Reactive ion etching of via holes for GaAs HEMTs and MMICs using Cl{sub 2}/BCl{sub 3}/Ar gas mixtures
- Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Margin Marietta Labs., Syracuse, NY (United States)
A process for through-the-wafer via hole connections to each individual source contact for power high electron mobility transistors and monolithic microwave integrated circuits has been developed using reactive ion etching in Cl{sub 2}/BCl{sub 3}/Ar gas mixtures. Placing vias in this manner eliminates the need for source airbridges, which minimizes source inductance and results in increased gain and efficiency. The GaAs etch rate and resultant etch profiles have been studied as functions of bias voltage, gas mixture, flow rate, via mask dimension, and etch time. Due to the formation of an etch-inhibiting coating on the via sidewalls, the process produces remarkably smooth and anisotropic profiles. Rectangular vias as small as 15 {micro}m wide by 55 {micro}m long on 50 {micro} m thick substrates are routinely etched in the production process with an average etch rate of around 0.3 {micro}m/min.
- OSTI ID:
- 163153
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950612--; ISBN 0-7803-2669-5
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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