LATERAL ELECTROCHEMICAL ETCHING OF III-NITRIDE MATERIALS FOR MICROFABRICATION
First Claim
1. A method for laterally etching III-nitride material, the method comprising:
- depositing a first layer of III-nitride material having a first conductivity on a substrate;
depositing a second layer of material over the first layer;
forming a via in the second layer to expose a surface area of the first layer;
electrochemically and laterally etching at least a portion of the first layer using a hydrofluoric-based etchant, wherein the portion of the first layer undercuts the second layer.
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Abstract
Conductivity-selective lateral etching of III-nitride materials is described. Methods and structures for making vertical cavity surface emitting lasers with distributed Bragg reflectors via electrochemical etching are described. Layer-selective, lateral electrochemical etching of multi-layer stacks is employed to form semiconductor/air DBR structures adjacent active multiple quantum well regions of the lasers. The electrochemical etching techniques are suitable for high-volume production of lasers and other III-nitride devices, such as lasers, HEMT transistors, power transistors, MEMs structures, and LEDs.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A method for laterally etching III-nitride material, the method comprising:
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depositing a first layer of III-nitride material having a first conductivity on a substrate; depositing a second layer of material over the first layer; forming a via in the second layer to expose a surface area of the first layer; electrochemically and laterally etching at least a portion of the first layer using a hydrofluoric-based etchant, wherein the portion of the first layer undercuts the second layer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for etching III-nitride material, the method comprising:
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depositing a first layer of III-nitride material having a first conductivity on a substrate; depositing a second layer of material adjacent the first layer; electrochemically and laterally etching at least a portion of the first layer using a hydrofluoric-based etchant. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method for forming a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser comprising III-nitride material, the method comprising:
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depositing a first multi-layer structure on a substrate, the first multi-layer structure comprising first and second layers, wherein the first layers have a conductivity different than that of the second layers; depositing a multiple quantum well (MQW) active structure adjacent the first multi-layer structure; forming vias into the first multi-layer structure so as to provide access for an etchant to the second layers; laterally and electrochemically etching the second layers so as to remove at least a portion of the second layers and form a DBR structure adjacent the MQW region, wherein the DBR structure comprises at least two first layers separated by one or more layers of air. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A III-nitride DBR device comprising:
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a multi-layer structure having first and second layers formed of III-nitride material, wherein a conductivity of the first layers is different from a conductivity of the second layers; a MQW structure formed adjacent the multi-layer structure, wherein the MQW structure comprises an active region of the device; vias formed into the multi-layer structure proximal to the MQW structure; and regions adjacent the vias in which portions of the second layers have been completely removed to form at least two first layers separated by one or more layers of air. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification