Materials 227 Spring 2025
Handout 1: Introduction to
Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition
(MOCVD)
Steve DenBaars
Materials and ECE Departments
University of California Santa Barbara
Class M W 2:00- 3:15 ENGR2 1335
Office hours M 3:30-5:30 ENGR2 3514 and via appointment by email
spdenbaars@ucsb.edu
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevedenbaars/
Teaching Assistant
Claire Vozel, University of California Santa Barbara - Materials
PhD Candidate - DenBaars Group
Email: clairevozel@ucsb.edu
Discussion/Office hours (to be determined by Claire with Students by consensus)
SYLLABUS
Professor Steve P. DenBaars Materials and ECE Departments
Office: Engr II Room 3514, email: spdenbaars@ucsb.edu
University of California Santa Barbara
Class M W 2:00- 3:15 ENGR2 1335
Office hours M 3:30-5:30 and via appointment by email
spdenbaars@ucsb.edu
Teaching Assistant
Claire Vozel, University of California Santa Barbara - Materials
PhD Candidate - DenBaars Group
Email: clairevozel@ucsb.edu
Discussion/Office hours (to be determined by Claire Vozel with Students by consensus)
Overview
Electronic and optical properties of thin films grown by vapor phase transport techniques.
Growth mechanisms, kinetics, and thermodynamics of vapor phase epitaxy.
Special emphasis on metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) for optoelectronic
materials and devices. The course is in-person this quarter, with some of the lectures online.
(Notice will be put out a notice on Canvas before.)
Students are required to do bi-weekly homework, one Midterm, and make one oral presentation
on MOCVD materials and reactor design, along with a Final Written Report instead of the final exam.
Required Textbooks
“Organometallic Vapor Phase Epitaxy: Theory and Practice”
G.B. Stringfellow, second edition, (ISBN 0-12-673842-4)
GRADING
Online
Class will in-person this quarter, with a few lectures on-line. The format consists
of in-person or if online lecture via link at CANVAS(https://www.canvas.ucsb.edu/).
The TA will hold a live discussion/office hour weekly at a time to be determined by
a majority of students.
Grading
Homework will be assigned approximately every two weeks, and due via email.
There will be one midterm examination during the quarter and students present
one project presentation via PowerPoint and one written final technical report.
• Homework due every 1-2 weeks
• Midterm May 21, 2025 (open Book, Open Notes, No Internet access)
• Oral Project Report- May 28-June 4 (alphabetical Order)
• Final Report due June 14, 2025 by 5pm via email to spdenbaars@ucsb.edu
Grade Distribution
Homework 30%
Midterm 30%
Oral Project Presentation 10%
Technical Project Report 30%
SYLLABUS
Applications & Overview
Of VPE, MOCVD Processes Ch. 1 (Stringfellow
& Handout #1)
Metalorganic Precursors Ch. 2 & 3(Stringfellow)
Solid Composition Handout 2
Thermo chemical Kinetics Ch. 3 & 4 (Stringfellow) &
Reaction Kinetics Handouts
Transport Phenomena Ch. 5 (Stringfellow)
Mass Transport & Growth Ch 1-3 (Geiger & Poirier)
Design of MOCVD Reactors Ch. 6 (Stringfellow)
Mass Transport & Growth Ch. 1-3, 13, 15, (Geiger & Poirier,
Handout)
MOCVD LAB SAFETY Safety Presentation-Mike Iza
CVD Materials for Devices Ch. 7 (Stringfellow) & Handouts
MIDTERM May 21, 2025 (in-class)
Devices Ch. 9 (Stringfellow)
LED & MicroLED
GaN HEMT, Lasers
Class Presentations MOCVD Project May 31-June 7,2025
Technical Report on project Due June 14, 2025 by 5pm
Compare of epitaxial methods
Growth method time features limit
LPE 1963 Growth form Limited substrate areas
(Liquid phase supersaturated and poor control over the
epitaxy) solution onto growth of very thin
substrate layers , poor yield <50%
VPE 1958 Use metal halide as No Al containing
(Vapor phase pres transport agents to compound, non-uniform
epitaxy grow, thick layers
1mm
MBE 1967 Deposit epilayer at Hard to grow materials
(Molecular Beam pres ultrahigh vacuum with high vapor pressure
Epitaxy) Monolayer control Low throughput
MOCVD 1980’s Use metalorganic Some of the sources like
(Metal-Organic pres compounds as the AsH3 are very toxic.
