Lateral electrochemical etching of III-nitride materials for microfabrication
First Claim
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1. A method for laterally etching III-nitride material, the method comprising:
- depositing a first layer of III-nitride material having a first n-type 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 the first layer using a hydrofluoric-based etchant to selectively remove at least a portion of the first layer, wherein the removed portion of the first layer extends under the second layer and wherein the etching does not require illumination.
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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.
66 Citations
35 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 n-type 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 the first layer using a hydrofluoric-based etchant to selectively remove at least a portion of the first layer, wherein the removed portion of the first layer extends under the second layer and wherein the etching does not require illumination. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 34, 35)
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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 n-type conductivity on a substrate; depositing a second layer of material adjacent the first layer; electrochemically and laterally etching the first layer using a hydrofluoric-based etchant to selectively remove at least a portion of the first layer that extends along the second layer without substantial removal of the second layer, wherein the etching does not require illumination. - 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 with a hydrofluoric-based etchant so as to selectively remove at least a portion of the second layers and form a DBR structure adjacent the MQW region, wherein the etching does not require illumination and 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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Specification