Patterning of AlN, InN, and GaN in KOH-based solutions
- University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611 (United States)
- Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States)
Wet chemical etching of single crystal III{endash}V nitrides has proven difficult in the past due to their excellent stability in corrosive liquids. We have found that KOH-based solutions provide reaction-rate limited etching of AlN at rates strongly dependent on the crystalline quality. The activation energy for etching is 15.5 kcalmol{sup {minus}1} for both polycrystalline and single-crystal AlN, but the absolute rates are up to a factor of 10{sup 3} higher for the polycrystalline material. The etching is selective over GaN and substrate materials such as Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}. KOH-based solutions also attack the interfacial region between InN and GaAs causing liftoff of the epitaxial InN layers. We have also studied the wet etching characteristics of GaN, AlN, and InN in all of the common acid solutions employed for conventional semiconductors. The temperature of these solutions was varied from 23 to 85{degree}C, but no measurable etching was observed under any of these conditions. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Vacuum Society}
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratory
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 284651
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9510385--
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology, A, Journal Name: Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology, A Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 14; ISSN 0734-2101; ISSN JVTAD6
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Etching processes for fabrication of GaN/InGaN/AlN microdisk laser structures
Chemical etching of AlN and InAlN in KOH solutions