Plasma chemistries for dry etching of NiFe and NiFeCo

Plasma chemistries based on chlorine, bromine, or iodine have been investigated for inductively coupled plasma etching of NiFe and NiFeCo. There is clear evidence of a chemically enhanced etch mechanism with both Cl-2- and I-2-based mixtures, with no enhancement present for Br, chemistries. Etch yields are typically low(less than or equal to 0.25), emphasizing the need for high ion fluxes in order to achieve practical material removal rates.