Crystal Growth of GaAs from Ga by a Traveling Solvent Method

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Abstract
The temperature gradient zone-melting technique described by Pfann has been extended to the growth of semiconducting compounds from solution. In particular, single crystals of GaAs have been grown at temperatures much below the congruent melting point, using a thin zone of Ga as the solvent. The parameters influencing zone movement have been studied, including zone thickness, average temperature, temperature gradient, and seed orientation. For the case of the GaAs–Ga system, the rate of zone movement has been shown to be liquid diffusion limited. The passage of a pure Ga zone brings about considerable purification, as evidenced by the electrical properties of the grown crystals. Conversely, the passage of a suitably doped Ga zone can bring about the formation of abrupt p-n junctions. The electrical characteristics of such junctions are described. Preliminary work has shown that the method is widely applicable to the growth of various classes of crystals and to the formation of various junction structures in semiconducting compounds.

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