Ultrafast Aqueous Etching of Gallium Arsenide

Abstract

AbstractVery rapid room-temperature photochemical etching of n-type GaAs was achieved in aqueous hydrofluoric acid in conjunction with ultraviolet laser illumination. The etch rates of ˜500 μm/min represent an order of magnitude increase in etch rates over previously reported results for solutions that contained no hydrofluoric acid. Furthermore, incorporation of nitric acid into the hydrofluoric acid solution resulted in smooth etched surfaces thus allowing deep, waveguiding etching. This rapid process was used to etch deep, large-area structures in GaAs samples.