Nitrogen Plasma Etching and Surface Passivation of GaAs via Plasma-Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition. Issue 1 (2nd September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fang, Dan; Chen, Fang; Fang, Xuan; Zhang, Haixi; Li, Jinhua; Wang, Xiaohua; Ma, Xiaohui; Wei, Zhipeng
• Is Part Of: Integrated ferroelectrics. Volume 219:Issue 1(2021)
• Page Start: 55
• Page End: 61
• Publication Date: 2021-09-02
• Subjects: Surface passivation -- plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition -- aluminum nitride -- photoluminescence -- surface passivation; Ferroelectric devices -- Periodicals; Integrated circuits -- Periodicals; 537.244805
• DOI: 10.1080/10584587.2021.1911353
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1058-4587

Abstract

Abstract: We investigated the suitability of aluminum nitride (AlN) for surface passivation and protection of gallium arsenide (GaAs), using a low-temperature passivation method. By varying the plasma power (100, 200 W) during etching, we found that 200 W produced better passivation. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we quantitatively demonstrate that etching the GaAs at 200 W almost removed the GaAs oxide layer. To further study the surface passivation of GaAs, we deposited an AlN film by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition using trimethylaluminum and ammonia precursors at 250 °C. AlN passivation did not effectively smooth the GaAs surface, but did increase its photoluminescence intensity. This study shows that AlN coating by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition is a promising low-temperature method for GaAs surface passivation.