To provide a method for manufacturing efficiently a group III element nitride, e.g. gallium nitride or aluminum nitride, with high quality.
A group III element such as gallium or aluminum and an alkali metal such as sodium are put into a crucible in a nitrogen gas atmosphere and thermally melted under pressure, thus growing a single crystal. The crucible used here is (A) one made of a nitrogen-free material having a melting point or decomposition temperature of 2,100°C or higher or (B) one made of at least one material selected from the group consisting of rare earth oxides, alkaline earth metal oxides, W, SiC, diamond, and diamond-like carbon, this material preferably being, for example, Y2O3. The above yielded single crystal, as illustrated with a photograph (A) of the figure, is colorless and transparent and has a high quality and a maximum diameter of 2 cm or more.
MORI YUSUKE
YOSHIMURA MASASHI
KAWAMURA SHIRO
UMEDA HIDEKAZU
