Synchrotron radiation-induced etching of a carbon film in an oxygen gas

Abstract

It was found that a carbon film in an oxygen gas is etched by irradiation of synchrotron radiation (SR). The etching rate was about 3 nm/min for a 100-mA ring current in an oxygen pressure of 26.7 Pa, and it increased in proportion to the square root of the oxygen pressure and the incident SR beam power. An analysis of the etched pattern indicates that the surface excitation induced by SR irradiation plays the predominant role in the described etching reaction.