Abstract: Techniques for planarizing surfaces are disclosed herein. One example includes orienting a surface of a sample to a charged particle beam axis, the sample including a first layer formed from first and second materials, the first material patterned into a plurality of parallel lines and disposed in the second material, where the surface is oriented to form a shallow angle with the charged particle beam axis and to arrange the plurality of parallel lines perpendicular to the charged particle beam axis, providing a charged particle beam toward the surface, providing a gas to the surface, and selectively etching, with ion induced chemical etching, the second material at least down to a top surface of the first material, the charged particle induced etching stimulated due to concurrent presence of the charged particle beam and the gas over the surface of the sample.

Abstract: Techniques for planarizing surfaces are disclosed herein. One example includes orienting a surface of a sample to a charged particle beam axis, the sample including a first layer formed from first and second materials, the first material patterned into a plurality of parallel lines and disposed in the second material, where the surface is oriented to form a shallow angle with the charged particle beam axis and to arrange the plurality of parallel lines perpendicular to the charged particle beam axis, providing a charged particle beam toward the surface, providing a gas to the surface, and selectively etching, with ion induced chemical etching, the second material at least down to a top surface of the first material, the charged particle induced etching stimulated due to concurrent presence of the charged particle beam and the gas over the surface of the sample.