Damage-Free Photo-Assisted Cryogenic Etching of GaN as Evidenced by Reduction of Yellow Luminescence

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Damage-free etching of GaN by Cl2, assisted by an ArF (193 nm) excimer laser, is demonstrated. At low temperatures, photo-assisted etching can provide a better etch rate and largely improve the surface morphology and quality. AFM results show that the etched GaN surface is obtained with a root-mean-square roughness of 1.7 nm. As compared with the photoluminescence spectra of photoelectrochemical wet etched GaN, the photo-assisted cryogenic etching is proved to be a damage-free dry etching technique.