ICP Dry Etching of III-V Nitrides

ABSTRACTInductively coupled plasma etching of GaN, AlN, InN, InGaN and InAlN was investigated in CH4/H2/Ar plasmas as a function of dc bias, and ICP power. The etch rates were generally quite low, as is common for III-nitrides in CH4 based chemistries. The etch rates increased with increasing dc bias. At low rf power (150W), the etch rates increased with increasing ICP power, while at 350W rf power, a peak was found between 500 and 750 W ICP power. The etched surfaces were found to be smooth, while selectivities of etch were ≤ 6 for InN over GaN, AlN, InGaN and InAlN under all conditions.

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Impact of Inductively Coupled Plasma Etching Conditions on the Formation of Semi-Polar ( 11 2 ¯ 2 ) and Non-Polar ( 11 2 ¯ 0 ) GaN Nanorods

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano10122562 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 2562

Author(s):

Pierre-Marie Coulon ◽

Peng Feng ◽

Tao Wang ◽

Philip A. Shields

Keyword(s):

Plasma Etching ◽

Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽

Defect Density ◽

Rf Power ◽

Resonant Cavities ◽

Inductively Coupled Plasma Etching ◽

Inductively Coupled ◽

Icp Etching ◽

Dc Bias ◽

The Impact

The formation of gallium nitride (GaN) semi-polar and non-polar nanostructures is of importance for improving light extraction/absorption of optoelectronic devices, creating optical resonant cavities or reducing the defect density. However, very limited studies of nanotexturing via dry etching have been performed, in comparison to wet etching. In this paper, we investigate the formation and morphology of semi-polar (112¯2) and non-polar (112¯0) GaN nanorods using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching. The impact of gas chemistry, pressure, temperature, radio-frequency (RF) and ICP power and time are explored. A dominant chemical component is found to have a significant impact on the morphology, being impacted by the polarity of the planes. In contrast, increasing the physical component enables the impact of crystal orientation to be minimized to achieve a circular nanorod profile with inclined sidewalls. These conditions were obtained for a small percentage of chlorine (Cl2) within the Cl2 + argon (Ar) plasma combined with a low pressure. Damage to the crystal was reduced by lowering the direct current (DC) bias through a reduction of the RF power and an increase of the ICP power.

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Inductively Coupled Plasma Etching of Pt/Ti Electrodes in Cl-Based Plasma

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.721.346 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 721 ◽

pp. 346-349

Author(s):

Zhi Qin Zhong ◽

Cheng Tao Yang ◽

Guo Jun Zhang ◽

Shu Ya Wang ◽

Li Ping Dai

Keyword(s):

Process Parameters ◽

Plasma Etching ◽

Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽

Etch Rate ◽

Dry Etching ◽

Rf Power ◽

Inductively Coupled Plasma Etching ◽

Inductively Coupled ◽

High Etch Rate ◽

Ar Gas

Dry etching of Pt/Ti film was carried out using Cl2/Ar plasmas in an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) reactor. The influence of the various process parameters, such as RIE power, ICP power and Cl2/Ar gas mixing ratio, on the etch rate and selectivity of photoresist to Pt/Ti film were investigated systematically and optimized. It was revealed that the etch rate and the selectivity strongly depended on the key process parameters. The etch rate was found to increase dramatically with increasing of RIE power and ICP power. But by changing the ratio of Cl2 to the total gas, the maximum etch rate could be obtained at the proper ratio of 20%. The results also indicated too low or too high RIE power and the Cl2 ratio was detrimental to the selectivity. The optimized parameters of Pt/Ti dry etching for high etch rate and low selectivity of photoresist to Pt/Ti were obtained to be pressure: 10mT, RF power: 250W, ICP power: 0W, Cl2: 8sccm (standard cubic centimeters per minute), Ar: 32sccm.

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Comparative Study on Dry Etching of α- and β-SiC Nano-Pillars

Materials Science Forum ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.740-742.817 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 740-742 ◽

pp. 817-820

Author(s):

J.H. Choi ◽

Laurence Latu-Romain ◽

Edwige Bano ◽

Anne Henry ◽

Won Jae Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Silicon Carbide ◽

Comparative Study ◽

Cross Section ◽

Plasma Etching ◽

Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽

Dry Etching ◽

Inductively Coupled Plasma Etching ◽

Inductively Coupled ◽

Crystal Orientations ◽

Comprehensive Study

A comprehensive study on different polytypes (α-SiC and β-SiC) and crystal orientations ((0001) and (11-20) of 6H-SiC) has been investigated in order to elaborate Silicon carbide (SiC) nanopillar using inductively coupled plasma etching method. The SiC nanopillars with the cross section of rhombus, pentagon, and hexagonal have been obtained on β-SiC (001), misoriented α-SiC (11-20), and α-SiC (0001) on-axis substrates, respectively. It was found that crystal orientations and polytypes play key roles for the morphology of SiC nanopillars, which reflects the so-called Wulff's rule.

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