An Ion-Beam Apparatus for the Surface Planarization of Oxide Materials

The ion-beam apparatus described contains two identical wide-aperture sources of oxygen ions with cold hollow cathodes. One of them serves for depositing a thin layer of the target material on the heated surface of the treated sample by the ion sputtering technique (the target is made of the same material as the sample or a material with similar properties). The second source is used to sputter the obtained structure. The apparatus makes it possible to planarize surfaces of oxide materials by successively filling depressions with a layer of the target material and then sputtering this structure over a depth slightly exceeding the depth of the deposited layer. The deposition–sputtering cycles are repeated with a gradual decrease in the deposited layer thickness.