CH4/H2 plasma etching of IV-VI semiconductor nanostructures

We investigate plasma etching of IV-VI nanostructures using a gas mixture. For various IV-VI compounds we find that the etch rate decreases with the energy band gap. For , in contrast, the etch rate decreases drastically with increasing Eu content. This property can be utilized for selective etching. Furthermore, we demonstrate IV-VI quantum wires with vertical side walls by a combination of laser holography and /Ar plasma etching.