Ion irradiation effect on amorphous WO
3 (a-WO
3) films was studied using thermionic Na
+ ions with accelerating voltages
V=412 kV. These films become insoluble in alkaline solution at values of ion dose beyond a threshold
Dth. Exposure characteristics show that the contrast is considerably higher than that of conventional organic polymer electron-beam resists. The threshold dose, which was almost independent of the film thickness, increased gradually with increasing accelerating voltage of ions (
Dth∝
V2/3). These results were compared with exposure characteristics for electron irradiation reported in the literature. A-WO
3 films are potentially useful as inorganic ion-beam resists.
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