Classification of etching mechanism in reactive ion beam etch

Abstract

Etching characteristics for GaAs and InP using an ultrahigh vacuum reactive ion beam etching (UHV-RIBE) system have been classified. Using a horizontal electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source, a uniform ion beam covering a large area is obtained, and etching at low pressure (≂10−5 Torr) has become possible. The etching gas Cl2, is ionized at a gas pressure of 6×10−4 Torr, and typical applied microwave power is 300 W. We have classified the etching behavior into three categories as a function of extraction voltage and tried to clarify the change of the edge profile and surface condition. It is possible to obtain a vertical mesa. The maximum etch rates for InP and GaAs are 2.0 μm/min and 1.2 μm/min at high temperature and high applied voltage. Under appropriate conditions almost comparable etch rates for GaAs and InP have been obtained.

Photonic crystals and microdisk cavities based on GaInAsP-InP system

“…In this paper, four typical anisotropic etching techniques for GaInAsP-InP have been investigated, i.e., Cl -based RIBE [62]- [64], methane CH -based RIBE [65], [66], selective wet chemical etching with hydrogen chrolide (HCl) solution [67]- [69] and anodic chemical etching [51], [70]. For Cl RIBE, ultrahigh vaccum system ANELVA UHV-ECR [63], [64] was used. An advantage of this etching for GaInAsP-InP is the high etch rate and negligible retreat of mask edge.…”

Reactive ion beam etching of large-aperture multilayer diffraction gratings by radio frequency ion beam source

“…To increase the selectivity of the HfO 2 or SiO 2 to photoresist, reactive ion beam etching (RIBE) is utilized in the etching process, which including the advantages of both ion beam etching and reactive ion etching [8] . The SiO 2 etching was performed using a gas mix of CHF 3 , Ar and O 2 [1] , or a gas mix of CF 4 , H 2 , O 2 and Ar [9] .…”