Dry etching of NiFe/Co and NiFe/Al-O/Co multilayers was carried out in inductively coupled Cl-2/Ar plasmas. An ion-enhanced etch mechanism took a critical role for desorption of chlorine etch products. NiFe/Al-O/CO showed a faster etch rate than NiFe/Co at various etch conditions. Anisotropic and smooth features were obtained using a photoresist mask. Sidewall contamination with etch products was observed at a higher Cl-2 concentration (>50%). Postetch cleaning of the etched samples in deionized water reduced the chlorine residues substantially. (C) 2004 American Vacuum Society.