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Ultra-Smooth Dry Etching of GaAs Using a Hydrogen Plasma Pretreatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2011

R. J. Shul
Affiliation:
Sandia National Laboratories, MS 0603, Albuquerque, NM 87185-0603
Kent D. Choquette
Affiliation:
Sandia National Laboratories, MS 0603, Albuquerque, NM 87185-0603
A. J. Howard
Affiliation:
Sandia National Laboratories, MS 0603, Albuquerque, NM 87185-0603
D. J. Rieger
Affiliation:
Sandia National Laboratories, MS 0603, Albuquerque, NM 87185-0603
C. A. Dirubio
Affiliation:
Sandia National Laboratories, MS 0603, Albuquerque, NM 87185-0603
R. S. Freund
Affiliation:
AT&T Bell Laboratories, 6300 Mountain Avenue, Murray Hill, NJ 07974
R. C. Wetzel
Affiliation:
AT&T Bell Laboratories, 6300 Mountain Avenue, Murray Hill, NJ 07974
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Abstract

We have attained extremely smooth etched surfaces on GaAs using a hydrogen plasma pretreatment before etching. The resultant morphology exhibits smooth surfaces since the etching proceeds uniformly through the GaAs without micromasking effects arising from a nonuniform surface oxide. We report the effects of hydrogen plasma treatments before RIE of GaAs in two different reactors using a SiCI4 plasma. Optimization of H2 plasma pretreatments has produced improvements in RMS roughness greater than 1 order of magnitude (22.4 to 1.51 nm).

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1994

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References

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