Patent ID: 6767475
Filing Date: 2004-07-27
Classification: C23C,H01J,H01L

Abstract:
A surface planarization process for planarizing vacuum-grown thin films, the process comprising the steps of:depositing a thin layer of silicon dioxide onto a near-atomically flat fused silica substrate; depositing approximately a 1-10 nanometer thick first layer of amorphous diamond-like carbon onto the silicon dioxide; directing a well-focused oxygen ion beam onto the carbon coated silicon dioxide at near grazing incidence; rastering the ion beam in a sweeping fashion to allow interaction with only the carbon which protrudes above average surface height, the rastering being continued until a top layer of carbon is reduced to the level of the highest peaks in the thin film; depositing a thin layer of a titanium dioxide onto the carbon coated silicon dioxide; depositing approximately a one-nanometer thick second layer of amorphous carbon onto the titanium dioxide; directing a well-focused oxygen ion beam onto the carbon coated titanium dioxide at near-grazing incidence; rastering the ion beam in a sweeping fashion to allow interaction with only the carbon which protrudes above average surface height, the rastering being continued until a top layer of carbon is reduced to the level of the highest peaks of the thin film; and, repeating the process at least once.