Method of preventing short circuits in magnetic film stacks

摘要

A method for preventing electrical short circuits in a multi-layer magnetic film stack comprises providing a film stack that includes a layer of magnetic material having an exposed surface. A protective layer is deposited on the exposed surface of the magnetic layer. The protective layer may comprise, for example, a fluorocarbon or a hydrofluorocarbon. The film stack is etched and the protective layer protects the exposed surface from a conductive residue produced while etching the film stack. The method may be used in film stacks to form a magneto-resistive random access memory (MRAM) device.