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Oxidation-based wet-etching method for AlGaN/GaN structure with different oxidation times and temperatures

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Abstract

In this article, a detailed analysis of the wet-etching technique for AlGaN/GaN heterostructure using dry thermal oxidation followed by a wet alkali etching was performed. The experimental results show that the oxidation plays a key role in the wet-etching method and the etching depth is mainly determined by the oxidation temperature and time. The correlation of etching roughness with oxidation time and temperature was investigated. It is found that there exists a critical oxidation temperature in the oxidation process. Finally, a physical explanation of the oxidation procedure for AlGaN layer was given.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 60406004, 60890193, and 60736033), and the National Key Micrometer/Nanometer Processing Laboratory. The authors wish to acknowledge Nano Fabrication Platform, Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics, Chinese Academy of Science for device fabrication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Laboratory, Institute of Microelectronics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Yang Liu, Jin-Yan Wang, Zhe Xu, Jin-Bao Cai, Mao-Jun Wang, Min Yu, Bing Xie & Wen-Gang Wu

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  1. Yang Liu
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  2. Jin-Yan Wang
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  3. Zhe Xu
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  4. Jin-Bao Cai
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  5. Mao-Jun Wang
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  6. Min Yu
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  8. Wen-Gang Wu
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Correspondence to Jin-Yan Wang.

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Liu, Y., Wang, JY., Xu, Z. et al. Oxidation-based wet-etching method for AlGaN/GaN structure with different oxidation times and temperatures. Rare Met. 34, 1–5 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-013-0148-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-013-0148-4

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