Thin Films of Two Functional Oxides Patterned Laterally by Soft Lithography

Thin films of two laterally patterned functional oxides of uniform thickness were obtained in a two-step soft-lithographic micromolding process. CoFe(2)O(4)/ZnO and CoFe(2)O(4)/BaTiO(3) dual-phase patterns were fabricated. The films showed good replication of the pattern that was defined in the first patterning step. X-ray diffraction showed that the films consisted of two distinct phases, and magnetic force microscopy showed that the compounds were laterally separated, the separation pattern being the same as that of the initial soft-lithographic process. The films exhibited slight height variations near the edges of the phases, which were introduced in the first deposition step and were not fully compensated in the second deposition step. The films are sufficiently smooth to allow fabrication of multilayer structures.