E. Aperathitis et al., Evaluation of reactive ion etching processes for fabrication of integratedGaAs/AlGaAs optoelectronic devices, MAT SCI E B, 80(1-3), 2001, pp. 77-80
Reactive ion etching (RIE) was used for the fabrication of GaAs/AlGaAs opto
electronic devices (laser diodes and photodetectors) for optical interconne
ct applications. Smooth, vertical sidewalls with a smooth surface at the fi
eld were obtained after optimizing RIE conditions in BCl3-formed plasma. Ac
curate in-situ monitoring of the etching process was realized by laser inte
rferometry end-point detection. This led to good process control and reprod
ucibility of the demanding fabrication of the optoelectronic devices. The R
IE etching process did not affect the electrical properties of the device b
y increasing the surface recombination currents. Lasers with etched mirrors
exhibited a threshold current density of 970 A cm(-2), which is one of the
best values ever reported. The feasibility of a simple technology for the
fabrication of optoelectronic circuits, based on a BCl3 RIE process for las
er mirror etching, has been demonstrated. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. Al
l rights reserved.