Selective dry etching of III-V nitrides in Cl{sub 2}/Ar, CH{sub 4}/H{sub 2}/Ar, ICi/Ar, and IBr/Ar
- Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
The selectivity for etching the binary (GaN, AlN, and InN) and ternary nitrides (InGaN and InAlN) relative to each other in Cl{sub 2}/Ar, CH{sub 4}/H{sub 2}/Ar, ICl/Ar, or IBr/Ar electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasmas, and Cl{sub 2}/Ar or CH{sub 4}/H{sub 2}/Ar reactive ion (RIE) plasmas was investigated. Cl-based etches appear to be the best choice for maximizing the selectivity of GaN over the other nitrides. GaN/AlN and GaN/InGaN etch rate ratios of {approximately} 10 were achieved at low RF power in Cl{sub 2}/Ar under ECR and RIE conditions, respectively. GaN/InN selectivity of 10 was found in ICl under ECR conditions. A relatively high selectivity (> 6) of InN/GaN was achieved in CH{sub 4}/H{sub 2}/Ar under ECR conditions at low RF powers (50 W). Since the high bond strengths of the nitrides require either high ion energies or densities to achieve practical etch rates it is difficult to achieve high selectivities.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratory
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 404649
- Journal Information:
- Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Journal Name: Journal of the Electrochemical Society Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 143; ISSN 0013-4651; ISSN JESOAN
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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