MRI: Acquisition of Multi-Material Dry Etcher for Nanophotonics

这笔重大研究仪器(MRI)赠款用于支持新墨西哥大学高科技材料中心(CHTM)购买电感耦合等离子体(ICP)蚀刻机。电感耦合等离子体允许在各种半导体上刻蚀尺寸从微米到纳米的精确图案。在半导体上蚀刻这种图案的能力是实现先进半导体器件的关键。光子器件是这类器件中的重要一类，包括高效太阳能电池、发光二极管、激光二极管和热/夜视传感器。电感耦合等离子体刻蚀机将在一个多用户洁净室设施内运行，该洁净室设施在研究卓越、开放和包容方面有着良好的记录。该工具还将在先进半导体加工技术的本科生和研究生教育中发挥关键作用。新墨西哥大学是一所西班牙裔服务机构，因此，来自代表性不足群体的相当数量的学生将受益于这一能力。国际比较方案还将用于现有的国家科学基金本科生研究经验(REU)和国家科学基金教师研究经验(RET)项目。电感耦合等离子体刻蚀机将能够刻蚀范围广泛的III-V半导体，包括氮化物、磷化物、砷化物和锑化物。通过单独优化离子能量、等离子体密度和高达约200摄氏度的工艺温度，可以实现可控和可重复的蚀刻。电感耦合等离子体将包括各种工艺气体，如SF6、BCL3、He、CH4、H2、Ar、O2和SiCl4，以提供广泛的蚀刻能力。将立即受到影响的创新研究包括：基于锑的光伏和热光伏电池、下一代光刻加工、基于GaN的发光二极管、激光二极管、电力电子、超高速注入锁定InP基环形激光器、以及由量子点和应变层锑超晶格制造的中波到长波焦平面阵列。此外，三个NSF工程研究中心(ERC)，即智能照明ERC，量子能源和可持续太阳能技术ERC(QESST)和用于移动计算和能源技术纳米制造系统的纳米系统ERC(NERC)，将直接受益于这笔赠款和ICP蚀刻机的供应。

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant supports the acquisition of an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etcher at the University of New Mexico's Center for High Technology Materials (CHTM). The ICP allows for the etching of precise patterns, with dimensions ranging from microns to nanometers, on a wide variety of semiconductors. The ability to etch such patterns on semiconductors is key to the realization of advanced semiconductor devices. Photonic devices are an important class of such devices; these include high efficiency solar cells, light-emitting diodes, laser diodes and thermal/night vision sensors. The ICP etcher will be operated within a multi-user cleanroom facility that has a demonstrated track record of research excellence, openness and inclusion. The tool will also play a critical role in the education of undergraduate and graduate students in advanced semiconductor processing technology. The University of New Mexico is a Hispanic Serving Institution and hence a significant numbers of students from underrepresented groups will benefit from this capability. The ICP will also be used in existing NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) and NSF Research Experience for Teachers (RET) programs based at UNM. The ICP etcher will be able to etch a wide range of III-V semiconductors, including nitrides, phosphides, arsenides and antimonides. Etching can be done controllably and reproducibly by enabling separate optimization of the ion energy, plasma density, and process temperature up to approximately 200 degrees Celsius. The ICP will include a variety of process gases such as SF6, BCL3, He, CH4, H2, Ar, O2, and SiCl4 to offer a broad range of etching capabilities. The innovative research that will be immediately impacted includes: antimonide-based photovoltaic and thermophotovoltaic cells, next generation lithography processing, GaN based light-emitting diodes, laser diodes, power electronics, ultra-high-speed injection-locked InP-based ring lasers, and mid-wave to long-wave focal plane arrays manufactured from quantum dots and strain-layer antimonide superlattices. Also, three NSF Engineering Research Centers (ERCs), namely the Smart Lighting ERC, the ERC for Quantum Energy and Sustainable Solar Technologies (QESST) and the Nanosystems ERC (NERC) for Nanomanufacturing Systems for Mobile Computing and Energy Technologies (NASCENT), will directly benefit from this grant and availability of the ICP etcher.