Effect of Conditions of Electrochemical Etching on the Morphological, Structural, and Optical Properties of Porous Gallium Arsenide

The properties of porous GaAs samples produced by the electrochemical etching of single-crystal n-GaAs(100) wafers are studied by X-ray diffraction analysis, electron microscopy, and infrared and ultraviolet spectroscopy. It is possible to show that, by choosing the composition of the electrolyte and the conditions of etching, samples can be produced not only with different degrees of porosity and pore sizes (nanopores/micropores), but with another type of sample surface as well. The etching of n-GaAs(100) wafers under the conditions chosen in the study does not change the orientation of the porous layer with respect to the orientation of the single-crystal GaAs(100) substrate. At the same time, etching induces a decrease in the half-width of the diffraction peak compared to that for the initial wafer, a splitting of the phonon mode in the infrared spectra and a partial shift of the components in accordance with the parameters of anodic etching, and a change in the optical properties in the ultraviolet region.