The different parameters used to describe the evolution of a step under ion-beam etching are first defined. Then the properties of three different classes of masking materials are compared. It is concluded that the resists are not a useful high-definition mask. Titanium and vanadium etched in an oxygen partial pressure give best results. Carbon is proposed as a third very interesting masking material due to the fact that its etching rate is high when bombarded with oxygen ions but low when bombarded with argon ions. The last part deals with the influence of ion-beam incidence on the effective masking properties. Two examples are given: low periodicity gratings and overetching suppression at the bottom of steep edges.
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M. Cantagrel (1975) studied this question.