Patterning of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite by oxygen plasma etching

Abstract

Patterning of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) was demonstrated by oxygen plasma etching of lithographically patterned substrates. Periodic arrays of islands, or holes of several microns on an edge, were obtained on freshly cleaved HOPG surfaces which had been prepared with SiO2 mask stops and then oxygen plasma etched. The etching process is described, including a study of etch rate as a function of rf power, and morphology was characterized with scanning electron microscopy.