Inductively coupled plasma etching of GaN

Journal Article · Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1996 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.117077· OSTI ID:286528

Shul, R J; McClellan, G B; Casalnuovo, S A; Rieger, D J ^[1]; Pearton, S J ^[2]; Constantine, C; Barratt, C ^[3]; Karlicek, Jr, R F; Tran, C; Schurman, M ^[4]

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1. Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States)
2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611 (United States)
3. Plasma-Therm, Inc., St. Petersburg, Florida 33716 (United States)
4. EMCORE Corporation, Somerset, New Jersey 08873 (United States)

Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etch rates for GaN are reported as a function of plasma pressure, plasma chemistry, rf power, and ICP power. Using a Cl{sub 2}/H{sub 2}/Ar plasma chemistry, GaN etch rates as high as 6875 A/min are reported. The GaN surface morphology remains smooth over a wide range of plasma conditions as quantified using atomic force microscopy. Several etch conditions yield highly anisotropic profiles with smooth sidewalls. These results have direct application to the fabrication of group-III nitride etched laser facets. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Institute of Physics.}

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 286528
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 69, Issue 8; Other Information: PBD: Aug 1996
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
GALLIUM NITRIDES
ETCHING
MORPHOLOGY
THIN FILMS
PLASMA
PRESSURE DEPENDENCE
RF SYSTEMS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
LASERS
CRYSTAL FACES
FABRICATION
INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA