Barium titanate thin films plasma etch rate as a function of the applied RF power and Ar/CF₄ mixture gas mixing ratio

BaTiO 3 (BT) nanocrystalline thin films were plasma etched in the course of several experiments which varied in RF power as well as CF 4 /(CF 4 + Ar) gas‐mixing ratio. The maximum etch rate of approximately 30 nm/min was observed for the maximum power (300 W) and pure Ar plasma atmosphere, which indicates that the process is controlled by the physical mechanism of Ar ion bombardment, while the increasing content of chemically active plasma component (CF 4 ) in the gas mixture slows down barium titanate etch rate. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)