Reactive ion etching of ZnSe by gas mixture of ethane and hydrogen

Abstract

ZnSe epitaxial layers grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy were etched by reactive ion etching (RIE) with a gas mixture of ethane and hydrogen (C2H6/H2). Smooth etching surfaces were obtained under the following RIE conditions: an ethane concentration (flow fraction) of 3%, total flow (C2H6+H2) of 55 sccm, total pressure of 15 Pa and radio frequency power density of 0.6 W/cm2. This ethane concentration is smaller than that in III–V semiconductors, 5%–7%. The etching rate of ZnSe was 21 nm/min and smaller than that of III–V semiconductors.