peak intensities of the cathode luminescence, provided that the peak intensities of the cathode luminescence are measured on a surface of the gallium nitride substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2015
    Publication date: February 18, 2016
    Applicant: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Makoto Iwai, Masahiro Sakai, Katsuhiro Imai, Yoshitaka Kuraoka
  • Patent number: 9231155
    Abstract: A composite substrate 10 includes a sapphire body 1A, a seed crystal film 4 composed of gallium nitride crystal and provided on a surface of the sapphire body, and a gallium nitride crystal layer 7 grown on the seed crystal film 4 and having a thickness of 200 ?m or smaller. Voids 5 are provided along an interface between the sapphire body 1A and the seed crystal film 4 in a void ratio of 4.5 to 12.5 percent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Kuraoka, Makoto Iwai
  • Patent number: 9196480
    Abstract: Provided is a method for treating a group III nitride substrate capable of obtaining, in the case where a group III nitride layer is laminated thereon, a group III nitride substrate that can form an electronic device having excellent characteristics. The method for treating a group III nitride substrate includes the steps of CMPing a surface of a substrate, elevating a temperature of the group III nitride substrate after the CMP process to a predetermined annealing temperature under a nitrogen gas atmosphere, and holding the group III nitride substrate whose temperature has been elevated to the annealing temperature for four minutes or more and eight minutes or less in a first mixed atmosphere of a hydrogen gas and a nitrogen gas or a second mixed atmosphere of a hydrogen gas and an ammonia gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Kuraoka, Tomohiko Sugiyama, Sota Maehara
  • Patent number: 9171914
    Abstract: A semiconductor device having small leakage current and high breakdown voltage during reverse blocking, small on-state resistance and large output current at forward conduction, short reverse recovery time at shutoff, and high peak surge current value is provided. An n-type layer is made of a group-III nitride, and a p-type layer is made of a group-IV semiconductor material having a smaller band gap than the group-III nitride. The energy level at the top of the valence band of the n-type layer is lower than the energy level at the top of the valence band of the p-type layer, so that a P-N junction semiconductor device satisfying the above requirements is obtained. Further, a combined structure of P-N junction and Schottky junction by additionally providing an anode electrode to be in Schottky contact with the n-type layer also achieves the effect of decreasing voltage at the rising edge of current resulting from the Schottky junction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Makoto Miyoshi, Yoshitaka Kuraoka
  • Publication number: 20150187926
    Abstract: Provided are a group 13 nitride composite substrate allowing for the production of a semiconductor device suitable for high-frequency applications while including a conductive GaN substrate, and a semiconductor device produced using this substrate. The group 13 nitride composite substrate includes a base material of an n-conductivity type formed of GaN, a base layer located on the base material, being a group 13 nitride layer having a resistivity of 1×106 ?·cm or more, a channel layer located on the base layer, being a GaN layer having a total impurity density of 1×1017/cm3 or less, and a barrier layer that is located on the channel layer and is formed of a group 13 nitride having a composition AlxInyGa1-x-yN (0?x?1, 0?y?1).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2015
    Publication date: July 2, 2015
    Applicant: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Kuraoka, Mikiya Ichimura, Makoto Iwai
  • Publication number: 20150017786
    Abstract: Provided is a method for treating a group III nitride substrate capable of obtaining, in the case where a group III nitride layer is laminated thereon, a group III nitride substrate that can form an electronic device having excellent characteristics. The method for treating a group III nitride substrate includes the steps of CMPing a surface of a substrate, elevating a temperature of the group III nitride substrate after the CMP process to a predetermined annealing temperature under a nitrogen gas atmosphere, and holding the group III nitride substrate whose temperature has been elevated to the annealing temperature for four minutes or more and eight minutes or less in a first mixed atmosphere of a hydrogen gas and a nitrogen gas or a second mixed atmosphere of a hydrogen gas and an ammonia gas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2014
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Applicant: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Kuraoka, Tomohiko Sugiyama, Sota Maehara
  • Patent number: 8890208
    Abstract: Provided is an epitaxial substrate capable of manufacturing a HEMT device that has excellent two-dimensional electron gas characteristics and is capable of performing normally-off operation. A channel layer is formed of a first group III nitride represented by Inx1Aly1Gaz1N (x1+y1+z1=1) so as to have a composition in a range determined by x1=0 and 0?y1?0.3. A barrier layer is formed of a second group III nitride represented by Inx2Aly2Gaz2N (x2+y2+z2=1) so as to have a composition, in a ternary phase diagram with InN, AlN and GaN being vertices, in a range surrounded by four straight lines determined in accordance with the composition (AlN molar fraction) of the first group III nitride and to have a thickness of 5 nm or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2014
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Makoto Miyoshi, Yoshitaka Kuraoka, Shigeaki Sumiya, Mitsuhiro Tanaka
  • Patent number: 8872226
