Two stage plasma etching method for enhancement mode GaN HFET

摘要

A two stage plasma etching technique is described that allows the fabrication of an enhancement mode GaN HFET/HEMT. A gate recess area is formed in the Aluminum Gallium Nitride barrier layer of an GaN HFET/HEMT. The gate recess is formed by a two stage etching process. The first stage of the technique uses oxygen to oxidize the surface of the Aluminum Gallium Nitride barrier layer below the gate. Then the second stage uses Boron tricloride to remove the oxidized layer. The result is a self limiting etch process that uniformly thins the Aluminum Gallium Nitride layer below the HFET's gate region such that the two dimensional electron gas is not formed below the gate, thus creating an enhancement mode HFET.