ICP power/RF power, operating pressure, and Cl-2/BCl3 gas mixing ratio are altered to investigate the effect of input process parameters on the etch characteristics of GaN films. The etch selectivity of GaN over SiO2 and photoresist is studied. Although higher ICP/RF power can obtain higher GaN/photoresist etch selectivity, it can result in faceting of sidewall and weird sidewall profile due to photoresist mask erosion. Etch rates of GaN and SiO2 decrease with the increase of operating pressure, and etch selectivity of GaN over SiO2 increases with the increasing operating pressure at fixed ICP/RF power and mixture component. The highest etch selectivity of GaN over SiO2 is 7.92, and an almost vertical etch profile having an etch rate of GaN close to 845.3 nm/min can be achieved. The surface morphology and root-mean-square roughness of the etched GaN under different etching conditions are evaluated by atomic force microscopy. The plasma-induced damage of GaN is analyzed using photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The optimized etching process, used for mesa formation during the LED fabrication, is presented. The periodic pattern can be transferred into GaN using a combination of Cl-2/BCl3 plasma chemistry and hard mask SiO2. Patterning of the sapphire substrate for fabricating LED with improved extraction efficiency is also possible using the same plasma chemistry. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.