Passivation of acceptors in InP resulting from CH4/H2 reactive ion etching

Abstract

Articles you may be interested inDependence of selectivity on plasma conditions in selective etching in submicrometer pitch grating on InP surface by CH4/H2 reactive ion etching J. Appl. Phys. 109, 073516 (2011); 10.1063/1.3573536 X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy damage characterization of reactively ion etched InP in CH 4 -H 2 plasmas

(Invited) Towards a Vertical and Damage Free Post-Etch InGaAs Fin Profile: Dry Etch Processing, Sidewall Damage Assessment and Mitigation Options

“…The reduction and/or removal of these oxides by means of atomic hydrogen cleaning have been shown to unpin the Fermi level (40,41) and reduce interface defect density (42). Another key feature of atomic hydrogen is its ability to passivate native defects within the semiconductor (23,30,43). This attribute has also been exploited in GaN and GaAs to recover damage arising from dry etch processing through the passivation of etch-induced defects (44,45).…”

“…(14,(16)(17)(18)(19)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(30)(31)(32)(33) have been used to yield structural, chemical and electrical information relating to etch-induced damage. Our concern here is the extent of electrical damage to the dielectric/sidewall interface.…”

“…The utilization of dry etch processing, however, carries with it the inherent risk of damage to the semiconductor due to energetic ion bombardment and the presence of reactive ion species (18,19,21). Etch-induced damage can manifest in various forms such as lattice defects (traps, vacancies and interstitials), lattice disordering (amorphisation) and surface roughness due to ion bombardment (19,21,22), surface contamination resulting from polymer deposition (21), dopant passivation by atomic hydrogen (21)(22)(23) and changes in surface stoichiometry due to preferential etching or layer intermixing (23)(24)(25). These effects can degrade the optical and electrical properties of the semiconductor, of detriment to the final device performance.…”

Hydrogen Passivation in Semiconductors

“…Plasma processes like reactive ion etching use gaseous mixtures that often include H2 and are an obvious source of atomic hydrogen [87,88]. It has also been demonstrated that hydrogen can be introduced during benign processes like polishing, wet etching [76,77], or annealing in forming gas [83].…”

Effects of hydrogen on InP light-emitting devices etched in a methane-hydrogen environment

“…Research has been conducted on the physical damage and hydrogenation effects during RF' plasma exposure (1,2) and epitaxial growth (3, 4) in the 111-V material system. Device consequences of this damage or chemical alteration have received less attention, particularly in active light emitting devices.…”