Mass Effect of Etching Gases in Vertical and Smooth Dry Etching of InP

Matsutani, Akihiro; Ohtsuki, Hideo; Muta, Seiichi; Koyama, Fumio; Iga, Kenichi

doi:10.1143/jjap.40.1528

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…This is consistent with similar observations reported with pure Cl 2 chemistry. 16 We furthermore evidenced that the carrier material also has a strong influence on the etching anisotropy. obtained even with the aluminum carrier at this high ICP power.…”

Section: B Influence Of Carrier Materialsmentioning

confidence: 68%

Optimization of a Cl2–H2 inductively coupled plasma etching process adapted to nonthermalized InP wafers for the realization of deep ridge heterostructures

Guilet

Bouchoule

Jany

et al. 2006

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures Processing, Measurement, and Phenomena

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Inductively coupled plasma etching using Cl2–H2 chemistry with no additive gas (CH4, Ar, or N2) is studied to realize deep (>5μm) ridges with smooth and vertical sidewalls. The process is optimized for nonthermalized InP wafers to avoid the use of thermal grease. Cleaning of the rear side of the wafer after etching is avoided, which is suitable for an industrial process or for critical subsequent steps such as epitaxial regrowth. The influence of the Cl2∕H2 ratio on the etching mechanism is investigated for both InP bulk layers and InGaAs∕InP or InGaAlAs∕InP heterostructures. The authors show that this ratio is the main parameter controlling the ridge profile, in a similar way for both bulk InP and InGa(Al)As∕InP samples. Smooth and vertical sidewalls with neither undercuts nor notches can be obtained in the 0.5–1mT pressure range for a hydrogen percentage of 35%–45% in the gas mixture. Etching rates from 900to1300nm∕min together with a selectivity over SiNx dielectric mask as high as 24:1–29:1 are measured for the InP bulk layers under these conditions. Etching does not affect the optical quality of the heterostructures as evidenced from micro-photoluminescence measurements performed on 1.6-to0.85-μm-wide deep etched ridge waveguides. The process is well adapted to the realization of low loss deep ridge waveguides or buried heterostructures.

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Section: B Influence Of Carrier Materialsmentioning

confidence: 68%

Optimization of a Cl2–H2 inductively coupled plasma etching process adapted to nonthermalized InP wafers for the realization of deep ridge heterostructures

Guilet

Bouchoule

Jany

et al. 2006

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures Processing, Measurement, and Phenomena

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“…30,31 Similarly, from an InP carrier one may expect PCl 3 gas to participate in the etching process. Therefore, to elucidate the impact of the carrier on etching, experiments were performed with both Si and InP carriers.…”

Section: Inp Vs Si Carriermentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative study of Cl2, Cl2∕O2, and Cl2∕N2 inductively coupled plasma processes for etching of high-aspect-ratio photonic-crystal holes in InP

Carlström

Andriesse

Karouta

et al. 2008

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures Processing, Measurement, and Phenomena

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An extensive investigation has been performed on inductively coupled plasma etching of InP. An important motivation for this work is the fabrication of high-aspect-ratio holes for photonic crystals. The essential chemistry is based on Cl 2 with the addition of N 2 or O 2 for sidewall passivation. The influence of different process parameters such as gas flows, temperature, pressure, ion energy, and inductively coupled plasma power on the hole geometry is presented. It is concluded that photonic crystals can be etched with Cl 2 only; however, temperature and pressure control is critical. Adding passivation gases largely broadens the window in the parameter space for hole etching. Most importantly, etching of narrow holes can be carried out at higher temperatures where the etching is mass limited and spontaneous etching of InP by Cl 2 occurs.

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“…10 The most obvious choice of passivation agent is aluminum oxide which is formed by background oxygen and residual moisture in the chamber. According to Urushido et al 16 and Matsutani et al, 21,22 molecular SiCl x radicals and molecular SiCl x + ions are formed during etching of Si with Cl 2 plasma. 10,11 Therefore aluminum oxide is very etch-resistant in Cl 2 plasma compared to gallium oxide, These results were related to the ability of BCl 3 to scavenge the oxygen in the chamber preventing the formation of the aluminum oxide and also increased physical sputtering by heavy BCl x + ions.…”

Section: A Influence Of Coverplate Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…10,11 Therefore aluminum oxide is very etch-resistant in Cl 2 plasma compared to gallium oxide, These results were related to the ability of BCl 3 to scavenge the oxygen in the chamber preventing the formation of the aluminum oxide and also increased physical sputtering by heavy BCl x + ions. 21,22 It was observed that the etch rate of the SiO 2 mask was higher when using the quartz coverplate together with the Si wafer. 13 It was also mentioned that aluminum oxide could be removed in BCl 3 discharge.…”

Section: A Influence Of Coverplate Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of cathode material and SiCl4 gas on inductively coupled plasma etching of AlGaN layers with Cl2∕Ar plasma

Zhirnov

Степанов

Wang

et al. 2004

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films

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Articles you may be interested inInductively coupled plasma-reactive ion etching of c-and a-plane AlGaN over the entire Al composition range: Effect of BCl3 pretreatment in Cl2/Ar plasma chemistry Evolution of surface roughness of AlN and GaN induced by inductively coupled Cl 2 / Ar plasma etching J. Appl. Phys. 95, 4635 (2004); 10.1063/1.1688993 Nonselective and smooth etching of GaN/AlGaN heterostructures by Cl 2 / Ar / BCl 3 inductively coupled plasmas J. Selective etching of GaN over AlN using an inductively coupled plasma and an O 2 / Cl 2 /Ar chemistry J.The influence of cathode coverplate material on inductively coupled plasma etching of GaN and AlGaN with 1% and 10% of Al was investigated. It was revealed that coverplate material has a great impact on the etching of Al-containing layers. Results obtained with a graphite coverplate and a Si wafer on top of a quartz coverplate indicate that etch products of coverplate material such as SiCl x , CCl x reactive species and SiCl x + , CCl x + ions play a significant role in fast and smooth etching of Al-containing layers. They act as getters to remove oxygen in the process chamber and as effective etchers for oxide layers formed by background oxygen in the process chamber. Experiments where SiCl 4 gas was added to Cl 2 / Ar plasma confirmed the role of SiCl x reactive species and SiCl x + ions for fast and smooth etching of AlGaN layers.

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Mass Effect of Etching Gases in Vertical and Smooth Dry Etching of InP

Cited by 19 publications

References 4 publications

Optimization of a Cl2–H2 inductively coupled plasma etching process adapted to nonthermalized InP wafers for the realization of deep ridge heterostructures

Optimization of a Cl2–H2 inductively coupled plasma etching process adapted to nonthermalized InP wafers for the realization of deep ridge heterostructures

Comparative study of Cl2, Cl2∕O2, and Cl2∕N2 inductively coupled plasma processes for etching of high-aspect-ratio photonic-crystal holes in InP

Influence of cathode material and SiCl4 gas on inductively coupled plasma etching of AlGaN layers with Cl2∕Ar plasma

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