Methods are disclosed for producing highly doped semiconductor materials.
Using the invention, one can achieve doping densities that exceed
traditional, established carrier saturation limits without deleterious
side effects. Additionally, highly doped semiconductor materials are
disclosed, as well as improved electronic and optoelectronic
devices/components using said materials. The innovative materials and
processes enabled by the invention yield significant performance
improvements and/or cost reductions for a wide variety of
semiconductor-based microelectronic and optoelectronic
devices/systems.Materials are grown in an anion-rich environment, which,
in the preferred embodiment, are produced by moderate substrate
temperatures during growth in an oxygen-poor environment. The materials
exhibit fewer non-radiative recombination centers at higher doping
concentrations than prior art materials, and the highly doped state of
matter can exhibit a minority carrier lifetime dominated by radiative
recombination at higher doping levels and higher majority carrier
concentrations than achieved in prior art materials. Important
applications enabled by these novel materials include high performance
electronic or optoelectronic devices, which can be smaller and faster,
yet still capture or emit light efficiently, and high performance
electronics, such as transistors, which can be smaller and faster, yet
cooler.