Maskless Patterning of Fe3O4 Films by Laser-Enhanced Ferrite Plating

By irradiating glass substrate with an Ar laser (=514.5 nm) beam, Fe3O4 film was deposited in an aqueous solution at rates as high as 2.35 m/min. By synchronously moving the substrate during plating, we successfully drew patterns (letters in the Roman alphabet and dots) of Fe3O4 film by selected-area growth, without the need for a mask. This technique is useful for fabricating fine-patterned film devices (e.g. microwave circulators and isolators), using as substrate such non-heat-resistant materials as GaAs ICs.