Hughes Aircraft Company

Rockwell International Corporation

Sam Chung

Liping D Hou

Tom Y Chi

Michael T Elliott

Tom Quach

Kunihide Tanaka

Danny Li

Kusol Lee

David M Warren

Mary F'Mayer

James Pau

Linda Gray

Karen Finch

A unique photoresist process is provided which achieves clean and complete lift-off of a thin film layer such as a sputtered thin film formed on a photoresist which is formed above a semiconductor substrate. The process of the present invention relies on a reentrant photoresist profile which breaks the continuity of the thin film layer. Accordingly, the process of the present invention ensures a clean lift-off. The desired photoresist profile which breaks the continuity of the thin film layer can be obtained by a typical photoresist process preceded by an oxidation process that takes place on the surface of the semiconductor substrate. The oxidation process provides a thin native oxide layer with thickness ranging from about 30 to 50 .ANG.. No extra processing steps involving dielectric film deposition and etch are required to achieve clean lift-off. Nevertheless, the process of the present invention ensures the clean lift-off of the thin film layer. Accordingly, the process of the present invention provides good visual and electrical yields.

Process for providing clean lift-off of sputtered thin film layers

A method of fabricating a bubble domain device composite structure on a substrate of depositing a barrier layer of a suitable polymeric dielectric material on the substrate; subsequently depositing a layer of electrically conductive material thereover; subsequently depositing a spacer layer of a liquid polymeric dielectric material over the conductive layer; processing the spacer layer so that the surface of the spacer layer is substantially planar; and subsequently depositing a layer of a magnetically operative material over the spacer layer.

Method of fabrication of planar bubble domain device structures

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Costa Mesa, CA, United States of America

Sam Chung