Etching of GaAs (100) with gaseous H/CH3 mixtures

GaAs (100) wafers were etched in mixtures of hydrogen atoms and methyl radicals. The atoms were formed in a remote hydrogen plasma, and a fraction of these were converted into methyl radicals by introducing methane into the flow system upstream from the semiconductor surface. The flux of hydrogen atoms into the reaction chamber was determined by isothermal calorimetry. The methyl radical flux passing over the substrate was then calculated using previously determined rate parameters for the reaction between atomic hydrogen and methane, and a simple modeling program. The GaAs etch rates were about an order of magnitude faster when methyl radicals were present in the hydrogen atom stream, and were found to follow a first‐order dependence on the partial pressure of methyl radicals. Absolute rate constants were determined and an Arrhenius activation energy of 1.2 kcal mol−1 was calculated. The values of k and Ea are consistent with a diffusion‐controlled process. SEM photographs of the surface revealed small crystallographic features that made the surface appear very rough. XPS analysis indicated that these surfaces were arsenic deficient. A mechanism is proposed for the etching of GaAs by a combination of methyl radicals and hydrogen atoms. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.