600 mu m/min laser-induced nonthermal etching of GaAs in an HF solution

600 mu m/min room-temperature photochemical aqueous etching of n-type GaAs in an HF acid based solution is reported. This rapid etch rate is achieved under UV illumination and represents more than an order of magnitude enhancement over previously reported results for solutions containing no Hf acid. The process is used to fabricated deep large-area structures such as trench formations and through-wafer via holes which would otherwise be impractical with slower direct-write techniques.