Inductively coupled plasma etching of AlGaN using Cl2/Ar/BCl3 gases

Liang Chen; Yimin Huang; Jun Chen; Yan Sun; Tianxin Li; De-gang Zhao; Haimei Gong

doi:10.1117/12.790829

3 March 2008 Inductively coupled plasma etching of AlGaN using Cl₂/Ar/BCl₃ gases

Liang Chen, Yimin Huang, Jun Chen, Yan Sun, Tianxin Li, De-gang Zhao, Haimei Gong

Proceedings Volume 6621, International Symposium on Photoelectronic Detection and Imaging 2007: Photoelectronic Imaging and Detection; 66211A (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.790829
Event: International Symposium on Photoelectronic Detection and Imaging: Technology and Applications 2007, 2007, Beijing, China

Abstract

AlGaN is am important ultraviolet optoelectronic material and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching plays an important role in fabrication of mesa structures of AlGaN-based photodiodes. In this work, we investigate ICP etching processes of Al_0.32Ga_0.68N and Al_0.47Ga_0.53N. The Al_0.32Ga_0.68N and Al_0.47Ga_0.53N materials were firstly tested by transmission spectra and it indicates that they are different materials with different epitaxial quality. Cl₂/Ar/BCl₃ were used as the ICP gases, and Cl₂/Ar mixing ratio was fixed at 4:1. Etching behaviors were characterized by varying the ICP power, the dc bias, Cl₂/Ar/BCl₃ mixing ratio. ICP power influences etching rates. Dc bias heavily influences the etching rates, and the etching rates increase monotonously with dc bias, which suggests that the ion-bombardment effect is an important factor of these etching processes. BCl₃ is the effective removal of oxygen during the etching, and also influences etching rates. The surface rms roughness was measured by an at omic force microscope. The ICP etching surface morphologies were studied by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The results show dc bias and BCl₃ are important to electrical characteristics of epitaxial materials. At a relative high dc bias and more BCl₃, the etching rate is low, but the damage is low. These results have direct application to the fabrication of AlGaN-based ultraviolet optoelectronic devices.

Citation Download Citation

Liang Chen, Yimin Huang, Jun Chen, Yan Sun, Tianxin Li, De-gang Zhao, and Haimei Gong "Inductively coupled plasma etching of AlGaN using Cl₂/Ar/BCl₃ gases", Proc. SPIE 6621, International Symposium on Photoelectronic Detection and Imaging 2007: Photoelectronic Imaging and Detection, 66211A (3 March 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.790829

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