Chemical Vapor sources, high yield Nitrides not until 1989
Deposition) >95% Oxides since 2000
High throughput
Lowest cost per wafer
Pros and Cons
Liquid phase epitaxy
E. Kuphal
Lecture 1 MAT227 7
Hydride VPE – Great for fast
growth/thick layers
From AsH3 decomposition
Dolguikh, M. V., et al. "Terahertz gain on inter-valence-band transitions in multilayer
delta-doped p-GaAs structures." Defense and Security Symposium. International
Society for Optics and Photonics, 2006.
Lecture 1 MAT227 8
Hydride VPE – Great for fast
growth/thick layers-bulk GaN
Lecture 1 MAT227 9
Why Use MOCVD
1. The name of MOCVD
In the literature, MOCVD also has several other names. Different
groups prefer different names for IP reasons. All the names refer to
the same growth method.
MOCVD (Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition)
OMCVD(Organometallic CVD)
MOVPE (MO vapor phase epitaxy)
OMVPE (Book name)
AP-MOCVD (Atmosphere MOCVD)
LP-MOCVD (Low pressure MOCVD)
We will use MOCVD since that is the name the credited inventor: Dr
Hal Manesevit/Rockwell Science Center gave it at 1968 invention
date. Dapkus & Dupuis subsequently made laser diodes devices in
1977 at Rockwell Science Center and development took off.
.
MOCVD Pioneers at Rockwell Science Center
Manasevit-Inventor- 1968 (098 patent)
Dr Hal Manesevit/Rockwell Science Center gave it the name.
1985 IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award
"for pioneering work in metalorganic chemical vapor deposition,
epitaxial-crystal reactor design, and demonstration of superior
quality semiconductor devices grown by this process."
Dapkus & Dupuis demonstrated 1 st QW laser diodes
devices in 1977 at Rockwell Science Center
and development took off.
Benjamin Franklin Medal 2022. for MOCVD
J. Coleman & P. Dapkus perfected the QW lasers used in
Telecommunications in 1980’s
MOCVD Molecular Sources (precursors)
Hydrides-Group V Metalorganic-dopant
Metalorganic-Group III
Group III MOCVD Precursors(Sources)
Group V Precursors(Sources)
Dopant Precursors(Group II IV Sources)
2. The MOVD growth system
Basic MOCVD Process
Ga(CH3)3(vapor) + NH3(vapor) -> GaN (solid) + 3 CH4(vapor)
Dopant Example (N and P-Silicon)
MOCVD Growth System
Reactor
Gas handle
system
Vacuum and
Exhaust system
Computer
Control
Gas handling system
The function of gas handling system is mixing and metering of the
gas that will enter the reactor. Timing and composition of the gas
entering the reactor will determine the epilayer structure.
Leak-tight of the gas panel is essential, because the oxygen
contamination will degrade the growing films’ properties.
Fast switch of valve system is very important for thin film and abrupt
interface structure growth,
Accurate control of flow rate, pressure and temperature can ensure
the stable and repeat.
Early Reactors-1
Early Reactors-2
Horizontal MOCVD
Modern Systems
Workhorse of GaAs, Aixtron Model-2400
reactor-planetary rotation
15x2inch
Latest Designs Aixtron G5
GaAs, GaN, InP, SiC Materials
56x2inch
8x6inch (8x150mm)
Aixtron planetary
VEECO Latest Design
GaAs, GaN, InP, SiC and Ga2O3 Materials
EPIK 868 accommodates Single 300mm Wafer
124x4” and 48x6” 12 inch Wafer
wafer carrier sizes(2 reactors)
Compound Semiconductors for a Sustainable
Future
III-N Semiconductors
Power Devices & RF LEDs Laser Diode
Electric RF Comm. LED Laser/VCSELDF
UV-LEDs
Vehicle/Power HEMTs Lighting B LiDAR
Sterilization
Micro-LED
AR/VR
Quantum
Computing
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