Reactive ion etching of III-V compounds including InP, GaAs-InP and GaAlAs

摘要

The successful application of the reactive ion etching technique to the III-V compounds requires the use of the appropriate etch gas. We have found that a gas mixture comprised of either CCl.sub.2 F.sub. 2 alone or in combination with one or more of the gasses: argon (Ar), oxygen (O.sub. 2) and nitrogen (N.sub.2) will cleanly and effectively etch GaAs and InP and their ternary and quaternary alloys as well as AlGaAs and the oxides of GaAs. The effective ranges of relative flow rates of Ar, CCl.sub.2 F. sub.2 and oxygen are: Ar (0-83%), CCl.sub.2 F. sub.2 (8-100%), O.sub.2 (0- 50%), and N.sub. 2 (0-60%).