Nanopores in GaN by electrochemical anodization in hydrofluoric acid: Formation and mechanism

We report the use of hydrofluoric acid (HF) as an electrolyte in etching and porosifying GaN. HF is found to be effective in rendering a wide range of nanoporous morphology, from curved branches to highly parallel straight pores. Under suitable conditions, the porosification proceeds at a rate greater than 100 mu m/min. To elucidate the etching mechanism, cyclic voltammetry is performed, together with a parametric mapping of electrolysis variables such as the doping of GaN, the concentration of HF electrolyte, and the anodization voltage. We demonstrate that the formation of nanoporous structures is largely due to the local breakdown of the reverse-biased semiconductor junction. A quantitative agreement between the estimated width of space-charge region and the observed variation in morphology lends support to a depletion layer model developed previously in the etching of porous-Si. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4752259]