Fabrication and characterization of dry and wet etched InGaAs/InGaAsP/InP long wavelength semiconductor lasers
Optics Express, Vol. 10, Issue 13, pp. 530-535 (2002)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.10.000530
Acrobat PDF (147 KB)
Abstract
This paper presents fabrication and characterization of ridge waveguide InGaAs/InGaAsP/InP lasers with an operating wavelength of 1.5µm using reactive ion etching (RIE), chemically assisted ion beam etching (CAIBE) and wet etching techniques. Characterization results of the lasers with 2μm-wide waveguides are given of the two etching methods comparatively using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), L-I-V (Light-current-voltage) and spectral measurement techniques. Additionally, a comparison of wet and RIE etched lasers with 20μm-wide waveguide is also discussed. Highly smooth (2.1±0.4nm rms surface roughness) and vertical (~90°) structures are obtained using RIE, in which the 2μm-wide fabricated devices exhibit better performance over the CAIBE etched ones.
© 2002 Optical Society of America
[Optical Society of America ]
1. Introduction
J. W. Lee, J. Hong, C. R. Abernathy, E. S. Lambers, S. J. Pearton, W. S. Hobson, and F. Ren, “Cl2/Ar plasma etching of binary, ternary, and quaternary In- based compound semiconductors,” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 14, 2567–2573C (1996). [CrossRef]
S. Allen and P. Silverberg, “Methane-hydrogen III-V metal-organic reactive ion etching,” Semiconductor Sci. Tech. 6, 287–289 (1991). [CrossRef]
C. S. Whelan, T. E. Kazior, and K. Y. Hur, “High rate CH4:H2 plasma etch processes for InP,” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 15, 1728–1732 (1997). [CrossRef]
Y. Yuba, K. Gamo, H. Toba, X. G. He, and S. Namba, “Ion beam etching of InP. I. Ar ion beam etching and fabrication of grating for integrated circuits,” Jap. J. of Appl. Phys. 22, 1206–1210 (1983). [CrossRef]
R. A. Mikhnev, S. K. Shtandel, M. I. Martynov, and E. D. Olshanskii, “How ion-beam etching affects the surface quality of optical articles,” J. of Optical Technology 66, 1032–1034 (1999). [CrossRef]
W. Katzschner, U. Niggebrugge, R. Lofflerr, and H. Schroter-Janssen, “Reactive ion beam etching of InP with N2 and N2/O2 mixtures,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 48, 230–232 (1986). [CrossRef]
F. Frost, A. Schindler, and F. Bigl, “Reactive ion beam etching of InSb and InAs with ultrasmooth surfaces”, Semiconductor Science and Tech. 13, 523–527 (1998). [CrossRef]
J. Daleiden, K. Czotscher, C. Hoffmann, R. Kiefer, S. Klussmann, S. Muller, A. Nutsch, W. Pletschen, S. Weisser, G. Trankle, J. Braunstein, and G. Weimann, “Sidewall slope control of chemically assisted ion-beam etched structures in InP-based materials,” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 16, 1864–1866 (1998) [CrossRef]
J. E. Schramm, D. I. Babic, E. L. Hu, J. E. Bowers, and J. L. Merz, “Fabrication of high-aspect-ratio InP-based vertical-cavity laser mirrors using CH4/H2/O2/Ar reactive ion etching,” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 15, 2031–2036 (1997). [CrossRef]
N. Nunoya, M. Makamura, M. Morshed, S. Tamura, and S. Arai, “High-performance 1.55μm wavelength GaInAsP-InP distributed-feedback lasers with wirelike active regions,” IEEE J. Selected Topics in Q. Elec 7, 249–258 (2001). [CrossRef]
