III–V Semiconductor Quantum-Well Devices Grown by Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition

The metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technology for the growth of III-V compound semiconductors has been developed over the past 40+ years to become the dominant epitaxial materials technology for both research and production of light-emitting devices as well as many other optoelectronic devices. Because of the flexibility and control offered by this process, and the material quality produced by MOCVD, many important III-V devices have become commercially viable. This paper will describe the development of MOCVD for the growth of high-quality ultrathin layers and heterojunctions of III-V compound semiconductors, which are now commonly called “quantum wells (QWs),” and the optical devices, which exploit the unique properties of such layers, e.g., QW lasers and light-emitting diodes (LEDs).