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Chlorine‐Based High Density Plasma Etching of α-Ga2O3 Epitaxy Layer

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Abstract

High density plasma etching of α-Ga2O3 epitaxy layer was performed in chlorine-based (Cl2/Ar and BCl3/Ar) inductively coupled plasmas (ICPs) and the effect of plasma composition, ICP source power and rf chuck power on the etch rate and surface morphology has been studied. The α-Ga2O3 etch rate increased as Cl2 or BCl3 content in the gas mixture and ICP source power increased, and Cl2/Ar ICP discharges produced higher etch rates than BCl3/Ar discharges under the conditions examined. Increasing rf chuck power was found to increase the α-Ga2O3 etch rate and to improve surface morphology of the etched field. The highest etch rates of ~ 612 Å/min and ~ 603 Å/min were obtained in 13Cl2/2Ar and 13BCl3/2Ar ICP discharges under a moderate source power (500 W) and rf chuck power (250 W) condition, respectively. Anisotropic pattern transfer with a vertical sidewall was performed into the α-Ga2O3 layer using a 10Cl2/5Ar ICP discharge.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nanomechatronics Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241, Korea

    Ji Hun Um, Dae Hwi Jeong, Hyun-Ung Choi, Sungu Hwang, Jin Kon Kim & Hyun Cho

  2. Department of Nano Fusion Technology, Pusan National University, Miryang, 50463, Korea

    Byoung Su Choi

  3. Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering & Technology, JinJu, 52851, Korea

    Dae-Woo Jeon

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  1. Ji Hun Um
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Um, J.H., Choi, B.S., Jeong, D.H. et al. Chlorine‐Based High Density Plasma Etching of α-Ga2O3 Epitaxy Layer. Electron. Mater. Lett. 17, 142–147 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13391-020-00267-4

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