J. Semicond. > 2022, Volume 43 > Issue 11 > 113101, doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/43/11/113101
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Plasma atomic layer etching of GaN/AlGaN materials and application: An overview

Lulu Guan1, Xingyu Li1, Dongchen Che2, Kaidong Xu1, 2 and Shiwei Zhuang1,

+ Author Affiliations

 Corresponding author: Shiwei Zhuang, zhuangshiwei@jsnu.edu.cn

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Abstract: With the development of the third generation of semiconductor devices, it is essential to achieve precise etching of gallium nitride (GaN) materials that is close to the atomic level. Compared with the traditional wet etching and continuous plasma etching, plasma atomic layer etching (ALE) of GaN has the advantages of self-limiting etching, high selectivity to other materials, and smooth etched surface. In this paper the basic properties and applications of GaN are presented. It also presents the various etching methods of GaN. GaN plasma ALE systems are reviewed, and their similarities and differences are compared. In addition, the industrial application of GaN plasma ALE is outlined.

Key words: gallium nitride, plasma etching, atomic layer etching, self-limiting



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Fig. 1.  (Color online) Schematic of (a) isotropic etching and (b) anisotropic etching.

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Fig. 2.  (Color online) Schematic of one plasma ALE cycle generic concept.

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Fig. 3.  (Color online) (a) Measured data of etching rate per cycle for a fixed BCl3 plasma time per cycle and varying oxygen plasma time per cycle. (b) The linear behavior of the plasma ALE etching rate versus the number of plasma ALE cycles[64].

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Fig. 4.  (Color online) Schematic of mechanism of GaN O2–BCl3 plasma ALE.

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Fig. 5.  (Color online) Schematic of one Cl2/BCl3-inert gas plasma ALE cycle generic concept.

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Fig. 6.  EPC of GaN as a function of bias voltage[52].

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Fig. 7.  (Color online) GaN plasma ALE process and initial parameters[78].

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Fig. 8.  EPC as a function of the absolute value of the self-bias potential VDC by varying RF bias for (a) an removal by Ar plasma with an RF source set at 100 W (full triangle) and 120 W (empty triangle) and (b) an activation by Kr plasma for an RF source set at 100 W (full square) and 120 W (empty square)[80].

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Fig. 9.  (Color online) (a) Post-etching GaN layer thickness for the unetched reference, after the chlorination step only, after He or Ar plasma only and after full He or Ar plasma ALE (60 cycles) and (b) energy scan for Ar and He ALE processes[83].

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Fig. 10.  (Color online) The mechanism of Cl2–He plasma ALE process.

