Spectral study of HCl plasma etching of gallium arsenide

Abstract

Chlorine-containing gases are widely used in etching series of materials. In this field, hydrogen chloride is one of the most promising plasma reagents. In this paper, emission spectroscopy techniques have been applied to study an etching of gallium arsenide in HCl plasma. The gas emission spectrum consists only of atomic components. The excitation of atoms is carried out with an electron impact, while their collapse is accompanied by emission deactivation. The control of the etching process can be performed spectrally using the intensities of the gallium monochloride and gallium resonant lines. The induction period of about 1 min is observed in the spectral and gravimetric kinetic curves of etch gallium arsenide, but it is absent in samples previously subjected to etching.