The study of GaAs reactive ion etching in Cl₂/Ar

Reactive ion etching (RIE) of GaAs in Cl₂/Ar has been investigated for various rf discharge parameters. We have demonstrated the significant difference in etching for high and low chlorine contents. A decrease in chlorine content which can be obtained by certain techniques allows a substantial reduction in impurity flux to the plasma, the production of good surface morphology and anisotropy of stripes with a rather high etch rate (∼0.1 μm min^-1) and an essential decrease of rf power and self-bias. The results of the work also show an important role of the plasma-electrode interaction in chlorine-containing mixtures.