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[1]
Stepanova M, Dew S. Nanofabrication: Techniques and principles. Springer Science & Business Media, 2011
[2]
Berger L I. Semiconductor devices. Semiconductor Materials. CRC Press, 2020
[3]
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[4]
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[5]
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[6]
Paskova T, Evans K R. GaN substrates — Progress, status, and prospects. IEEE J Sel Top Quantum Electron, 2009, 15, 1041 doi: 10.1109/JSTQE.2009.2015057
[7]
Zhu S, Mizuno M, Kagawa Y, et al. Monotonic tension, fatigue and creep behavior of SiC-fiber-reinforced SiC-matrix composites: A review. Compos Sci Technol, 1999, 59, 833 doi: 10.1016/S0266-3538(99)00014-7
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Li M, Li G, Jiang J, et al. Ultraviolet resistance and antimicrobial properties of ZnO in the polypropylene materials: A review. J Mater Sci Technol, 2015, 31, 331 doi: 10.1016/j.jmst.2014.11.022
[9]
Chalker P R. Wide bandgap semiconductor materials for high temperature electronics. Thin Solid Films, 1999, 343/344, 616 doi: 10.1016/S0040-6090(98)01672-1
[10]
Moontragoon P, Ikonić Z, Harrison P. Band structure calculations of Si-Ge-Sn alloys: Achieving direct band gap materials. Semicond Sci Technol, 2007, 22, 742 doi: 10.1088/0268-1242/22/7/012
[11]
Zhang X, Jin Y, Yang K, et al. Resonant nonlinear susceptibility near the GaAs band gap. Phys Rev Lett, 1992, 69, 2303 doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.69.2303
[12]
Dingle R, Sell D D, Stokowski S E, et al. Absorption, reflectance, and luminescence of GaN epitaxial layers. Phys Rev B, 1971, 4, 1211 doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.4.1211
[13]
Mishra U K, Parikh P, Wu Y F. AlGaN/GaN HEMTs — an overview of device operation and applications. Proc IEEE, 2002, 90, 1022 doi: 10.1109/JPROC.2002.1021567
[14]
Medjdoub F, Carlin J F, Gaquiere C, et al. Status of the emerging InAlN/GaN power HEMT technology. Open Electr Electron Eng J, 2008, 2, 1 doi: 10.2174/1874129000802010001
[15]
Hashizume T, Ootomo S, Oyama S, et al. Chemistry and electrical properties of surfaces of GaN and GaN/AlGaN heterostructures. J Vac Sci Technol B, 2001, 19, 1675 doi: 10.1116/1.1383078
[16]
Medjdoub F, Carlin J F, Gonschorek M, et al. Can InAlN/GaN be an alternative to high power/high temperature AlGaN/GaN devices. 2006 Int Electron Devices Meet, 2006, 1 doi: 10.1109/IEDM.2006.346935
[17]
Saito W, Takada Y, Kuraguchi M, et al. High breakdown voltage AlGaN-GaN power-HEMT design and high current density switching behavior. IEEE Trans Electron Devices, 2003, 50, 2528 doi: 10.1109/TED.2003.819248
[18]
Panda A K, Pavlidis D, Alekseev E. DC and high-frequency characteristics of GaN-based IMPATTs. IEEE Trans Electron Devices, 2001, 48, 820 doi: 10.1109/16.915735
[19]
Boutros K S, Chu R M, Hughes B. GaN power electronics for automotive application. 2012 IEEE Energytech, 2012, 1 doi: 10.1109/EnergyTech.2012.6304646
[20]
Gupta A, Chatterjee N, Tripathy M R, et al. Design and simulation of GaN HEMT and its application to RF amplifiers. 2016 Progress in Electromagnetic Research Symposium, 2016, 3815
[21]
Arakawa Y. Progress in GaN-based quantum dots for optoelectronics applications. IEEE J Sel Top Quantum Electron, 2002, 8, 823 doi: 10.1109/JSTQE.2002.801675
[22]
Jones E A, Wang F F, Costinett D. Review of commercial GaN power devices and GaN-based converter design challenges. IEEE J Emerg Sel Top Power Electron, 2016, 4, 707 doi: 10.1109/JESTPE.2016.2582685
[23]
Chen J, Du X, Luo Q M, et al. A review of switching oscillations of wide bandgap semiconductor devices. IEEE Trans Power Electron, 2020, 35, 13182 doi: 10.1109/TPEL.2020.2995778
[24]
Kanarik K J, Lill T, Hudson E A, et al. Overview of atomic layer etching in the semiconductor industry. J Vac Sci Technol A, 2015, 33, 020802 doi: 10.1116/1.4913379
[25]
Yoder M N. Atomic layer etching. Department of the Navy Washington DC, 1988
[26]
Horiike Y, Tanaka T, Nakano M, et al. Digital chemical vapor deposition and etching technologies for semiconductor processing. J Vac Sci Technol A, 1990, 8, 1844 doi: 10.1116/1.576814
[27]
Aoyagi Y, Shinmura K, Kawasaki K, et al. Molecular layer etching of GaAs. Appl Phys Lett, 1992, 60, 968 doi: 10.1063/1.106477
[28]
Agarwal A, Kushner M J. Plasma atomic layer etching using conventional plasma equipment. J Vac Sci Technol A, 2009, 27, 37 doi: 10.1116/1.3021361
[29]
Matsuura T, Murota J, Sawada Y, et al. Self-limited layer-by-layer etching of Si by alternated chlorine adsorption and Ar+ ion irradiation. Appl Phys Lett, 1993, 63, 2803 doi: 10.1063/1.110340
[30]
Negi S, Bhandari R. Silicon isotropic and anisotropic etching for MEMS applications. Microsyst Technol, 2013, 19, 203 doi: 10.1007/s00542-012-1552-7
[31]
Youtsey C, Bulman G, Adesida I. Dopant-selective photoenhanced wet etching of GaN. J Electron Mater, 1998, 27, 282 doi: 10.1007/s11664-998-0400-0
[32]
Peng L H, Chuang C W, Ho J K, et al. Deep ultraviolet enhanced wet chemical etching of gallium nitride. Appl Phys Lett, 1998, 72, 939 doi: 10.1063/1.120879
[33]
Weyher J L, Tichelaar F D, van Dorp D H, et al. The K2S2O8-KOH photoetching system for GaN. J Cryst Growth, 2010, 312, 2607 doi: 10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2010.04.020
[34]
Donnelly V M, Kornblit A. Plasma etching: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. J Vac Sci Technol A, 2013, 31, 050825 doi: 10.1116/1.4819316
[35]
Pearton S J, Shul R J, Ren F. A review of dry etching of GaN and related materials. MRS Internet J Nitride Semicond Res, 2020, 5, 1 doi: 10.1557/S1092578300000119
[36]
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    Received: 27 April 2022 Revised: 13 June 2022 Online: Accepted Manuscript: 09 August 2022Uncorrected proof: 10 August 2022Published: 01 November 2022

