New plasma chemistries for etching III–V compound semiconductors: Bl3 and BBr3

We investigated inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching of both In-containing (InP, InAs, and InSb) and Ga-containing compound semiconductors (GaAs, GaP, and GaSb) in two new chemistries: BI₃ and BBr₃ with addition of Ar. Etch rates as high as 2 μm·min⁻¹ were obtained for InP in both types of discharge while for GaAs maximum rates were 1 and 2.5 μm·min⁻¹, respectively, in BI₃ and BBr₃. The rates were strongly dependent on plasma composition, ICP source power and radio frquency chuck power. BI₃ etching produced much smoother surfaces on both GaAs and InP, while maintaining the near-surface stoichiometry. Etch selectivities ≥ 10 were obtained for GaAs and InP over SiO₂ and SiN_x masks. The BI₃ chemistry appears attractive as an universal etchant for In-based and Ga-based compound semiconductors.     

Bromine ion-beam-assisted etching of III–V semiconductors

Bromineion-beam-assisted etching produces smooth vertical sidewalls in GaAs, GaP, InP, AlSb, and GaSb as well as in the usual alloys formed from these materials. Care must be taken, however, during etching to match the specific material system with an appropriate substrate etch temperature. For example, vertical walls were obtained using substrate temperatures in the range of 150 to 200°C with InP, 80 to 140°C with GaAs and GaP, and below 30°C with AlSb and GaSb. GaN has also been etched with the technique. Our etching experience and the vapor pressure data for bromine with group III and group V elements lead us to believe that all of the various technologically important III-V binaries, ternaries, and quaternaries can be etched. Etch rates of most of the materials can be varied from several nm/min to 0.16 μm/min through the bromine flow rate, Ar⁺ ion beam density and energy, and the substrate temperature. Bromine ion-beam-assisted etching also appears to have an advantage over chlorine ion-beam-assisted etching in many situations, in that substrate temperature ranges can be found for which vertical sidewalls are maintained while etching through layered structures composed of various alloys of the materials. Here we present results obtained from etching a number of III-V binaries, alloys, and heterostructures.     

Comparison of dry etching of III-V semiconductors in ICl/Ar and IBr/Ar electron cyclotron resonance plasmas

ICl/Ar and IBr/Ar plasmas were found to be promising candidates for room temperature dry etching processing of the III-V semiconductors GaAs, AlGaAs, GaSb, InP, InGaAs, and InSb. Results showed fast etch rates (0.7 μm/min in ICl/Ar and −0.3 μm/min in IBr/Ar), and at high microwave power, 1000 W, good surface morphology (typical root mean square roughness ∼2 nm), while retaining the near-surface stoichiometry, especially in IBr/Ar plasmas. There was little change of surface smoothness over a wide range of plasma compositions for Gacontaining materials in both ICl/Ar and IBr/Ar plasmas, (e.g. GaAs), while there was a window region with about 25–50% of IBr in IBr/Ar plasmas to maintain good morphology of In-containing semiconductors like InP. Selectivities of 4–10 over mask materials such as SiO₂, SiN_x, and W were typical in ICl/Ar plasmas.     

Comparison of InGaSb/InAs superlattice structures grown by MBE on GaSb, GaAs, and compliant GaAs substrates

This paper contains the characterization results for indium arsenide/indium gallium antimonide (InAs/InGaSb) superlattices (SL) that were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on standard gallium arsenide (GaAs), standard GaSb, and compliant GaAs substrates. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) images, peak to valley (P-V) measurement, and surface roughness (RMS) measurements are reported for each sample. For the 5 μm×5 μm images, the P-V heights and RMS measurements were 37 ? and 17 ?, 12 ? and 2 ?, and 10 ? and 1.8 ? for the standard GaAs, standard GaSb, and compliant GaAs respectively. The high resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) analysis found different 0^th order SL peak to GaSb peak spacings for the structures grown on the different substrates. These peak separations are consistent with different residual strain states within the SL structures. Depending on the constants used to determine the relative shift of the valance and conduction bands as a function of strain for the individual layers, the change in the InAs conduction band to InGaSb valance band spacing could range from +7 meV to −47 meV for a lattice constant of 6.1532 ?. The cutoff wavelength for the SL structure on the compliant GaAs, control GaSb, and control GaAs was 13.9 μm, 11 μm, and no significant response, respectively. This difference in cutoff wavelength corresponds to approximately a −23 meV change in the optical gap of the SL on the compliant GaAs substrate compared to the same SL on the control GaSb substrate.     

