Focused ion beam patterning of diamondlike carbon films

For applications of diamondIike carbon films in optics, microelectronics an d other fields; it is in some cases necessary to form submicron size patter ns. A finely focused beam of 50 keV Ga+ ions was used to mill various patte rns in amorphous carbon films prepared by a pulsed cathodic are discharge m ethod. The trenches with width down, to 30 nm and depth-to-width ratios up to 25 have been milled. The minimum trench width down to 20 mm has been ach ieved, The nanotips with a radius down to 35-40 nm were fabricated. The inf luence of the focused ion beam parameters on the film's surface modificatio n as well as on the shape of fabricated pattern elements is discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.