An inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching of IrMn magnetic thin films patterned with Ti hard mask was studied in a CH3OH/Ar gas mix. As the CH3OH concentration increased, the etch rates of IrMn thin films and Ti hard mask decreased, while the etch profiles improved with high degree of anisotropy. The effects of coil if power, dc-bias voltage to substrate and gas pressure on the etch characteristics were investigated. The etch rate increased and the etch profile improved with increasing coil rf power, dc-bias voltage and decreasing gas pressure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the chemical reaction between IrMn films and CH3OH gas occurred, leading to the clean and good etch profile with high degree of anisotropy of 90 degrees. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.