Etching of mesa structures in HgCdTe

Mesa structures were etched in HgCdTe using different Br₂/HBr/Ethylene glycol (EG) formulations. Etch rate and degree of anisotropy (A) were studied in detail for all of the combinations. Addition of EG to the conventional etchant gave A>0.5, with controllable etch rates. Optimum etchant composition was determined to be 2% Br₂ in a 3:1 mixture of EG:HBr. This composition resulted in a good anisotropy factor of ∼0.6 and a reasonably optimum etch rate of ∼2.5 μm/min, with rms surface roughness of ∼2 nm. Kinetics of the etching reaction have also been studied for the optimum etchant concentration and an etching mechanism has been proposed.     

256×256 focal plane array midwavelength infrared camera based on InAs/GaSb short-period superlattices

An infrared camera based on a 256×256 focal plane array (FPA) for the second atmospheric window (3–5 μm) has been realized for the first time with InAs/GaSb short period superlattices (SLs). The SL detector structure with a broken gap type-II band alignment was grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaSb substrates. Effective bandgap and strain in the superlattice were adjusted by varying the thickness of the InAs and GaSb layers and the controlled formation of InSb-like bonds at the interfaces. The FPAs were processed in a full wafer process using optical lithography, chemical-assisted ion beam etching, and conventional metallization technology. The FPAs were flip-chip bonded using indium solder bumps with a read-out integrated circuit and mounted into an integrated detector cooler assembly. The FPAs with a cut-off wavelength of 5.4 μm exhibit quantum efficiencies of 30% and detectivity values exceeding 10¹³ Jones at T=77 K. A noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) of 11.1 mK was measured for an integration time of 5 ms using f/2 optics. The NETD scales inversely proportional to the square root of the integration time between 5 ms and 1 ms, revealing background limited performance. Excellent thermal images with low NETD values and a very good modulation transfer function demonstrate the high potential of this material system for the fabrication of future thermal imaging systems.     

钛扩散铌酸锂平面波导的反应离子刻蚀

Reactive ion etching（RIE） of LiNbO₃（LN） in SF₆ plasma atmosphere was studied for optimizing the preparation conditions for LN ridge waveguides.The samples to be etched are Ti-diffused LN slab waveguides overlaid with a chromium film mask that has a Mach-Zehnder interferometer（MZI） array pattern.The experimental results indicate that the LN-etching rate(R_LN) and the Cr-etching rate(R_Cr) as well as the rate ratio R_LN/R_Cr increase with either increasing the radio-frequency（RF） power at a given SF₆ flow rate or increasing the SF₆ flow rate at a fixed RF power.The maximum values of R_LN = 43.2 nm/min and R_LN/R_Cr = 3.27 were achieved with 300 W RF power and 40 sccm SF₆ flow.When the SF₆ flow rate exceeds 40 sccm,an increase in the flow rate causes the etching rates and the rate ratio to decrease.The scanning electron microscope images of the LN ridge prepared after～20 min etching show that the ridge height is 680 nm and the sidewall slope angle is about 60°.     

F注入AlGaN/GaN增强型HEMT

The fabrication of enhancement-mode AlGaN/GaN HEMTs by fluorine plasma treatment on sapphire substrates is reported. A new method is used to fabricate devices with different fluorine plasma RF power treatments on one wafer to avoid differences between different wafers. The plasma-treated gate regions of devices treated with different fluorine plasma RF powers were separately opened by a step-and-repeat system. The properties of these devices are compared and analyzed. The devices with 150 W fluorine plasma treatment power and with 0.6 μm gate-length exhibited a threshold voltage of 0.57 V, a maximum drain current of 501 mA/mm, a maximum transconductance of 210 mS/mm, a current gain cutoff frequency of 19.4 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency of 26 GHz. An excessive fluorine plasma treatment power of 250 W results in a small maximum drain current, which can be attributed to the implantation of fluorine plasma in the channel.     

