Abstract:
A processing method and apparatus using a focused energy beam for conducting local energy beam processing in a focused energy beam irradiating area by irradiating a sample with a focused energy beam such as an ion beam or an electron beam in an etching gas atmosphere. As the etching gas, a mixed gas different in composition from any conventional one is employed and the gas is uniformly supplied to an etching area and at least one of the components of such a mixed gas is a spontaneous reactive gas for use in etching the sample spontaneously and isotropically. With this arrangement, it is possible to subject to local etching a material for which the local etching has been impossible to provide since a single etching gas causes a reaction too fierce or causes almost nearly no reaction.
Abstract:
A processing method and a processing apparatus realizing the method use a focused ion beam generator. The apparatus includes a plasma or liquid metal ion source producing ions not influencing electric characteristics of a sample, an ion beam generator for extracting ions from the ion source into an ion beam, an ion beam focusing device for focusing the ion beam, an irradiator for irradiating the focused ion beam onto the sample, and a sample chamber in which the sample to be irradiated for processing is installed. The focused ion beam is irradiated onto a sample such as a silicon wafer or device to conduct on a particular position of the sample a fine machining work, a fine layer accumulation, and an analysis.
Abstract:
A defect of a phase shift mask, which has a phase shifter disposed on a transparent substrate, formed into a predetermined pattern and acting to shift a phase of exposure light transmitted therethrough and an etching stopper disposed between the phase shifter and the transparent substrate, which is resistant to an etching to which the phase shifter is subjected and transparent for exposure light is corrected by selectively etching a defective portion of the phase shifter, having a lacking type defect, with respect to the etching stopper layer along the whole thickness of the phase shifter and by perforating a portion of the etching stopper layer and the transparent substrate positioned under the etched defective portion by a depth which corresponds to a magnitude of an optical path of the phase shifter for the exposure light, the etching being a reactive etching which uses charged particle beam and a reactive gas and, the bottom surface of a portion etched being flattened by utilizing a fact that the phase shifter is selectively etched.
Abstract:
A semiconductor IC device having a substrate, a patterned conductor layer for interconnection of regions in the substrate and a passivation layer covering the device is provided with an additional conduction path of a pattern and/or part of the patterned conductor layer is removed for disconnection for the purpose of evaluation of the characteristics of the device. The additional conduction path is formed by forming a hole in the passivation layer to expose a part of the conductor layer, directing, in an atmosphere containing a metal compound gas, an ion beam onto the hole and onto a predetermined portion of the passivation layer on which the additional conduction path of a pattern is to be formed to thereby form a patterned film of the metal decomposed from the metal compound gas and forming an additional conductor on the patterned film. The provision of the additional conduction path and/or the removal of part of the patterned conductor layer is preformed in a chemical vapor deposition apparatus which includes a vacuum chamber and an ion beam radiation unit having a housing partitioned into, for example, first, second and third compartments. The ion beam radiation unit has an ion source placed in the first compartment, an ion beam focusing and deflecting device placed in the second compartment and pressure buffer constituted by the third compartment. The third compartment is coupled to and pneumatically isolated from the vacuum chamber for conducting an ion beam emitted from the ion source, passing the second compartment and ejected from the second compartment to the vacuum chamber.
Abstract:
An ion beam (113) focused into a diameter of at most 0.1 .mu.m bombards substantially perpendicularly to the superlattice layers of a one-dimensional superlattice structure and is scanned rectilinearly in a direction of the superlattice layers so as to form at least two parallel grooves (108, 109, 110, 111) or at least two parallel impurity-implanted parts (2109) as potential barrier layers, whereby a device of two-dimensional superlattice structure can be manufactured. At least two parallel grooves (114, 115, 116, 117) or impurity-implanted parts are further formed orthogonally to the potential barrier layers of the two-dimensional superlattice structure, whereby a device of three-dimensional superlattice structure can be manufactured. In addition, deposition parts (2403, 2404, 2405) may well be provided by further depositing an insulator into the grooves (108, 109, 110, 111, 114, 115, 116, 117) which are formed by the scanning of the ion beam. Owing to these expedients, the portions of the two-dimensional and three-dimensional superlattice structures can be manufactured with ease and at high precision.
