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Title: Reactive ion etching of high optical quality GaN/sapphire photonic crystal slab using CH{sub 4}-H{sub 2} chemistry

Abstract

Reactive ion etching (RIE) using a CH{sub 4}-H{sub 2} plasma is investigated for the fabrication of a GaN one-dimensional (1D) photonic crystal (PhC) slab. The dominant control parameter for the etch rate and the sidewall profile is the dc bias. The influence of operating pressure, CH{sub 4}/H{sub 2} ratio, and total gas flow rate on the etching characteristics is also presented. An etch rate as high as 85 nm/min and an overcut angle as low as 5 degree sign obtained in this work are among the best values reported for conventional RIE technique. The CH{sub 4}-H{sub 2} process is used to etch 1D PhCs with a lattice parameter ranging from 700 to 350 nm and an air filling factor of 0.30 into a 600-nm-thick GaN/sapphire slab. Sharp peaks corresponding to the resonant modes of the nanopatterned structures are observed in the experimental reflection spectra for all the lattice periods. Furthermore, the good optical quality of the nanostructures is evidenced by a resonantly enhanced second-harmonic generation experiment around 400 nm. A second-harmonic generation enhancement factor as high as 10{sup 5} is obtained, compared with the unpatterned GaN reference slab. These results demonstrate that the CH{sub 4}-H{sub 2} conventional RIE technique ismore » well adapted to the etching of GaN PhC for the fabrication of next generation photonic devices exploiting nonlinear processes.« less

Authors:
; ; ; ; ; ;  [1]
  1. Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures (LPN), CNRS UPR 020, Route de Nozay, 91 460 Marcoussis (France)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
20982692
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Journal of Applied Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 101; Journal Issue: 4; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2433770; (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; AIR; CRYSTALS; ETCHING; GALLIUM NITRIDES; GAS FLOW; HARMONIC GENERATION; HYDROGEN; LATTICE PARAMETERS; METHANE; NANOSTRUCTURES; NONLINEAR PROBLEMS; ONE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS; SAPPHIRE; SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS; SLABS

Citation Formats

Bouchoule, S, Boubanga-Tombet, S, Le Gratiet, L, Le Vassor d'Yerville, M, Torres, J, Chen, Y, Coquillat, D, Groupe d'Etude des Semiconducteurs, Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures, Groupe d'Etude des Semiconducteurs, Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures, and Groupe d'Etude des Semiconducteurs. Reactive ion etching of high optical quality GaN/sapphire photonic crystal slab using CH{sub 4}-H{sub 2} chemistry. United States: N. p., 2007. Web. doi:10.1063/1.2433770.
Bouchoule, S, Boubanga-Tombet, S, Le Gratiet, L, Le Vassor d'Yerville, M, Torres, J, Chen, Y, Coquillat, D, Groupe d'Etude des Semiconducteurs, Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures, Groupe d'Etude des Semiconducteurs, Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures, & Groupe d'Etude des Semiconducteurs. Reactive ion etching of high optical quality GaN/sapphire photonic crystal slab using CH{sub 4}-H{sub 2} chemistry. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2433770
Bouchoule, S, Boubanga-Tombet, S, Le Gratiet, L, Le Vassor d'Yerville, M, Torres, J, Chen, Y, Coquillat, D, Groupe d'Etude des Semiconducteurs, Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures, Groupe d'Etude des Semiconducteurs, Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures, and Groupe d'Etude des Semiconducteurs. 2007. "Reactive ion etching of high optical quality GaN/sapphire photonic crystal slab using CH{sub 4}-H{sub 2} chemistry". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2433770.
@article{osti_20982692,
title = {Reactive ion etching of high optical quality GaN/sapphire photonic crystal slab using CH{sub 4}-H{sub 2} chemistry},
author = {Bouchoule, S and Boubanga-Tombet, S and Le Gratiet, L and Le Vassor d'Yerville, M and Torres, J and Chen, Y and Coquillat, D and Groupe d'Etude des Semiconducteurs and Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures and Groupe d'Etude des Semiconducteurs and Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures and Groupe d'Etude des Semiconducteurs},
abstractNote = {Reactive ion etching (RIE) using a CH{sub 4}-H{sub 2} plasma is investigated for the fabrication of a GaN one-dimensional (1D) photonic crystal (PhC) slab. The dominant control parameter for the etch rate and the sidewall profile is the dc bias. The influence of operating pressure, CH{sub 4}/H{sub 2} ratio, and total gas flow rate on the etching characteristics is also presented. An etch rate as high as 85 nm/min and an overcut angle as low as 5 degree sign obtained in this work are among the best values reported for conventional RIE technique. The CH{sub 4}-H{sub 2} process is used to etch 1D PhCs with a lattice parameter ranging from 700 to 350 nm and an air filling factor of 0.30 into a 600-nm-thick GaN/sapphire slab. Sharp peaks corresponding to the resonant modes of the nanopatterned structures are observed in the experimental reflection spectra for all the lattice periods. Furthermore, the good optical quality of the nanostructures is evidenced by a resonantly enhanced second-harmonic generation experiment around 400 nm. A second-harmonic generation enhancement factor as high as 10{sup 5} is obtained, compared with the unpatterned GaN reference slab. These results demonstrate that the CH{sub 4}-H{sub 2} conventional RIE technique is well adapted to the etching of GaN PhC for the fabrication of next generation photonic devices exploiting nonlinear processes.},
doi = {10.1063/1.2433770},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/20982692}, journal = {Journal of Applied Physics},
issn = {0021-8979},
number = 4,
volume = 101,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Feb 15 00:00:00 EST 2007},
month = {Thu Feb 15 00:00:00 EST 2007}
}