In situ etching of GaAs by AsCl 3 for regrowth on AlGaAs in metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy

In situ etching of GaAs with AsCl 3 in metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) reactor was studied with in situ reflectometry as a function of the AsCl 3 flow rate, substrate temperature, and AsH 3 flow rate during etching. A smooth and uniform etched surface was successfully achieved at substrate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of crystal growth Vol. 195; no. 1; pp. 199 - 204
Main Authors Hou, H.Q., Hammons, B.E., Breiland, W.G.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier B.V 1998
Subjects
AsCl 3
In situ etching
MOVPE
Selective etching
AsCl 3
In situ etching
Selective etching
MOVPE
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Summary:In situ etching of GaAs with AsCl 3 in metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) reactor was studied with in situ reflectometry as a function of the AsCl 3 flow rate, substrate temperature, and AsH 3 flow rate during etching. A smooth and uniform etched surface was successfully achieved at substrate temperatures above 680°C. The etch rate was found to be proportional to the flow rate of AsCl 3, and exhibited Arrhenius temperature dependence with an activation energy of ∼1 eV. The etching was also found to be very selective towards the Al composition in AlGaAs, and stopped abruptly on AlGaAs. This process has applications for MOVPE regrowth on an AlGaAs surface after a selective in situ etch of the GaAs cap layer.
ISSN:0022-0248
1873-5002
DOI:10.1016/S0022-0248(98)00733-7