Abstract:
A method for making a specimen for use in observation through a transparent electron microscope, includes a step of milling part of the specimen into a thin film part, which can be observed through a transparent electron microscope, by scanning and irradiating a focused ion beam onto the specimen, a step of observing a mark for detection of a position provided on the specimen as a secondary charged particle image by scanning and irradiating a charged particle beam onto the specimen without irradiating the charged particle beam onto the portion to be milled into the thin film part during the milling, and a step of compensating for positional drift of the focused ion beam during milling in accordance with a result of the observation. The method is carried out by an apparatus which includes irradiation area control means for controlling an irradiation area of the focused ion beam onto the specimen so that a surface of the specimen to be milled into the thin film part is not included in the secondary charged particle image when the secondary charged particle image of the surface, on which the mark for detecting the milling position of the specimen is formed, is displayed by the secondary charged particle image during milling part of the specimen, and compensation means for compensating the positional drift of the focused ion beam during milling in accordance with the mark for detecting the milling position.
Abstract:
A method of etching a semiconductor device having multi-layered wiring by an ion beam is disclosed which method comprises the steps of: extracting a high-intensity ion beam from a high-density ion source; focusing the extracted ion beam; causing the focused ion beam to perform a scanning operation by a voltage applied to a deflection electrode; forming a first hole in the semiconductor device by the focused ion beam to a depth capable of reaching an insulating film formed between upper and lower wiring conductors so that the first hole has a curved bottom corresponding to the undulation of the upper wiring conductor, and the upper wiring conductor is absent at the bottom of the first hole; and scanning a portion of the bottom of the first hole with the focused ion beam to form a second hole in the insulating film to a depth capable of reaching the lower wiring conductor, thereby preventing the shorting between the upper and lower wiring conductors. Further, a method of forming a hole of a predetermined shape at a surface area having a step-like portion of a semiconductor device by an ion beam is disclosed which method comprises a pre-etching step of scanning the high-level region of the step-like portion with the ion beam so that the high-level region becomes equal in level to the low-level region of the step-like portion, and a main step of scanning the whole of the surface area with the ion beam till the hole of the predetermined shape is formed in the semiconductor device.
Abstract:
In a machine for winding and inserting coils of the type wherein a flier is rotated so as to wind the conductor drawn from the flier around two blades of an insertion tooling and an auxiliary plate located radially outwardly of said two blades and spaced apart therefrom by a predetermined distance, thereby forming a coil which is directly inserted together with a wedge into slots of a magnetic core of a rotary electric machine, an improvement wherein the blades with wedge guides which form the insertion tooling are divided into alternating main and auxiliary blades equiangularly spaced apart from each other, the auxiliary blades being axially movable relative to said main blades in such a way that when the conductor is wound around a bobbin formed by two of the main blades and an auxiliary plate, the auxiliary blades are retracted away from the main blades, but when the wound coils are inserted into the slots of the magnetic core, the auxiliary blades are raised to align with the main blades, thus forming the insertion tooling. In addition, all the coils for one phase may be continuously wound so as to have only one starting lead and one finishing lead.
Abstract:
A processing method using a plasma ion source for generating a focused ion beam, characterized by covering, with an insulator, an inner wall of a plasma holding vessel excluding a reference electrode for applying a voltage to a plasma and an ion extraction electrode for extracting ions from the plasma, and employing means of continuously controlling the absolute value of an ion beam current in a range of from 1 to 10 .mu.A by changing the absolute value of an ion extraction voltage applied between the reference electrode and the ion extraction electrode in a range of from 0 to 100 V; and an apparatus for carrying out the processing method. This is advantageous in stabilizing the ion beam current and in preventing the ion beam from being made dim even when the current value of the ion beam is changed.
Abstract:
A processing method and a processing apparatus realizing the method use a focused ion beam generator. The apparatus includes a plasma or liquid metal ion source producing ions not influencing electric characteristics of a sample, an ion beam generator for extracting ions from the ion source into an ion beam, an ion beam focusing device for focusing the ion beam, an irradiator for irradiating the focused ion beam onto the sample, and a sample chamber in which the sample to be irradiated for processing is installed. The focused ion beam is irradiated onto a sample such as a silicon wafer or device to conduct on a particular position of the sample a fine machining work, a fine layer accumulation, and an analysis.