Ion Beam Etching of InP. I. Ar Ion Beam Etching and Fabrication of Grating for Integrated Optics

The Ar ion beam etching (IBE) of InP has been studied in orded to clarify its applicability as a microfabrication technique for devices with submicron geometry such as integrated optics devices. The IBE rate has been determined as a function of ion energy, current density and angle of beam incidence. The crystalline quality of the etched surface has been investigated by electron beam diffraction, Rutherford backscattering and photoluminescence measurements. The etched surface has a polycrystalline phase and recovers to a single crystal after annealing at 500 C. Grating structures with a period of around 2600 A have been fabricated on an InP surface by the Ar-IBE combined with a holographic-photoresist-exposure technique.