A new method of using focused ion beams to micromachine contoured surfaces in solids is described. Instead of using a raster scan with a uniform scan rate, the new technique, called vector scanning, uses a nonuniform scan rate which is varied in a manner related to the profile of the desired sputter crater. A simple relationship between the scan rate and the desired surface contour has been derived and used to develop an algorithm for the deflecting voltages needed to micromachine slanted surfaces of the type desired for the production of surface emitting semiconductor lasers, and sinusoidal surfaces which may be used as optical diffraction gratings.