The Etching of InP by Acidic Iodine Solutions: A Kinetic and Electrochemical Study

Vermeir, Inge; Gomes, W. P.

doi:10.1149/1.1836637

Cited by 2 publications

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“…However, it is not clear at present whether it is possible to perform uniform and controlled etching of n-InP by the electrochemical reactions on InP surfaces in the electrolyte. In the literature, only limited works [2][3][4][5] have been reported on the anodic etching of InP, and their etch rate and uniformity have not been clarified. More recent anodization experiments [6][7][8][9] on InP using HCl electrolyte have led to the formation of InP porous structures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrochemical Etching of Indium Phosphide Surfaces Studied by Voltammetry and Scanned Probe Microscopes

Kaneshiro¹,

Sato²,

Hasegawa³

1999

Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.

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Using voltammetry, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), in situ electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), ex situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) measurements, electrochemical etching modes for n-InP surfaces were investigated and optimized for uniform and controlled etching in an HCl electrolyte. The voltammograms indicated the presence of active and passive regions. The surfaces obtained in the active region were clean and featureless with an rms roughness of 1.8 nm. On the other hand, the oxide covered surfaces obtained in the passive region were nonuniform and porous. Etching characteristics of the d.c. photo-anodic mode and the pulsed avalanche mode were then investigated and compared. Both modes were found to be highly controllable and produced uniform and clean surfaces, consuming eight holes per molecule of InP. In particular, the pulsed avalanche etching mode realized an extremely high etch rate of 3x10 -5 nm/pulse.KEYWORD: InP, etching, electrochemical process, voltammetry, scanned probe microscope IntroductionScaling down of device feature size to the nanometer order is a recent general trend, not only for Si devices, but also for III-V devices. Thus, the etching process, the spatial uniformity and the precise controllability of the etching depth along with minimal process-induced damages have become increasingly important. Owing to its low damage nature, wet etching in various acid solutions 1) is widely used in various steps of InP and related material fabrication. However, precise control of the etching depth is extremely difficult in wet etching, because the etch rate is very sensitive to the temperature and the local fluctuation of the etchant composition.On the other hand, electrochemical etching appears to be promising for achieving high controllability, since the anodic reaction can be precisely controlled by the amount of charge according to Faraday's law of electrolysis. However, it is not clear at present whether it is possible to perform uniform and controlled etching of n-InP by the electrochemical reactions on InP surfaces in the electrolyte. In the literature, only limited works 2-5) have been reported on the anodic etching of InP, and their etch rate and uniformity have not been clarified. More recent anodization experiments 6-9) on InP using HCl electrolyte have led to the formation of InP porous structures. Although such an anodization mode is interesting for the formation of quantum structures and photonic crystals, it is not suitable for uniform etching. On the other hand, it has also been recently shown by our group that electrochemical etching applied just before electrodeposition is effective for the realization of well-behaved Schottky diodes with oxide-free, stress-free and pinning free interfaces for InP 10) . Similar results have been reported for n-GaAs Schottky contacts 11) . However, the mechanism, the etch uniformity and the etch rate of such a predeposition etching process have not been clarified yet.The purpose...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrochemical Etching of Indium Phosphide Surfaces Studied by Voltammetry and Scanned Probe Microscopes

Kaneshiro¹,

Sato²,

Hasegawa³

1999

Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.

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The Electrochemistry of Halogens

Marken

2006

Encyclopedia of Electrochemistry

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The sections in this article are Introduction The Electrochemistry of Fluorine Introduction Electrochemical Generation of Fluorine Electrofluorination in Synthesis Gas and Ion Sensors for Fluorine and Fluoride The Electrochemistry of Chlorine Introduction Electrogeneration of Chlorine Gas In Situ Electrogeneration of Chlorine Miscellaneous Methods and Applications Involving Electrogenerated Chlorine Sensors for Chlorine and Chloride The Electrochemistry of Bromine Introduction Electrochemical Generation of Bromine Electrobromination in Synthesis Electrogenerated Bromine as Redox Mediator Electrobromination Processes in Room Temperature Ionic Liquids Miscellaneous Methods and Applications Involving Electrogenerated Bromine Sensors for Bromine and Bromide The Electrochemistry of Iodine Introduction Electrochemical Studies of Iodine Generation Electroiodination and Electrogenerated Iodine as a Redox Mediator in Electrosynthesis Miscellaneous Methods and Applications Involving Iodine Redox Systems Application of Iodine as a Redox Mediator in Electroanalysis Sensors for Iodine and Iodide The Electrochemistry of Astatine Introduction Electrochemical Studies

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The Etching of InP by Acidic Iodine Solutions: A Kinetic and Electrochemical Study

Cited by 2 publications

References 12 publications

Electrochemical Etching of Indium Phosphide Surfaces Studied by Voltammetry and Scanned Probe Microscopes

Electrochemical Etching of Indium Phosphide Surfaces Studied by Voltammetry and Scanned Probe Microscopes

The Electrochemistry of Halogens

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