Inverse metal-assisted chemical etching of indium phosphide with sub-20 nm scalability

Metal-assisted chemical etching (MacEtch), a wet etching method developed in 2000, has been the focus of extensive research in the area of semiconductor nanotechnology for the last decade, mainly in Si. In principle, MacEtch can be applicable to the other semiconductors if there exists a significant etch rate difference between the areas with and without the metal coverage. Due to this, MacEtch has recently attracted much attention in extending this technique to III-V semiconductors such as GaAs, GaN, and InP. This thesis demonstrates uniform array-based InP nanostructures with lateral dimensions as small as sub-20 nm using inverse metal-assisted chemical etching (I-MacEtch), a purely solution-based yet anisotropic etching method. The type and geometry of the metal catalyst as well as etchant ratio and concentration are explored to achieve various InP nanostructure features. Unique to I-MacEtch, the sidewall etching profile is remarkably smooth, independent of metal pattern edge roughness. The capability of this simple method to create various InP nanostructures can potentially enable an aggressive scaling of InP based transistors and optoelectronic devices with better performance and at lower cost than conventional etching methods.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Electrical & Computer Engr

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Kim, Seung Hyun

Contributors dc:contributor

• Li, Xiuling

• Indium Phosphide (InP)
• metal-assisted chemical etching (MacEtch)
• nanowires
• nanostructures

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2014 Seung Hyun Kim

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/49653

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/49653