Patterning III-N Semiconductors by Low Energy Electron Enhanced Etching (LE4)

Abstract

Fabricating device structures from the III-N wide bandgap semiconductors requires anisotropoic dry etching processes that leave smooth surfaces with stoichiometric composition after transferring high-resolution patterns with vertical sidewalls. The purpose of this article is to describe results obtained by a new low-damage dry etching technique that provides an alternative to the standard ion-enhanced dry etching methods in meeting these demands for processing the III-N materials.

Theoretical study of hydrogen adsorption on the GaN(0001) surface

“…This implies that, in the former case, desorption occurs via a very long-lived excited state and/or that the kinetic energy of the desorbing particle is so high that even the more massive D atom has sufficient velocity to escape before relaxation occurs. This issue is of practical significance because of the possibility of using ESD of H for patterned etching of GaN [34].…”