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      Article Navigation >  Journal of Semiconductors  > 2022  >  43(11): 113101
      Lulu Guan, Xingyu Li, Dongchen Che, Kaidong Xu, Shiwei Zhuang. Plasma atomic layer etching of GaN/AlGaN materials and application: An overview[J]. Journal of Semiconductors, 2022, 43(11): 113101. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/43/11/113101 L L Guan, X Y Li, D C Che, K D Xu, S W Zhuang. Plasma atomic layer etching of GaN/AlGaN materials and application: An overview[J]. J. Semicond, 2022, 43(11): 113101. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/43/11/113101Export: BibTex EndNote
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      Lulu Guan, Xingyu Li, Dongchen Che, Kaidong Xu, Shiwei Zhuang. Plasma atomic layer etching of GaN/AlGaN materials and application: An overview[J]. Journal of Semiconductors, 2022, 43(11): 113101. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/43/11/113101

      L L Guan, X Y Li, D C Che, K D Xu, S W Zhuang. Plasma atomic layer etching of GaN/AlGaN materials and application: An overview[J]. J. Semicond, 2022, 43(11): 113101. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/43/11/113101
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      Plasma atomic layer etching of GaN/AlGaN materials and application: An overview

      doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/43/11/113101
      • 1.

        School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China

      • 2.

        Jiangsu Leuven Instruments Co. Ltd, Xuzhou 221300, China

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      • Author Bio:

        Lulu Guan was born on August 20th, 1995 in Jiangsu, received her Bachelor's degree from Xuzhou University of Technology in 2019. She is now a Master’s student at the School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Jiangsu Normal University. Her main research interest is atomic layer etching of GaN

        Shiwei Zhuang received his Bachelor’s degree and PhD in Microelectronics and Solid State Electronics in Jilin University. Since 2018, he has been working as an assistant professor in Jiangsu Normal University. Currently, he mainly engaged in integrated circuit etching/deposition process and related research

      • Corresponding author: zhuangshiwei@jsnu.edu.cn
      • Received Date: 2022-04-27
      • Revised Date: 2022-06-13
        • Available Online: 2022-08-09

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