Abstract: During the process of vacuum deposition, metals and materials are evaporated at a point source so as to create a vapor which is dispersed isotropically. Layers of the evaporating material are deposited as built-up layers which have sharp vertical edges or steps at the areas defined by the photoresist stencil. When the line of sight of the depositing material is from an oblique angle, the layer being deposited can have a negative slope which appears as an undercut edge. The present invention employs a lift-off overhang photoresist stencil in conjunction with a relatively high pressure of inert gas in the vacuum chamber so as to promote collision of the evaporated atoms and molecules with the inert gas.