| US 7,611,911 B2 | ||
| Method and system for patterning of magnetic thin films using gaseous transformation to transform a magnetic portion to a non-magnetic portion | ||
| David William Abraham, Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y. (US); and Eugene John O'Sullivan, Nyack, N.Y. (US) | ||
| Assigned to International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y. (US) | ||
| Filed on Oct. 08, 2003, as Appl. No. 10/680,260. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2005/0079647 A1, Apr. 14, 2005 | ||
| Int. Cl. H01L 21/00 (2006.01); G11B 5/64 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 438—3 [257/E21.663; 428/694 TF] | 17 Claims |
| 1. A method of patterning a magnetic thin film, comprising:
transforming a portion of the magnetic thin film to be non-magnetic and electrically insulating using a chemical transformation,
said chemical transformation comprises using a reactive plasma comprising a combination of a fluorine-based gas and a bromide-containing
gas,
wherein said reactive plasma includes 5% to 10% bromide,
wherein said portion of said magnetic thin film comprises NiFe and said transforming comprises transforming said NiFe to a
fluorine-containing film, and
wherein said fluorine-containing film is electrically insulating.
|