Chemical Polishing of II-VI Compounds

The chemical polishing of the anion face of ZnO, ZnS, CdSe, and ZnTe and the cation face of CdSe and ZnTe with bromine dissolved in methanol has been accomplished. The etch rates of the bromine-methanol solution on the anion and cation faces of BeO, ZnO, ZnS, CdS, CdSe, ZnTe, and InSb have been measured at room temperature. An empirical relationship between the etch rates of the bromine-methanol solution and the difference of the electronegativity of the component elements has been found.