C. S. Sundararaman, H. Lafontaine, S. Poulin, A. Mouton, and J. F. Currie, “Reactive sputtering of InP in N2and N2/O2 plasmas,” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 9, 1433–1439 (1991). [CrossRef]
C. F. Calstrom, G. Landgren, and S. Anand, “Low energy ion beam etching of InP using methane chemistry,” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 16, 1018–1023 (1998). [CrossRef]
C. F. Calstrom, G. Landgren, and S. Anand, “Low energy ion beam etching of InP using methane chemistry,” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 16, 1018–1023 (1998). [CrossRef]
B. Cakmak and I. H. White, “Ion beam and chemically assisted ion beam etching of InP with anisotropic and smooth structures,” Semicond. Sci. Technol 16, 139–146 (2001). [CrossRef]
C. F. Calstrom, G. Landgren, and S. Anand, “Low energy ion beam etching of InP using methane chemistry,” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 16, 1018–1023 (1998). [CrossRef]
C. F. Calstrom, G. Landgren, and S. Anand, “Low energy ion beam etching of InP using methane chemistry,” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 16, 1018–1023 (1998). [CrossRef]
2. Experiment
2.1 Material structure
2.2 Fabrication of InGaAs/InGaAsP/InP lasers using RIE and CAIBE
S. Yu, P. Heard, B. Cakmak, R. V. Penty, and I.H. White, “Surface diagnostics of dry etched III-V semiconductor samples using focused ion beam and secondary ion mass spectrometry (FIB-SIMS),” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 17, 3080–3084 (1999). [CrossRef]
| RIE | CAIBE | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| RF power | 400W | Acceleration voltage | 850V |
| DC self bias voltage | 500V | Discharge current | 40mA |
| CH4/H2 | 10/20sccm | CH4/H2 | 0.5/4.5sccm |
| Base pressure | 0.5mTorr | Base pressure | 10-6Torr |
| Ion incidence angle | 20° | ||
2.3 Fabrication of InGaAs/InGaAsP/InP lasers using wet etching
3. Results and discussion
3.1 SEM and AFM measurements of the fabricated devices
3.2 L-I-V characteristics of the fabricated lasers etched by RIE, CAIBE and wet chemical
| ηin(%) | Jth(A/cm2) | αi (cm-1) | Turn-on voltage (V) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wet etched | 18.4 | 1450 | 10.4 | 1.4 |
| RIE etched | 26 | 1625 | 14 | 1.3 |
4. Summary and conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
D. E. Ibbotson and D. L. Flamm, “Plasma etching for III-V compound devices.2,” Solid State Tech. 31, 105 (1988). | |
J. W. Lee, J. Hong, C. R. Abernathy, E. S. Lambers, S. J. Pearton, W. S. Hobson, and F. Ren, “Cl2/Ar plasma etching of binary, ternary, and quaternary In- based compound semiconductors,” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 14, 2567–2573C (1996). [CrossRef] | |
S. Allen and P. Silverberg, “Methane-hydrogen III-V metal-organic reactive ion etching,” Semiconductor Sci. Tech. 6, 287–289 (1991). [CrossRef] | |
C. S. Whelan, T. E. Kazior, and K. Y. Hur, “High rate CH4:H2 plasma etch processes for InP,” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 15, 1728–1732 (1997). [CrossRef] | |
Y. Yuba, K. Gamo, H. Toba, X. G. He, and S. Namba, “Ion beam etching of InP. I. Ar ion beam etching and fabrication of grating for integrated circuits,” Jap. J. of Appl. Phys. 22, 1206–1210 (1983). [CrossRef] | |
R. A. Mikhnev, S. K. Shtandel, M. I. Martynov, and E. D. Olshanskii, “How ion-beam etching affects the surface quality of optical articles,” J. of Optical Technology 66, 1032–1034 (1999). [CrossRef] | |