Design,characterization and fabrication of an In0.53Ga0.47As planar Gunn diode operating at millimeter waves

This paper describes the design, characterization and fabrication of a planar In0.53Ga0.47As based planar Gunn diode on an InP semi-insulating substrate. The planar Gunn diode was designed in Coplanar Waveguide(CPW) format with an active channel length and width of 4 μm and 120 μm respectively, and modeled using the Advanced Design System(ADS-2009) simulation package. The initial experimental measurements have given a fundamental oscillation frequency of 63.5 GHz with a RF output power of -6.6 dBm, which is the highest recorded power for an InP based planar Gunn diode.     

Surface and optical properties of silicon nitride deposited by inductively coupled plasma-chemical vapor deposition

The surface and optical properties of silicon nitride samples with different compositions were investigated.The samples were deposited on InP by inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition using different NH3 flow rates.Atomic force microscopy measurements show that the surface roughness is increased for the samples with both low and high NH3 flow rates.By optimization,when the NH3 flow rate is 6 sccm,a smooth surface with RMS roughness of 0.74 nm over a 5 × 5μm2 area has been achieved.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements reveal the Si/N ratio of the samples as a function ofNH3 flow rate.It is found that amorphous silicon is dominant in the samples with low NH3 flow rates,which is also proved in Raman measurements.The bonding energies of the Si and N atoms have been extracted and analyzed.Results show that the bonding states of Si atoms transfer from Si0 to Si+4 as the NH3 flow rate increases.     

InAs/InP量子点激光器制备工艺研究

报道了通过化学湿刻蚀制备窄脊条InAs/InP量子点激光器的方法。激光器脊条主要是由半导体材料InGaAs和InP构成,通过选择合适配比的H2SO4∶H2O2∶H2O和H3PO4∶HCl腐蚀溶液和InP的腐蚀方向,在室温下选择性地腐蚀了InGaAs和InP,获得了窄脊条宽为6μm的量子点激光器。此激光器能够在室温连续波模式下工作,激射波长在光纤通信重要窗口1.55μm,单面最大输出功率超过12mW。     

InAs/InGaSb photodetectors grown on GaAs bonded substrates

The results of wafer fusion between GaAs and InP followed by transfer of an InGaAs film from the InP to GaAs substrate are presented in this paper. This technique of film transfer allowed the subsequent growth of epitaxial materials with approximately 7% lattice mismatch. Type-II InAs/GaInSb superlattices photodetectors of different designs have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on the alternative InGaAs/GaAs substrate and on standard GaSb substrates. Comparison between photodetectors grown on the two different substrates with nearly identical superlattice periods showed a shift in the cut-off wavelength. The superlattices grown on the alternative substrates were found to have uniform layers, with broader x-ray linewidths than superlattices grown on GaSb substrates.     

InAs/GaSb II类超晶格红外焦平面台面的 ICP 刻蚀研究

本文报道了采用Cl2/N2电感耦合等离子（ICP）组合体刻蚀工艺在InAs/GaSb II类超晶格红外焦平面台面加工过程中的研究结果,实验采用分子束外延技术在GaSb衬底上生长的PIN型超晶格材料。结果表明,气体流量比例直接对刻蚀速率和刻蚀形貌产生影响,氯气含量越高,刻蚀速率越大,当氮气含量增加,刻蚀速率降低并趋于一定值。当氯气和氮气的流量比例和等离子腔体内压力等参数一定时,随着温度升高,刻蚀速率和选择比在有限范围内同时线性增大,台面的倾角趋于直角,台面轮廓层状纹理逐渐消失,但沟道内变得粗糙不平,并出现坑点。在实验研究范围内,电感耦合等离子源的ICP功率和RF功率对刻蚀结果产生的影响较小。     

