Electrical and optical changes in AlGaAs and InGaP during dielectric etching in ECR SF 6 plasmas

High ion density plasma conditions are found to create severe reductions in carrier density and reduction in photoluminescence intensity in doped AlGaAs and InGaP during exposure to Electron Cyclotron Resonance SF ₆ discharges. These are typical of processes where SiN _x or SiO ₂ are removed from an underlying semiconductor layer, and suggest that conventional reactive ion etching, or alternatively low power or high pressure ECR conditions are necessary to avoid ion-induced damage.