Etching Behaviors of Sapphire's C- Plane Cavity.

• reveal the etching behavior and kinetics of cavity on c-plane of crystalline sapphire. • observed unexpected regular shape of etched cavity with 15 faceted planes. • revealed the Arrhenius type etching kinetics of cavity, demonstrating the step flow etching mechanism working there. Techniques to fabricate patterned sapphire substrates (PSSs) have attracted much attention in recent decades. Wet etching behaviors and crystalline sapphire processes are critical for PSSs applications to improve the performance of light-emitting diodes. This study investigated the shape evolution behaviors and associated kinetics of cavities on the c-{0001} plane in crystalline sapphire during wet etching. It was revealed that wet etching reduces the cavity aspect ratio, and the cavity shape is a complicated structure constructed by 15 faceted planes of c-{0001}, r-{1 1 ¯ 02}, p-{11 2 ¯ 3}, m-{10 1 ¯ 0}, and s-{1 1 ¯ 01} families. A constant etching rate was demonstrated, suggesting the step flow mechanism of etching. The etching activation energy of crystalline sapphire is reduced by preformation of cavities as elucidated by the Arrhenius kinetic model followed during the etching process. This study provides new insight into wet etching behaviors of crystalline sapphire and might open up a way for fabricating sapphire substrate with large aspect ratio patterns. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]