The continuous wave laser-induced dry etching of GaAs and related substrated in a dimethylzinc ambient
- Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)
The authors present a laser-induced dry etching process based on the generation of reactive species from the pyrolytic decomposition of selected metal alkyls. Specifically, they use a focused, 514-nm cw laser to locally heat the surface of GaAs sample in a dimethylzinc (DMZn) ambient. The DMZn dissociates pyrolytically at the hot surface, yeilding reactive species which locally etch the GaAs. They have studied the process by characterizing etch rates in terms of laser dwell time, laser-induced temperature and DMZn pressure. Further, they have investigated the thermal dependence of the process, and have determined the boundaries of the parameter space for the successful avoidance of competing processes. Based on their experimental results and those of previous workers, we speculate that reactive methyl groups produced in the pyrolytic decomposition of DMZn reeact with the GaAs surface to produce volatile alkylated by-products. Finally, they have optimized the process to allow for the direct-writing of surface-relief features having smooth walls and submicron to micron-scale depths, which are potentially useful as electronic or optoelectronic device components. To demonstrate the utility of the etching process, we have fabricated rib-like waveguiding structures in GaAs/Al{sub 0.3}Ga{sub 0.7}As multilayer substrates.
- OSTI ID:
- 6072860
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9009402-; CODEN: JVTBD
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. B, Microelectronics Processing and Phenomena; (United States), Vol. 9:2; Conference: Workshop on high-density plasma techniques and processes for integrated circuit fabrication, Burlingame, CA (United States), 11-12 Sep 1990; ISSN 0734-211X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
GALLIUM ARSENIDES
ETCHING
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
LASER-RADIATION HEATING
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
NEW YORK
OPTIMIZATION
ORGANOMETALLIC COMPOUNDS
PYROLYSIS
ZINC COMPOUNDS
ARSENIC COMPOUNDS
ARSENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DECOMPOSITION
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
FEDERAL REGION II
GALLIUM COMPOUNDS
HEATING
MATERIALS
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PLASMA HEATING
PNICTIDES
SURFACE FINISHING
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
USA
360601* - Other Materials- Preparation & Manufacture