US Patent 11929423 Etching platinum-containing thin film using protective cap layer

A microelectronic device includes a substrate a platinum-containing layer over the substrate. The platinum-containing layer includes a first segment and a second segment adjacent to the first segment, and has a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface closer to the substrate than the first surface. A first spacing between the first segment and the second segment at the first surface is greater than a second spacing between the first segment and the second segment at the second surface. A width of the first segment along the first surface is less than twice a thickness of the first segment, and the second spacing is less than twice the thickness of the first segment.