| abstract |
Provided is a nitride semiconductor device with high reliability and high flexibility in design and manufacture of the device. The nitride semiconductor device comprises a seed crystal portion ( 11 ) formed on a sapphire substrate ( 10 ) and having a mask ( 12 ) on one side surface thereof, and a GaN layer ( 15 ) grown on the sapphire substrate ( 10 ) and the seed crystal portion ( 11 ) through epitaxial lateral overgrowth. The GaN layer ( 15 ) is grown only from an exposed side surface of the seed crystal portion ( 11 ) which is not covered with the mask ( 12 ), so the lateral growth of the GaN layer ( 15 ) is asymmetrically carried out. Thereby, a meeting portion ( 32 ) is formed in the vicinity of a boundary between the seed crystal portion ( 11 ) and the mask ( 12 ) in a thickness direction of the GaN layer ( 15 ). Therefore, as the meeting portion ( 32 ) is formed in a position away from the center between the adjacent seed crystal portions ( 11 ) in a direction parallel to a surface of the substrate, a width W L of a lateral growth region is larger with respect to a pitch W P of the seed crystal potion ( 11 ), compared with conventional configurations. |