Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T16:51:13.091Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chemically Enhanced Focused Ion Beam Selective Patterning of Titanium, Titanium Oxide and Nitride Thin Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2011

Andrei Stanishevsky
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Alabama at Birmingham, Physics, 1300 University Blvd, Campbell Hall #310, Birmingham, AL, 35294, United States
John Melngailis
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, 20742, United States
Get access

Abstract

Focused ion beams (FIBs) provide maskless prototyping of 2-D and 3-D micro- and nano-structures for many applications in optics, electronics, and medicine. In many situations, the chemical enhancement of the FIB sputtering process is used to increase the selectivity and removal rate of different materials.

In this study, Ti, TiO2, and TiN thin films of different origin were patterned using Ga+ FIB without or with chemical enhancement (or gas assisted etching, GAE). The effects of ion beam parameters and gas ambient on the sputtering yields, etching selectivity, roughening at the film/substrate interface, sub-micron and nano-scale patterning of these materials were investigated.

Several gases, including XeF2, CO2, chlorine, bromine, and oxygen, were employed. The largest increase of the sputtering yield was achieved with XeF2 gas, whereas CO2 and oxygen depleted the sputtering rate. Among all gases tested, the Br2 FIB GAE produced the best uniformity of the material removal. It was found that the use of bromine gas provides the best selectivity between the titanium oxide and pure titanium or its nitride.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Ultaut, M., ‘Focused ion beams’, in Handbook of charged particle optics, CRC Press LLC, 1997 pp. 429465.Google Scholar
2. Melngailis, J., J.Vac. Sci. Technol. B 5, 469 (1987).Google Scholar
3. Harriott, L.R., Nucl. Instr. Meth. Phys. Res. B 55, 802 (1991).Google Scholar
4. Edinger, K., "Focused Ion Beams for Direct Writing", in Direct Write Technologies for Rapid Prototyping // A., Pique and D., Chrisey (Eds), Academic Press, San Diego, 2002, pp. 347383.Google Scholar
5. Stanishevsky, A., “Focused Ion Beam Nanofabrication”, in Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Edited by Nalwa, H. S., American Scientific Publishers, Los Angeles (2004), Vol.3, pp. 469483.Google Scholar
6. Casey, J.D., Doyle, A. F., Lee, R.G., Stewart, D. K., and Zimmermann, H., Microelec. Eng. 24, 43 (1994).Google Scholar
7. Young, R.J., Cleaver, J.R.A. and Ahmed, H., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 11, 234 (1993).Google Scholar
8. Stark, T.J., Griffis, D.P., and Russell, P.E., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 14, 3990 (1996).Google Scholar
9. Stanishevsky, A., Thin Solid Films 398–399, 560 (2001).Google Scholar
10. Stanishevsky, A., Edinger, K., Orloff, J., Melngailis, J., Stewart, D., Williams, A., and Clark, R., J.Vac.Sci.Technol. B 21, 3067 (2003).Google Scholar
11. Kim, N.Y., Son, Y.B., Oh, J.H., Hwangbo, C.K., and Park, M.C., Surf. Coat. Technol. 128, 156 (2000).Google Scholar
12. Jun, B.H., Han, S.S., Kim, K.S., Lee, J.S., Jiang, Z.T., Bae, B.S., No, K., Kim, D.W., Kang, H.Y., and Koh, Y.B., Appl. Optics 36, 1482 (1997).Google Scholar
13. Nagarajan, V., Stanishevsky, A., and Ramesh, R., Ferroelectric nanostructures via a modified focused ion beam technique, Nanotechnology 17, 338 (2006).Google Scholar
14. Matsui, Y., Torii, K., Kushida, K., Miki, H., Fujisaki, Y., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 36, 1586 (1997).Google Scholar
15. Chang, T.C., Liu, P.T., Yang, Y.L., Hu, J.C., and Sze, S.M., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 39, L82 (2000).Google Scholar
16. Madore, C., and Landolt, D., J. Micromech. Microeng. 7, 270 (1997).Google Scholar
17. Liang, T., Stivers, A., Livengood, R., Yan, P.-Y., Zhang, G., and Lo, F.-C., J.Vac. Sci. Technol. B 18 (2000) 3216.Google Scholar