Optical monitoring of technological parameters in metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy

The possibility of applying low-coherent tandem interferometry to optical monitoring of the temperature of a semiconductor substrate and the thickness of a deposited layer in metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) is demonstrated for the first time. The absolute accuracy in the temperature measurements of Si, GaAs, and sapphire substrates under MOVPE conditions is limited by the calibration accuracy and is ±1°C. The accuracy in the measurement of the deposited layer thickness is 2 nm. A considerable (10–100°C) deviation of the temperature measured by a thermocouple placed inside a susceptor from the actual substrate temperature is found. A significant temperature gradient along the susceptor depending on the gas flow rate and other factors is revealed. It is shown that, owing to the high heating efficiency of sapphire substrates, there is no need to coat their reverse with absorbing layers upon heating up to 300°C or in the presence of hydrogen pressure of higher than 100 mbar.