Ion beam projection techniques for locally inducing intermixing in ni-ti thin films

Ion beam projection techniques consist of using an ion beam with a pattern defined by a stencil mask. Features sizes can be below 100 nm. A variety of ions such as Ar, He, or Xe and a wide range of energies are available depending on the desired penetration depth and structural modification. In this paper, we explore the use of ion beam projection to locally modify annealed Ni-Ti thin films by inducing intermixing between an annealed sputter-deposited sub-micron Ni-Ti film and a Ni layer deposited on top. The objective is to alter the composition and transition temperatures of the Ni-Ti according to a pattern defined by the stencil mask. We report preliminary experimental results as well as a simulation of the intermixing process.