Organochloride Chemically Enhanced Focused Ion Beam Micromachining Of Permalloy

In order to reduce the potentially deleterious corrosion effects associated with gases such as Cl-2, I-2, and XeF2, three noncorrosive organochlorides [pentachloroethane (C2HCl5), carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), and tetrachloroethene (C2Cl4)], have been investigated as more ideal chlorine sources for chemically enhanced focused ion beam micromachining (CE-FIBM) of Permalloy (Ni-Fe alloy). C2Cl4 increased the sputter yield of Permalloy by a factor of 2 while reducing micromachining generated topography from several micrometers (FIBM) to less than 100 Angstrom (CE-FIBM). Analysis of material removal rate versus pattern refresh time indicated that material removal occurred via a chemically assisted process. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.