W. Katzschner, U. Niggebrugge, R. Lofflerr, and H. Schroter-Janssen, “Reactive ion beam etching of InP with N2 and N2/O2 mixtures,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 48, 230–232 (1986). [CrossRef] | |
F. Frost, A. Schindler, and F. Bigl, “Reactive ion beam etching of InSb and InAs with ultrasmooth surfaces”, Semiconductor Science and Tech. 13, 523–527 (1998). [CrossRef] | |
J. Daleiden, K. Czotscher, C. Hoffmann, R. Kiefer, S. Klussmann, S. Muller, A. Nutsch, W. Pletschen, S. Weisser, G. Trankle, J. Braunstein, and G. Weimann, “Sidewall slope control of chemically assisted ion-beam etched structures in InP-based materials,” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 16, 1864–1866 (1998) [CrossRef] | |
G. Vollrath, A. Schlachetzki, and F. Fiedler, “Ion-beam milling of InGaAsP alloys with N2/O2-mixtures,” Jap. J. of Appl. Phys. Part 1-Regular Papers Short Notes & Review Papers , 37, 1715–1720 (1998) | |
J. E. Schramm, D. I. Babic, E. L. Hu, J. E. Bowers, and J. L. Merz, “Fabrication of high-aspect-ratio InP-based vertical-cavity laser mirrors using CH4/H2/O2/Ar reactive ion etching,” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 15, 2031–2036 (1997). [CrossRef] | |
N. Nunoya, M. Makamura, M. Morshed, S. Tamura, and S. Arai, “High-performance 1.55μm wavelength GaInAsP-InP distributed-feedback lasers with wirelike active regions,” IEEE J. Selected Topics in Q. Elec 7, 249–258 (2001). [CrossRef] | |
C. S. Sundararaman, H. Lafontaine, S. Poulin, A. Mouton, and J. F. Currie, “Reactive sputtering of InP in N2and N2/O2 plasmas,” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 9, 1433–1439 (1991). [CrossRef] | |
C. F. Calstrom, G. Landgren, and S. Anand, “Low energy ion beam etching of InP using methane chemistry,” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 16, 1018–1023 (1998). [CrossRef] | |
B. Cakmak and I. H. White, “Ion beam and chemically assisted ion beam etching of InP with anisotropic and smooth structures,” Semicond. Sci. Technol 16, 139–146 (2001). [CrossRef] | |
S. Yu, P. Heard, B. Cakmak, R. V. Penty, and I.H. White, “Surface diagnostics of dry etched III-V semiconductor samples using focused ion beam and secondary ion mass spectrometry (FIB-SIMS),” J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 17, 3080–3084 (1999). [CrossRef] | |
W. Katzschner, A. Steckenborn, R. Loffler, and N. Grote, “Ion beam milling of InP with an Ar/O2 -gasmixture,” Appl. Phys. Lett 44, 352–354 (1984). [CrossRef] | |
J. Gowar, Optical communication systems (Prentice Hall International Ltd., Hertfordshire U.K, 1993), Chap. 19. |
OCIS Codes
(120.6660) Instrumentation, measurement, and metrology : Surface measurements, roughness
(140.5960) Lasers and laser optics : Semiconductor lasers
(180.5810) Microscopy : Scanning microscopy
(220.4000) Optical design and fabrication : Microstructure fabrication
(300.6210) Spectroscopy : Spectroscopy, atomic
ToC Category:
Research Papers
History
Original Manuscript: February 14, 2002
Revised Manuscript: June 17, 2002
Published: July 1, 2002
Citation
Bulent Cakmak, "Fabrication and characterization of dry and wet etched InGaAs/InGaAsP/InP long wavelength semiconductor lasers," Opt. Express 10, 530-535 (2002)
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-10-13-530
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References
- D. E. Ibbotson and D. L. Flamm, �??Plasma etching for III-V compound devices.2,�?? Solid State Tech. 31, 105 (1988).