Etching of As- and P-based III–V semiconductors in a planar inductively coupled BCl<Subscript>3</Subscript>/Ar plasma

A parametric study of the etch characteristics of Ga-based (GaAs, GaSb, and AlGaAs) and In-based (InGaP, InP, InAs, and InGaAsP) compound semiconductors in BCl₃/Ar planar inductively coupled plasmas (ICPs) was performed. The Ga-based materials etched at significantly higher rates, as expected from the higher volatilities of the As, Ga, and Al trichloride, etch products relative to InCl₃. The ratio of BCl₃ to Ar proved critical in determining the anisotropy of the etching for GaAs and AlGaAs, through its effect on sidewall passivation. The etched features in In-based materials tended to have sloped sidewalls and much rougher surfaces than for GaAs and AlGaAs. The etched surfaces of both AlGaAs and GaAs have comparable root-mean-square (RMS) roughness and similar stoichiometry to their unetched control samples, while the surfaces of In-based materials are degraded by the etching. The practical effect of the Ar addition is found to be the ability to operate the ICP source over a broader range of pressures and to still maintain acceptable etch rates.     

InAs/GaSb Ⅱ类超晶格长波焦平面阵列台面ICP刻蚀技术研究

本文采用SiO₂/SiN作为掩膜对InAs/GaSbⅡ类超晶格红外材料进行感应耦合等离子体（ICP）刻蚀条件研究,得到InAs/GaSbⅡ类超晶格较好的刻蚀条件以提升红外探测器性能。对ICP刻蚀过程中容易出现台面侧向钻蚀以及台面底部钻蚀两种现象进行了详细研究,通过增加SiO₂膜层厚度以及减小Ar气流量,可有效减少台面侧向钻蚀;通过减小下电极射频功率（RF）,可有效消除台面底部钻蚀。采用适当厚度的SiO₂/SiN掩膜以及优化后的ICP刻蚀参数可获得光亮平整的刻蚀表面,表面粗糙度达到0.193 nm;刻蚀台面角度大于80°,刻蚀选择比大于8.5:1;采用优化后的ICP刻蚀条件制备的长波640×512焦平面器件暗电流密度降低约1个数量级,达到3×10－4 A/cm2,响应非均匀性、信噪比以及有效像元率等相关指标均有所提高,并获得了清晰的焦平面成像图。     

ICP刻蚀对光刻胶掩模及刻蚀图形侧壁的影响

采用AZ1500光刻胶作为掩模对GaAs和InP进行ICP刻蚀,研究了刻蚀参数对光刻胶掩模及刻蚀图形侧壁的影响。结果表明,光刻胶的碳化变性与等离子体的轰击相关,压强、ICP功率和RF功率的增加以及Cl2比例的减小都会加速光刻胶的碳化变性,Cl2/Ar比Cl2/BCl3更易使光刻胶发生变性。对于GaAs样品刻蚀,刻蚀气体中Cl2含量越高,刻蚀图形侧壁的横向刻蚀越严重。Cl2/BCl3对GaAs的刻蚀速率比Cl2/Ar慢,但刻蚀后样品的表面粗糙度比Cl2/Ar小。刻蚀InP时的刻蚀速率比GaAs样品慢,且存在图形侧壁倾斜现象。该工作有助于推动在器件制备工艺中以光刻胶作为掩模进行ICP刻蚀,从而提高器件制备效率。     

Epitaxial lift-off of thin InAs layers

We describe the use of the epitaxial lift-off technique to remove thin layers of InAs from the GaAs substrates on which they were grown and subsequently bonded to glass and silicon substrates. Lift-off was accomplished by taking advantage of the high etching selectivity between AlSb and InAs in an aqueous hydrofluoric acid etching solution, allowing a thin layer of AlSb to serve a sacrificial layer to facilitate the lift-off of the InAs. The InAs layers were transferred with little measurable effect on the electrical and structural properties of the films, as evidenced by Hall effect and x-ray measurements. The technique can easily be extended to transfer more-complex GaSb/AlSb/InAs structures.