Formation of distinctive structures of GaN by inductively-coupled-plasma and reactive ion etching under optimized chemical etching conditions

We focused on inductively coupled plasma and reactive ion etching (ICP–RIE) for etching GaN and tried to fabricate distinctive GaN structures under optimized chemical etching conditions. To determine the optimum chemical etching conditions, the flow rates of Ar and Cl2, ICP power, and chamber pressure were varied in the etching of c-plane GaN layers with stripe patterns. It was determined that the combination of Ar and Cl2 flow rates of 100 sccm, chamber pressure of 7 Pa, and ICP power of 800 W resulted in the most enhanced reaction, yielding distinctive GaN structures such as pillars with inverted mesa structures for c-plane GaN and a semipolar GaN layer with asymmetric inclined sidewalls. The selectivity and etching rate were also investigated.