A boron phosphide-based semiconductor device includes a single crystal substrate
having formed thereon a boron-phosphide (BP)-based semiconductor layer containing
boron and phosphorus as constituent elements, where phosphorus (P) occupying the
vacant lattice point (vacancy) of boron (B) and boron occupying the vacant lattice
point (vacancy) of phosphorus are present in the boron-phosphide (BP)-based semiconductor
layer. The boron phosphide-based semiconductor device includes a p-type boron phosphide-based
semiconductor layer in which boron occupying the vacancy of phosphorus is contained
in a higher atomic concentration than phosphorus occupying the vacancy of boron
and a p-type impurity of Group II element or Group I V element is added.