PREPARATION OF III-V COMPOUNDS BY REDUCTION OF PRECURSORS.

Compound semiconductors are important in a wide variety of optoelectronic and microwave devices. Stoichiometric polycrystalline InP, GaAs and (InGa)As were prepared by hydrogen reduction of phosphate and arsenate precursors precipitated from aqueous solution. These ill-defined phosphate and arsenate precipitates were dried and heated at elevated temperatures in a stream of pure hydrogen to produce the phosphides and arsenides. It was found necessary to introduce elemental phosphorus or arsenic in a heated region upstream of the reaction to establish the necessary pressure of P or As in the H//2 stream to inhibit the dissociation of the newly formed InP or GaAs.