Crystallographic Effects on the Photoelectrochemical Etching of Gratings in Compound Semiconductors

Grooves have been etched photoelectrochemically into a (100) n-GaAs surface using a 100 cycle/mm grating mask to define the illuminated area. The degree of mask undercutting and the shape of the groove bottom are shown to be functions of doping density and crystallographic orientation. High doping density gives rise to reduced undercutting, presumably due to a lesser extent of surface diffusion of photogenerated holes.