Smooth reactive ion etching of GaAs using a hydrogen plasma pretreatment

Choquette, K D; Shul, R J; Howard, A J; Rieger, D J; Freund, R S; Wetzel, R C

doi:10.1116/1.587982

Title: Smooth reactive ion etching of GaAs using a hydrogen plasma pretreatment

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Abstract

Extremely smooth GaAs surfaces are attained after SiCl[sub 4] reactive ion etching by preparing the surface before etching with hydrogen plasma exposure to selectively remove the native surface oxides. Using this hydrogen plasma pretreatment, the surface morphology after etching is equivalent to that of the original surface since the etching proceeds uniformly through the GaAs without micromasking effects from a nonuniform surface oxide. The beneficial effects of the hydrogen plasma processing are observed in two different reactors and are found to be independent of the platen temperature during etching. Using atomic force microscopy we find an optimized hydrogen plasma process produces an etched surface morphology with an average surface roughness of 0.9--1.5 nm, as compared to the surface roughness of 0.6 nm before etching or as great as 11.8 nm after etching without the hydrogen plasma pretreatment.

Authors:

Choquette, K D; Shul, R J; Howard, A J; Rieger, D J ^[1]; Freund, R S; Wetzel, R C ^[2]

Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States)
AT T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974 (United States)

Publication Date:: Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI Identifier:: 6608345

DOE Contract Number:: AC04-94AL85000

Resource Type:: Journal Article

Journal Name:: Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. B, Microelectronics Processing and Phenomena; (United States)

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 13:1; Journal ID: ISSN 0734-211X

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; GALLIUM ARSENIDES; ETCHING; CHEMICAL REACTIONS; HYDROGEN; PLASMA; ROUGHNESS; SILICON CHLORIDES; TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE; TEMPERATURE RANGE 0065-0273 K; TEMPERATURE RANGE 0273-0400 K; ARSENIC COMPOUNDS; ARSENIDES; CHLORIDES; CHLORINE COMPOUNDS; ELEMENTS; GALLIUM COMPOUNDS; HALIDES; HALOGEN COMPOUNDS; NONMETALS; PNICTIDES; SILICON COMPOUNDS; SILICON HALIDES; SURFACE FINISHING; SURFACE PROPERTIES; TEMPERATURE RANGE; 360601* - Other Materials- Preparation & Manufacture

Citation Formats


                    Choquette, K D, Shul, R J, Howard, A J, Rieger, D J, Freund, R S, and Wetzel, R C. Smooth reactive ion etching of GaAs using a hydrogen plasma pretreatment.  United States: N. p., 1995. 
        Web.  doi:10.1116/1.587982.

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                    Choquette, K D, Shul, R J, Howard, A J, Rieger, D J, Freund, R S, & Wetzel, R C. Smooth reactive ion etching of GaAs using a hydrogen plasma pretreatment.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1116/1.587982

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                    Choquette, K D, Shul, R J, Howard, A J, Rieger, D J, Freund, R S, and Wetzel, R C. 1995.  
        "Smooth reactive ion etching of GaAs using a hydrogen plasma pretreatment".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1116/1.587982.

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@article{osti_6608345,

  title        = {Smooth reactive ion etching of GaAs using a hydrogen plasma pretreatment},

  author       = {Choquette, K D and Shul, R J and Howard, A J and Rieger, D J and Freund, R S and Wetzel, R C},

  abstractNote = {Extremely smooth GaAs surfaces are attained after SiCl[sub 4] reactive ion etching by preparing the surface before etching with hydrogen plasma exposure to selectively remove the native surface oxides. Using this hydrogen plasma pretreatment, the surface morphology after etching is equivalent to that of the original surface since the etching proceeds uniformly through the GaAs without micromasking effects from a nonuniform surface oxide. The beneficial effects of the hydrogen plasma processing are observed in two different reactors and are found to be independent of the platen temperature during etching. Using atomic force microscopy we find an optimized hydrogen plasma process produces an etched surface morphology with an average surface roughness of 0.9--1.5 nm, as compared to the surface roughness of 0.6 nm before etching or as great as 11.8 nm after etching without the hydrogen plasma pretreatment.},

  doi          = {10.1116/1.587982},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6608345},
  journal      = {Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. B, Microelectronics Processing and Phenomena; (United States)},

  issn         = {0734-211X},

  number       = ,

  volume       = 13:1,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1995},

  month        = {Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1995}

}

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