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This paper compares H2/Ar, CH4/H2/Ar and CH4/H2/N2/Ar plasma etch processes for CdZnTe and CdTe substrates in view of their potential to provide high-quality substrate surfaces for subsequent HgCdTe epitaxy. An electron cyclotron resonance source was used as plasma generator, and ellipsometry, angle-resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and low energy electron diffraction were applied to characterize roughness, composition, and order of the resulting substrate surfaces. It was found that CdZnTe is much more susceptible to evolving surface roughness under H2/Ar plasma exposure than CdTe. The severe roughening observed at 100 deg C sample temperature was found to be correlated with a build-up of ZnTe at the surface, which suggests that the roughness formation may result from a preferential etching of the CdTe component. This surface degradation could be reduced by the addition of CH4, to the process gases. However, only a further addition of nitrogen gas balanced and substantially im proved the plasma process so that atomically clean, very smooth, and stoichiometrically composed CdZnTe surfaces of long-range order were eventually obtained

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An approach is presented which eliminates the problems caused by hydrocarbon polymer deposition in etching compound semiconductor with CH4/H2 based plasmas. We find that atomic nitrogen, created by the addition of N2 to the plasma, inhibits polymer deposition in the chamber and on the sample. Atomic nitrogen has several beneficial effects; the elimination of polymer precursors, the reduction of the atomic hydrogen concentration, and a potential increase of methyl radical concentration. It is also demonstrated that the addition of N2 to CH4/H2 based electrocyclotron resonance plasmas used to etch HgCdTe eliminates the roughness normally formed during etching.