GaN etching in BCl{sub 3}Cl{sub 2} plasmas
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
- Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
GaN etching can be affected by a wide variety of parameters including plasma chemistry and plasma density. Chlorine-based plasmas have been the most widely used plasma chemistries to etch GaN due to the high volatility of the GaCl{sub 3} and NCl etch products. The source of Cl and the addition of secondary gases can dramatically influence the etch characteristics primarily due to their effect on the concentration of reactive Cl generated in the plasma. In addition, high-density plasma etch systems have yielded high quality etching of GaN due to plasma densities which are 2 to 4 orders of magnitude higher than reactive ion etch (RIE) plasma systems. The high plasma densities enhance the bond breaking efficiency of the GaN, the formation of volatile etch products, and the sputter desorption of the etch products from the surface. In this study, the authors report GaN etch results for a high-density inductively coupled plasma (ICP) as a function of BCl{sub 3}:Cl{sub 2} flow ratio, dc-bias, chamber-pressure, and ICP source power. GaN etch rates ranging from {approximately}100 {angstrom}/min to > 8,000 {angstrom}/min were obtained with smooth etch morphology and anisotropic profiles.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Assistant Secretary for Management and Administration, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 658195
- Report Number(s):
- SAND--98-1131C; CONF-980405--; ON: DE98005455; BR: YN0100000
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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