Electron cyclotron resonance plasma etching of AlGaN in Cl{sub 2}/Ar and BCl{sub 3}/Ar plasmas
- Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
- Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
A comparison of etch rates for Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1{minus}x}N alloys was performed in Cl{sub 2}Ar and BCl{sub 3}/Ar electron cyclotron resonance plasmas. The etch rates were generally found to decrease with increasing AlN concentration, due to the increasing average bond strengths at higher Al compositions. The fastest rates were found in the Cl{sub 2}/Ar chemistry, with rates of {approximately}3,500 {angstrom}/min for GaN, 1,700 {angstrom}/min for AlN, 2,500 {angstrom}/min for Al{sub 0.31}Ga{sub 0.69}N, and 3,300 {angstrom}/min for Al{sub 0.2}Ga{sub 0.8}N. The etched surfaces were also smoother with the Cl{sub 2}/Ar plasma chemistry than the BCl{sub 3}/Ar plasma chemistry. The etch selectivities for GaN over Al{sub 0.2}Ga{sub 0.8}N, Al{sub 0.3}1Ga{sub 0.69}N, and AlN were quite low, {le}5 for all conditions, and this is due to the ion-driven nature of the removal mechanism.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- National Science Foundation, Washington, DC (United States); Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, VA (United States); USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 516905
- Journal Information:
- Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Vol. 144, Issue 6; Other Information: PBD: Jun 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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