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Photo-Assisted RIE of GaN in BCl3/Cl2/N2

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

N. Medelci ,
A. Tempez ,
I. Berishev ,
D. Starikov  and
A. Bensaoula
N. Medelci
Affiliation:
Nitride Materials and Devices Laboratory, SVEC-University of Houston, Houston, TX
A. Tempez
Affiliation:
Nitride Materials and Devices Laboratory, SVEC-University of Houston, Houston, TX
I. Berishev
Affiliation:
Nitride Materials and Devices Laboratory, SVEC-University of Houston, Houston, TX
D. Starikov
Affiliation:
Nitride Materials and Devices Laboratory, SVEC-University of Houston, Houston, TX
A. Bensaoula
Affiliation:
Nitride Materials and Devices Laboratory, SVEC-University of Houston, Houston, TX
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Abstract

Gallium nitride (GaN) has been under intense investigation due to its unique qualities (wide band gap, chemical and temperature stability) for optoelectronic and high temperature/high power applications. To this end, reactive ion etching (RIE) experiments were performed on GaN thin films using BCl3/Cl2/Ar. These resulted in etch rates of 1400 Å/min at −400 V dc bias. However, rough etched surfaces, nitrogen surface depletion and high chlorine content were observed. In order to remedy these shortcomings, a photo-assisted RIE process using a filtered Xe lamp beam was developed, resulting in higher etch rates but again in nitrogen depleted surfaces. Preliminary results on using nitrogen instead of argon in the process chemistry show a big improvement in photo-asssisted etch rates (50%) and Ga/N ratio (0.78 versus 1.25). In this paper, the effects of epilayer doping, dc bias, nitrogen flow rate and photo-irradiation flux on GaN etch rates, surface morphology and composition are presented. Finally, preliminary results on the use of a KrF excimer laser beam in the GaN photo-assisted RIE process are presented.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 572: Symposium Y – Wide-Bandgap Semiconductors for High-Power, High Frequency… , 1999 , 535
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1999

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References

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