Form-birefringence structure fabrication in GaAs by use of SU-8 as a dry-etching mask

A thin layer of a SU-8 submicrometer pattern produced by holographic lithography was directly used as the dry-etching mask in a chemically assisted ion-beam-etching system. With optimized etching parameters, etching selectivity of 7:1 was achieved together with a smooth vertical profile. As an application, a half-wavelength retardation plate for a 1.55-(mu)m wavelength was produced and evaluated.