Channeling as a mechanism for dry etch damage in GaN

Etch damage of GaN was investigated using a quantum-well probe structure. A clear decrease in photoluminescence (PL) intensity was observed and was aggravated with increasing ion-beam voltage. The magnitude of decrease in PL intensity was much larger than expected, even greater than for GaAs subjected to similar etch conditions. Angle-dependent bombardment studies were carried out to investigate channeling as a damage mechanism in GaN. The large decrease in PL intensity observed near normal incidence or along the [0001] direction suggests that channeling is a damage mechanism for low-energy bombardment in GaN.