- J. W. Lee, J. Hong, C. R. Abernathy, E. S. Lambers, S. J. Pearton, W. S. Hobson and F. Ren, �??Cl2/Ar plasma etching of binary, ternary, and quaternary In- based compound semiconductors,�?? J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 14, 2567-2573C (1996). [CrossRef]
- S. Allen and P. Silverberg, �??Methane-hydrogen III-V metal-organic reactive ion etching,�?? Semiconductor Sci. Tech. 6, 287-289 (1991). [CrossRef]
- C. S.Whelan, T. E. Kazior andK. Y. Hur, �??High rate CH4:H2 plasma etch processes for InP,�?? J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 15, 1728-1732 (1997). [CrossRef]
- Y. Yuba, K. Gamo, H. Toba, X. G. He and S. Namba, �??Ion beametching of InP. I. Ar ion beametching and fabrication of grating for integrated circuits,�?? Jap. J. of Appl. Phys. 22, 1206-1210 (1983). [CrossRef]
- R. A. Mikhnev, S. K. Shtandel, M. I. Martynov and E. D. Olshanskii, �??How ion-beam etching affects the surface quality of optical articles,�?? J. of Optical Technology 66, 1032-1034 (1999). [CrossRef]
- W. Katzschner, U. Niggebrugge, R. Lofflerr and H. Schroter-Janssen, �??Reactive ion beam etching of InP with N2 and N2/O2 mixtures,�?? Appl. Phys. Lett. 48, 230-232 (1986). [CrossRef]
- F. Frost, A. Schindler and F. Bigl, �??Reactive ion beam etching of InSb and InAs with ultrasmooth surfaces,�?? Semiconductor Science and Tech. 13, 523-527 (1998). [CrossRef]
- J. Daleiden, K. Czotscher, C. Hoffmann, R. Kiefer, S. Klussmann, S.Muller, A. Nutsch, W. Pletschen, S. Weisser, G. Trankle, J. Braunstein and G. Weimann, �??Sidewall slope control of chemically assisted ionbeam etched structures in InP-based materials,�?? J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 16, 1864-1866 (1998) [CrossRef]
- G. Vollrath, A. Schlachetzki and F. Fiedler, �??Ion-beam milling of InGaAsP alloys with N2/O2-mixtures,�?? Jap. J. of Appl. Phys. Part 1-Regular Papers Short Notes & Review Papers 37, 1715-1720 (1998)
- J. E. Schramm, D. I. Babic, E. L. Hu, J. E. Bowers and J. L. Merz, �??Fabrication of high-aspect-ratio InPbased vertical-cavity laser mirrors using CH4/H2/O2/Ar reactive ion etching,�?? J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 15, 2031-2036 (1997). [CrossRef]
- N. Nunoya, M. Makamura, M. Morshed, S. Tamura and S. Arai, �??High-performance 1.55m wavelength GaInAsP-InP distributed-feedback lasers with wirelike active regions,�?? IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron. 7, 249-258 (2001). [CrossRef]
- C. S. Sundararaman, H. Lafontaine, S. Poulin, A. Mouton and J. F. Currie, �??Reactive sputtering of InP in N2 and N2 /O2 plasmas,�?? J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 9, 1433-1439 (1991). [CrossRef]
- C. F. Calstrom, G. Landgren and S. Anand, �??Low energy ion beam etching of InP using methane chemistry,�?? J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 16, 1018-1023 (1998). [CrossRef]
- B. Cakmak and I. H. White, �??Ion beam and chemically assisted ion beam etching of InP with anisotropic and smooth structures,�?? Semicond. Sci. Technol. 16, 139-146 (2001). [CrossRef]
- S. Yu, P. Heard, B. Cakmak, R. V. Penty and I.H. White, �??Surface diagnostics of dry etched III-V semiconductor samples using focused ion beam and secondary ion mass spectrometry (FIB-SIMS),�?? J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B 17, 3080-3084 (1999). [CrossRef]
- W. Katzschner, A. Steckenborn, R. Loffler and N. Grote, �??Ion beam milling of InP with an Ar/O2 �??gas mixture,�?? Appl. Phys. Lett. 44, 352-354 (1984). [CrossRef]
- J. Gowar, Optical communication systems (Prentice Hall International Ltd., Hertfordshire U.K, 1993), Chap. 19.
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