Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T09:05:34.390Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Highly Chemical Reactive Ion Etching of Gallium Nitride

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 September 2012

F. Karouta
Affiliation:
COBRA Inter-University Research Institute on Communication Technology Eindhoven University of Technology - Department of Electrical Engineering P.O.Box 513, NL-5600 MB Eindhoven, Netherlands
B. Jacobs
Affiliation:
COBRA Inter-University Research Institute on Communication Technology Eindhoven University of Technology - Department of Electrical Engineering P.O.Box 513, NL-5600 MB Eindhoven, Netherlands
I. Moerman
Affiliation:
Department of Information Technology (INTEC), University of Ghent, Sint Pieternieuwstraat 41, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
K. Jacobs
Affiliation:
Department of Information Technology (INTEC), University of Ghent, Sint Pieternieuwstraat 41, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
J.L. Weyher
Affiliation:
High Pressure Research Center, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sokolowska 29/37, 01-142 Warsaw –, Poland
S. Porowski
Affiliation:
High Pressure Research Center, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sokolowska 29/37, 01-142 Warsaw –, Poland
R. Crane
Affiliation:
Experimental Solid State Physics III, RIM, University of Nijmegen, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED Nijmegen, Netherlands
P.R. Hageman
Affiliation:
Experimental Solid State Physics III, RIM, University of Nijmegen, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED Nijmegen, Netherlands
Get access

Abstract

: A highly chemical reactive ion etching process has been developed for MOVPE-grown GaN on sapphire. The key element for the enhancement of the chemical property during etching is the use of a fluorine containing gas in a chlorine based chemistry. In the perspective of using GaN substrates for homo-epitaxy of high quality GaN/AlGaN structures we have used the above described RIE process to smoothen Ga-polar GaN substrates. The RMS value, measured by AFM, went from 20 Å (after mechanical polishing) down to 4 Å after 6 minutes of RIE. Etching N-polar GaN resulted in a higher etch rate than Ga-polar materials (165 vs. 110 nm/min) but the resulting surface was quite rough and suffers from instability problems. Heat treatment and HCl dip showed a partial recovery of Schottky characteristics after RIE.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

[1] Vartuli, C.B., Pearton, S.J., Lee, J.W., Hong, J., Mackenzie, J.D., Abernathy, C.R. and Shul, S.J., Appl. Phys. Lett. 69, 1426 (1996).Google Scholar
[2] Karouta, F., Jacobs, B., Vreugdewater, P., Melick, N.G.H. v., Schön, O., Protzmann, H., Heuken, M.. Electrochemical and Solid State Letters, 2, (5), 240241, (1999).Google Scholar
[3] Feng, M.S., Guo, J.D., Lu, Y.M., Chang, E.Y., Materials Chemistry and Physics, 45, 80 (1996).Google Scholar
[4] Adesida, I., Mahajan, A. and Andideh, E., Appl. Phys. Lett. 63, 2777 (1993).Google Scholar
[5] Schauler, M., Eberhard, F., Kirchner, C., Schwelger, V., Pelzmann, A., Kamp, M., Ebeling, K.J., Bertram, F., Riemann, T., Christen, J., Prystawko, P., Leszczynski, M., Grzegory, I., Porowski, S., Appl. Phys. Lett., 74, (8), 11231125, (1999).Google Scholar
[6] Prystawko, P., Leszczynski, M., Beamount, B., Gibart, P., Frayssinet, E., Knap, W., Phys. Stat. Sol. B, 210, (2), 437443, (1998).Google Scholar
[7] Porowski, S., J. Crystal Growth 166, 583589, (1996).Google Scholar
[8] Weyher, J.L., Zauner, A.R.A., Brown, P.D., Karouta, F., Wysmolek, A., Hageman, P.R., Porowski, S., accepted for presentation at the 3rd International Conference on Nitride Semiconductors, July 5-9, Montpellier, France, (1999). Accepted for the proceedings in journal of Physica Status Solidi.Google Scholar
[9] Weyher, J.L, Müller, S., Grzegory, I., Porowski, S., J. Crystal Growth, 182, 1722, 1997.Google Scholar
[10] Weyher, J.L., Brown, P.D., Zauner, A.R.A., Müller, S., Boothroyd, C.B., Foord, D.T., Hageman, P.R., Humphreys, C.J., Larsen, P.K., Grzegory, I., Porowski, S., J. Crystal Growth, 204, 419428, 1999.Google Scholar