In Ion Beam Milling (IBM) an inert ion beam is used for pure physical
sputtering of the sample material. This technique is commonly used
for structuring metals or other materials which are not accessible to
chemical etch processes. Reactive Ion Beam Etching (RIBE) uses
reactive process gases to generate a reactive ion beam. Physical
and chemical etch components and related selectivities may be ea sily varied by the energy of the ion beam. Ion beam etching might serve applications difficult to be addressed by common etch technologies.
