Patent ID: 7303933

Claim:
A process of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising the steps of: a) forming a stacked structure of a first III-V compound semiconductor layer containing In and having composition different from InP and a second III-V compound semiconductor layer containing In, said second III-V compound semiconductor layer being formed over said first III-V compound semiconductor layer, where said second III-V compound semiconductor layer is disposed above said first III-V compound semiconductor layer; b) growing an InP layer at regions adjacent said stacked structure to form a stepped structure of InP, said stepped structure and said stacked structure together forming a composite structure; and c) wet-etching said composite structure using an enchant containing hydrochloric acid and acetic acid to produce an etched structure; d) second wet-etching said etched structure using a second etchant containing hydrochloric acid and acetic acid to obtain a planarized structure, said second etchant having a composition tailored such that an etching rate of said stepped structure is greater than an etching rate of said second III-V compound semiconductor layer, wherein said second enchant further contains at least one of water and hydrogen peroxide solution.