I would be interested to know if O2 could etch gold under any conditions
save ion milling.

I don't believe Au forms any oxide, hence it is a "noble" metal.

Oxygen with a very low atomic weight would be a poor element to use to
sputter it.

Even if there was some transitory AuOx species, I would think it would
have low volatility.

I would guess the etch rate would be zero under most conditions.

If it isn't zero, I would be very curious to know how oxygen could etch
gold.

Ed

-----Original Message-----
From: mems-talk-bounces@memsnet.org
[mailto:mems-talk-bounces@memsnet.org] On Behalf Of Hakemi, Ghazal
Sent: Monday, October 13, 2008 3:41 AM
To: mems-talk@memsnet.org
Subject: [mems-talk] RIE gold etch rate

Dear All,

Does anybody know roughly what the etch rate of Au in oxygen RIE should be?
What parameters can I change to minimize Au etch rate: pressure, flow, power?

Best regards.

Miss Ghazal Hakemi
PhD Student