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).