The present invention generally relates to bubblers, and more particularly, to an improved bubbler for use with solid metal organic source material.
Cylindrical shaped bubblers are commonly used for metal organic source material in both liquid and solid form. Channels tend to form in bubblers containing a solid source operating under high carrying gas flow conditions. Once channels are formed, the carrying gas passes through the bubbler without getting saturated with the vapor of the metal organic source material corresponding to the bath temperature of the bubbler. The channeling effect leads to reduction in metal organic precursor flux at a given carrying gas flow rate, upsetting the delicate balance of precursor flux ratio required of MOCVD compound semiconductor epitaxial growth process. The net result is epitaxial growth rate reduction, uncertainty in film thickness, degradation of key material characteristics and poor epitaxial layer surface morphology.
Therefore, it is an objective of the present invention to provide for an improved bubbler for use with solid metal organic source material used in metal organic chemical vapor phase deposition (MOCVD) systems. It is also an objective of the present invention to provide for a method of producing carrying gas saturated with source material that is injected into such MOCVD systems.