Group-III Nitride Etch Selectivity in BCl(3)/Cl(2) ICP Plasmas
Patterning the group-IH nitrides has been challenging due to their strong bond energies and relatively inert chemical nature as compared to other compound semiconductors. Plasma etch processes have been used almost exclusively to pattern these films. The use of high-density plasma etch systems, including inductively coupled plasmas (ICP), has resulted in relatively high etch rates (often greater than 1.0 pmhnin) with anisotropic profiles and smooth etch morphologies. However, the etch mechanism is often dominated by high ion bombardment energies which can minimize etch selectivity. The use of an ICP-generated BCl~/C12 pkyma has yielded a highly versatile GaN etch process with rates ranging from 100 to 8000 A/rnin making this plasma chemistry a prime candidate for optimization of etch selectivity. In this study, we will report ICP etch rates and selectivities for GaN, AIN, and InN as a function of BCl~/Clz flow ratios, cathode rf-power, and ICP-source power. GaN:InN and GaN:AIN etch selectivities were typically less than 7:1 and showed the strongest dependence on flow ratio. This trend maybe attributed to faster GaN etch rates observed at higher concentrations of atomic Cl which was monitored using optical emission spectroscopy (OES). ~E~~~~f:~ INTRODUCTION DEC j 4898 Etch selectivi
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 2249
- Report Number(s):
- SAND98-2757J; ON: DE00002249
- Journal Information:
- The Material Research Society Internet Journal of Nitride Semiconductor Research, Journal Name: The Material Research Society Internet Journal of Nitride Semiconductor Research
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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