Low-fluence laser-assisted chemical etching of InP: an XPS study

Christopher E. Moffitt; Jerzy M. Wrobel; David M. Wieliczka; Jan J. Dubowski; Jeffrey W. Fraser

doi:10.1117/12.309502

3 June 1998 Low-fluence laser-assisted chemical etching of InP: an XPS study

Christopher E. Moffitt, Jerzy M. Wrobel, David M. Wieliczka, Jan J. Dubowski, Jeffrey W. Fraser

Proceedings Volume 3274, Laser Applications in Microelectronic and Optoelectronic Manufacturing III; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.309502
Event: Optoelectronics and High-Power Lasers and Applications, 1998, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

The chemical composition and surface morphology of (001) InP wafers, selectively etched in a chlorine atmosphere in the presence of UV laser illumination, was studied. The etching was carried out in a low pressure mixture of chlorine and helium (10% Cl₂/He). For etching to take place, the surfaces were exposed to 308 nm pulsed XeCl excimer laser radiation with the fluence well below the ablation threshold of InP. The x-ray photoemission spectroscopy investigations indicate that, at room temperature, the applied etch mixture does not spontaneously react with the InP wafers. Laser irradiation at a fluence less than the ablation threshold of InP stimulates a chemical reaction. At low fluence, no In-Cl compound remains on the wafer surface after the process. In the illuminated areas, the presence of In-P-O and P-O is observed at larger amount than in the non-illuminated areas. Scanning electron microscopy studies show that laser illumination results in the efficient removal of reaction products from the illuminated area. The small scale morphological structures observed on the surface depend on the total amount of exposure to laser radiation.

Citation Download Citation

Christopher E. Moffitt, Jerzy M. Wrobel, David M. Wieliczka, Jan J. Dubowski, and Jeffrey W. Fraser "Low-fluence laser-assisted chemical etching of InP: an XPS study", Proc. SPIE 3274, Laser Applications in Microelectronic and Optoelectronic Manufacturing III, (3 June 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.309502

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