Selective dry etching of GaAs over AlGaAs in SF6/SiCl4 mixtures

Abstract
Reactive ion etching of GaAs with high selectivity over Al0.29Ga0.71As in SF6/SiCl4 mixtures was studied. Selectivity, surface morphology, and anisotropy were investigated over a wide range of pressures (15–100 mTorr), dc bias values (−20 to −300 V), and SF6-to-SiCl4 ratios (0–0.5). Higher pressures, lower dc biases, and higher SF6/SiCl4 ratios increase the GaAs-to-AlGaAs selectivity. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis indicates that the formation of nonvolatile aluminum fluoride on AlGaAs is responsible for the selective etch process.

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