ANALYSIS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF LARGE AREA SURFACE-TOPOGRAPHY DURING ION ETCHING

The model, considering the lateral displacement and collective behaviour (annihilation) of surface macrosteps together with the dependence of the local etching rate on the material properties, is proved to be able to predict the development of the surface topography at various etching parameters (incidence angle of the ion beam, static or rotating sample, sputtering gas)1,2. The model has been applied for single crystalline (Si, Al) and polycrystalline (Ti, Cu) materials. The effect of sample rotation and rocking on the topographical development is discussed in dependence on the ion beam incidence angle. It is shown that surface polishing can be achieved for all kinds of samples using adequate parameters; however, there is a limit for the smoothness depending on the sample material and sputtering gas. © 1990.