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AlN Etching under ICP Cl2/BCl3/Ar Plasma Mixture: Experimental Characterization and Plasma Kinetic Model

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2019

Mohammad Rammal
Affiliation:
Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel, Université de Nantes, CNRS, 2 rue de la Houssinière 44322 Nantes, France.
Ahmed Rhallabi*
Affiliation:
Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel, Université de Nantes, CNRS, 2 rue de la Houssinière 44322 Nantes, France.
Delphine Néel
Affiliation:
III-V Lab, Campus de Polytechnique, 1, Avenue Augustin Fresnel, 91767Palaiseau
Dalila Make
Affiliation:
III-V Lab, Campus de Polytechnique, 1, Avenue Augustin Fresnel, 91767Palaiseau
Alexandre Shen
Affiliation:
III-V Lab, Campus de Polytechnique, 1, Avenue Augustin Fresnel, 91767Palaiseau
Abdou Djouadi
Affiliation:
Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel, Université de Nantes, CNRS, 2 rue de la Houssinière 44322 Nantes, France.
*
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Abstract

AlN etching with chloride plasmas is studied. The experimental results show that the etching of AlN under a low pressure Cl2/Ar plasma mixture in moderate DC bias is not possible. The addition of BCl3 gas to Cl2/Ar mixture allows the etching of AlN materials. However the obtained properties of etched AlN is still not in conformity with the technological specification especially for the condition which the etched AlN must be kept only along the sidewall of the InP laser cavity and be removed elsewhere (selective etching). To know more about the effect of the BCl3 addition to the Cl2/Ar plasma mixture, global model of BCl3/Cl2/Ar is developed to quantify the neutral and ion densities as well as the electron density and temperature. The simulation results show that the electron density and low pressure linearly varies with the RF power. The negative ion density decreases with the percentage of BCl3 leading to the diminution of the electronegativity which is represented by negative ion to electron density ratio. The simulation shows that the positive ion to atomic chlorine flux ratio increases with the %BCl3. Such parameters could play an important role in the ion neutral synergy during the etching process.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2019 

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References

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