Laser Assisted Focused Electron Beam Induced Etching

Researchers from Oak Ridge National Lab and University of Tennessee explored laser assisted focused electron beam induced etching of titanium with xenon difluoride using the Waviks Vesta. Their work was published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

Figure 1. Schematic diagrams of (a) focused electron-beam-induced etching and (b) laser-assisted focused electron-beam-induced etching of Ti with an XeF2 precursor. In both processes the electron beam stimulates the XeF2 dissociation which subsequently reacts and forms predominantly volatile TiF4 species. Notably, the laser process facilitates the TiF4 production and thus the etch rate. Not illustrated is enhanced surface diffusion transport of the precursor to the reaction zone.

In order to enhance the etch rate of electron-beam-induced etching, the researchers used a laser-assisted focused electron-beam-induced etching (LA-FEBIE) process which is a versatile, direct write nanofabrication method that allows nanoscale patterning and editing. The results demonstrate that the titanium electron stimulated etch rate via the XeF₂ precursor can be enhanced up to a factor of 6 times with an intermittent pulsed laser assist.

Reference:

DOI: 10.1021/am508443s