PULSED ANODIC ETCHING OF III-V SEMICONDUCTORS FOR CARRIER CONCENTRATION PROFILING

Improved etching uniformity of III-V semiconductors under conditions of minimal electrolyte circulation was achieved by pulsed anodizing at 50 V (constant current) in an electrolyte containing both oxide-forming and oxide-dissolving components. For carrier concentration profiling, the process was modified to operate at 10 V (constant voltage). Profiling of multilayer systems embracing a range of binary, ternary and quaternary compounds indicated that the 10 V process was capable of improved junction resolution over greater etch depths than previously possible with the conventional low-voltage process.