US Patent 7186992 Method of fabricating a polarizing layer on an interface

A method of fabricating a polarizing layer using a gas cluster ion beam apparatus (GCIB) is disclosed. The method includes generating a metal-organic gas that includes a metal-organic compound. The metal-organic compound includes a polarizing material, such as iron Fe, Co, or CoFe, for example. The metal-organic gas and a carrier gas are combined to form a composite gas that is supplied to the GCIB. The GCIB processes the composite gas to form a beam of gas cluster ions that include the polarizing material. The beam irradiates an interface surface of a layer of material and at least a portion of the polarizing material remains in contact with the interface surface to form the polarizing layer on the interface surface.