Analytic models and parametric investigations of IBE and RIE mechanisms for GaAs compounds

This work introduces a comprehensive analytic model of the sputtering mechanism present in ion beam etching and reactive ion etching processes. Our final objective is to correlate the etch rate to the plasma reactor parameters. Experimental verifications for GaAs etching show a good agreement for ion beam etching. In the case of reactive ion etching, the imperfect agreement is explained by the influence of effects such as flow rate and temperature not taken into account in the theoretical approach. We also present parametric investigations of GaAs etched in SiCl 4 plasma.