Carbon doping in metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

Carbon in metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy has been studied as both an unintentional and intentional dopant. It is generally an acceptor in most compound semiconductors with a very low thermal diffusion coefficient. Carbon limits the ultimate purity of the grown material when present as an unintentional impurity. Carbon can originate from the metal-organic compounds used in the growth of the materials and the study of carbon incorporation can lead to insights into the underlying chemical mechanisms of the metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) growth process. The intentional doping of carbon in MOVPE, and allied technologies such as MOMBE, has replaced several of the traditional dopants for applications in heterojunction devices. This paper will review and discuss several of these aspects of carbon doping: the introduction of carbon into the growing layer, the properties of carbon in binary and alloy semiconductors, and device applications of carbon doping.