Crystal Growth in Technology Binary Semiconductors: III-V Compounds

Abstract

In recent years, electronic technologies have been confronted with the need of highly integrated, high-speed devices. The biggest part has been made of silicon. But there are limits to the physical capabilities of silicon in some critical applications, and new materials to substitute silicon are being sought for. Studies have shown that III-V compounds with special intrinsic properties (such as high electron mobility, direct and, in some cases, wide energy gap, high resistance to elevated temperature and radiation, the possibility of being prepared directly with a high resistivity), give superior performances in some specific applications in both electronic devices (FET), microwave devices, integrated circuits, Gunn diodes and optical devices (LEDs, LDs, IR detectors, solar cells) (Table 1).