Inductively Coupled Plasma Etching of III-V Antimonides in BCl(3)/Ar and Cl(2)/Ar

Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching characteristics of GaSb and AIGaAsSb have been investigated in BC13/Ar and Clz/Ar plasmas. The etch rates and selectivity between GaSb and AIGaAsSb are reported as functions of plasma chemistry, ICP power, RF self-bias, and chamber pressure. It is found that physical sputtering resorption of the etch products plays a dominant role in BC13/Ar ICP etching, while in Clz/Ar plasma, the chemical reaction dominates the etching. GaSb etch rates exceeding 2 ~rnhnin are achieved in Clz/Ar plasmas with smooth surfaces and anisotropic profiles. In BC13/Ar plasmas, etch rates of 5100 Mmin and 4200 Mmin are obtained for GaSb and AIGaAsSb, respectively. The surfaces of both GaSb and AIGaAsSb etched in BC13/Ar plasmas remain smooth and stoichiometric over the entire range of plasma conditions investigated. This result is attributed to effective removal of etch products by physical sputtering. For a wide range of plasma conditions, the selectivity between GaSb and AIGaAsSb is close to unity, which is desirable for fabricating etched mirrors and gratings for Sb-based mid-IR laser diodes.