Dry etching of ZnO films and plasma-induced damage to optical properties

Abstract

To study the effects of plasma chemistries on etch characteristics and plasma-induced damage to the optical properties, dry etching of ZnO films has been carried out using inductively coupled plasmas of Cl2/Ar, Cl2/H2/Ar, and CH4/H2/Ar. The CH4/H2/Ar chemistry showed a faster etch rate and a better surface morphology than the Cl2-based chemistries. Etched samples in all chemistries showed a substantial decrease in the PL intensity of band-edge luminescence mainly due to the plasma-induced damage. The CH4/H2/Ar chemistry showed the least degradation of the optical properties.