Abstract
Removing tantalum (Ta) from nickel-iron (NiFe) surface in CF 4/O 2 plasma was first demonstrated to be a more robust process than argon ion milling in preserving and controlling the NiFe magnetic thickness during Ta overetch. A factorial study showed that the NiFe magnetic thickness loss could be further reduced by replacing CF 4 with CHF 3 and reducing O 2 flow. For an optimized CHF 3/CF 4 process, the NiFe magnetic thickness loss for a 100-Å Ta overetch was only 5 Å. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis showed the presence of the fluorocarbon on the CF 4/CHF 3 etched Ta surface and nickel fluoride on the NiFe surface after Ta overetch. A mechanism of removing tantalum with minimum effect on the underlying nickel-iron thin film was also proposed.
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