Angled etching of GaAs/AlGaAs by conventional Cl2 reactive ion etching

Abstract

Angled etching of GaAs and GaAs/AlGaAs double heterostructures was achieved in a conventional Cl2 reactive ion etching system. A new angled holder, which has a recessed groove structure where the substrate is positioned, was used to eliminate bending of the ion trajectory around the substrate. The facet angle is accurately determined by the angle of the groove wall. Equal etching rates and smooth facets were obtained by using a load-locked system and trilevel photoresist masking. This simple dry etch process is suitable for the formation of optoelectronic integrated circuits such as surface-emitting lasers.