Patent ID: 7556977

Claim:
A semiconductor manufacturing method for crystallinically growing an Mg-doped group III-V compound semiconductor layer by transporting a group III element material, a group V element material and an Mg dopant material from a group III element material container, a group V element material container and a dopant material container, respectively, to a reaction region through a group III element material transport line, a group V element material transport line and a dopant material transport line and reacting the group III element material with the group V element material in the reaction region, the method comprising: providing a group III element supply/nonsupply changeover section, a group V element supply/nonsupply changeover section and a dopant supply/nonsupply changeover section for changeover between supply and nonsupply of the materials that pass through the respective transport lines to the reaction region for the group III element material transport line, the group V element material transport line and the dopant material transport line, and crystallinically growing the Mg-undoped group III-V compound semiconductor layer in a state in which supply of the Mg dopant material to the reaction region is stopped by the dopant supply/nonsupply changeover section; and thereafter, before the Mg-doped group III-V compound semiconductor layer is crystallinically grown, providing a preflow period in which supply of the group III element material to the reaction region is stopped by the group III element supply/nonsupply changeover section, while the group V element material and the Mg dopant material are supplied to the reaction region from the group V element material container and the dopant material container through the group V element supply/nonsupply changeover section and the dopant supply/nonsupply changeover section wherein a feed rate of the Mg dopant material is variably set in the preflow period and wherein the preflow period is divided into two parts of a first preflow period with a first flow rate and a subsequent second preflow with a second period with a second flow rate.