    Abstract: Provided is an epitaxial substrate having excellent two-dimensional electron gas characteristics and reduced internal stress due to strains. A channel layer is formed of a first group III nitride represented by Inx1Aly1Gaz1N (x1+y1+z1=1) so as to have a composition in a range determined by x1=0 and 0?y1?0.3. A barrier layer is formed of a second group III nitride represented by Inx2Aly2Gaz2N (x2+y2+z2=1) so as to have a composition, in a ternary phase diagram with InN, AlN and GaN being vertices, in a range surrounded by five straight lines determined in accordance with the composition (AlN molar fraction) of the first group III nitride.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2014
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Makoto Miyoshi, Yoshitaka Kuraoka, Shigeaki Sumiya, Mitsuhiro Tanaka
  • Patent number: 8853828
    Abstract: An epitaxial substrate, in which a group of group-III nitride layers is formed on a single-crystal silicon substrate so that a crystal plane is approximately parallel to a substrate surface, comprises: a first group-III nitride layer formed of AlN on the base substrate; a second group-III nitride layer formed of InxxAlyyGazzN (xx+yy+zz=1, 0?xx?1, 0<yy?1 and 0<zz?1) on the first group-III nitride layer; and at least one third group-III nitride layer epitaxially-formed on the second group-III nitride layer, wherein: the first group-III nitride layer is a layer containing multiple defects including at least one type of a columnar crystal, a granular crystal, a columnar domain and a granular domain; and an interface between the first group-III nitride layer and the second group-III nitride layer is a three-dimensional asperity surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2014
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeaki Sumiya, Makoto Miyoshi, Tomohiko Sugiyama, Mikiya Ichimura, Yoshitaka Kuraoka, Mitsuhiro Tanaka
  • Publication number: 20140103362
    Abstract: A composite substrate 10 includes a sapphire body 1A, a seed crystal film 4 composed of gallium nitride crystal and provided on a surface of the sapphire body, and a gallium nitride crystal layer 7 grown on the seed crystal film 4 and having a thickness of 200 ?m or smaller. Voids 5 are provided along an interface between the sapphire body 1A and the seed crystal film 4 in a void ratio of 4.5 to 12.5 percent.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 24, 2013
    Publication date: April 17, 2014
    Applicant: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Kuraoka, Makoto Iwai
  • Publication number: 20140054605
    Abstract: A plurality of protrusions 3 are provided on a c-face 2a of a sapphire body 2. An underlying layer 5 made of gallium nitride is then grown by vapor phase epitaxy process on the c-face 2a. A gallium nitride crystal layer 6 is then provided by flux method on the underlying layer 5. Each of the protrusions 3 has a shape of a hexagonal prism or a six-sided pyramid. Differences of growth rates of the gallium nitride crystal around the protrusions 3 are utilized to relax a stress between the sapphire body and gallium nitride crystal and to reduce cracks or fractures due to the stress.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2013
    Publication date: February 27, 2014
    Applicant: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Makoto Iwai, Yoshitaka Kuraoka
  • Patent number: 8598626
    Abstract: Provided is an epitaxial substrate for semiconductor device that is capable of achieving a semiconductor device having high reliability in reverse characteristics of schottky junction. An epitaxial substrate for semiconductor device obtained by forming, on a base substrate, a group of group III nitride layers by lamination such that a (0001) crystal plane of each layer is approximately parallel to a substrate surface includes: a channel layer formed of a first group III nitride having a composition of Inx1Aly1Gaz1N (x1+y1+z1=1, z1>0); and a barrier layer formed of a second group III nitride having a composition of Inx2Aly2N (x2+y2=1, x2>0, y2>0), wherein the second group III nitride is a short-range-ordered mixed crystal having a short-range order parameter ? satisfying a range where 0???1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2013
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Makoto Miyoshi, Yoshitaka Kuraoka, Shigeaki Sumiya, Mikiya Ichimura, Tomohiko Sugiyama, Mitsuhiro Tanaka
  • Patent number: 8410552
    Abstract: Provided is an epitaxial substrate capable of achieving a semiconductor device that has excellent schottky contact characteristics as well as satisfactory device characteristics. On a base substrate, a channel layer formed of a first group III nitride that contains at least Al and Ga and has a composition of Inx1Aly1Gaz1N (x1+y1+z1=1) is formed. On the channel layer, a barrier layer formed of a second group III nitride that contains at least In and Al and has a composition of Inx2Aly2Gaz2N (x2+y2+z2=1) is formed such that an In composition ratio of a near-surface portion is smaller than an In composition ratio of a portion other than the near-surface portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2013
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Makoto Miyoshi, Yoshitaka Kuraoka, Shigeaki Sumiya, Mikiya Ichimura, Tomohiko Sugiyama, Mitsuhiro Tanaka
  • Patent number: 8404045
    Abstract: An underlying film 2 of a group III nitride is formed on a substrate 1 by vapor phase deposition. The substrate 1 and the underlying film 2 are subjected to heat treatment in the present of hydrogen to remove the underlying film 2 so that the surface of the substrate 1 is roughened. A seed crystal film 4 of a group III nitride single crystal is formed on a surface of a substrate 1A by vapor phase deposition. A group III nitride single crystal 5 is grown on the seed crystal film 4 by flux method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Kuraoka, Shigeaki Sumiya, Makoto Miyoshi, Minoru Imaeda