Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
9818332 | Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms | 2005 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
With the aim of studying the magnetic properties of reduced-dimensionality magnetic systems we have patterned 250Â nm- and 500Â nm-size square elements on Fe/NiO layers by 30Â keV Ga+ focused ion beam (FIB) milling, varying beam current and pixel dwell time. By high resolution scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis we found that island size decreases from the nominal value by increasing the beam current and features sharpness improves on increasing the dwell time. The top surface of the isolated features has a pronounced edge bending which may be as high as 9Â nm with respect to the flat inner area of the island and decreases as dwell time grows. By varying the ion fluence we found that such a shape is related to a surface swelling effect occurring at low ion fluence in the irradiated areas. The swelling-related damage at the edges is expected to influence the magnetic properties of the patterned features.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Materials Science
Surfaces, Coatings and Films
Authors
G.C. Gazzadi, P. Luches, S.F. Contri, A. di Bona, S. Valeri,