Control Data Corporation

David M Walker

Alan P Sliski

Donald O Smith

John J Carrona

Kenneth J Harte

John R Burgess

Lawrence F Bacchetti

An improved deflection amplifier interconnection circuit structure for charged particle beam write/read apparatus having a deflector stage wherein the charged particle apparatus is mounted within an evacuated housing by a support member. Transmission line-type printed wiring conductor patterns are provided within the insulating support member which serves as a combined electrical and vacuum feed-thru structure. The transmission line-type printed wiring conductor pattern interconnects the output of a deflector drive amplifier to the deflector element of the charged particle beam apparatus within the evacuated housing. An improved impedance match between the deflector drive amplifier and the deflector element is obtained along with improved cooling capability for the amplifier and elimination of the need for mounting the amplifier within a separate housing remotely located from the evacuated housing for the charged particle apparatus.

Impedance matched and thermally cooled deflection amplifiers for charged

A method and apparatus for in-situ cleaning of charged particle beam optical systems such as electron microscopes, electron beam lithography systems, ion beam microscopes or lithography systems, through the use of a specially introduced plasma forming gas such as hydrogen that is excited by applying a high voltage, high frequency excitation potential between various optical elements of the electron beam optical column. Alternately, specially constructed separate plasma forming electrodes can be built into the electron beam optical system for this purpose. During the cleaning operation the plasma reacts chemically with the contaminants previously formed on the surface of the electron beam column optical elements to form gaseous reactants which then are pumped out of the electron beam column system.

Method and apparatus for in-situ plasma cleaning of electron beam

Resist coating on the surface of a semiconductor wafer is removed by a one-step process using anisotropic reactive ion etching through an apertured stencil disposed close to but spaced from the resist-coated surface. The ion bombardment greatly enhances the plasma etch rate in the areas of the coating exposed through stencil apertures so that only the exposed areas are effectively etched during the limited exposure time in spite of the presence of chemically reactive gas between the stencil and other areas of the wafer surface. The technique is limited by low resolution but is ideally suited for clearing resist from atop fiducial marks used to align the wafer with multiple wafers in an integrated circuit chip.

Low defect etching of patterns using plasma-stencil mask

The invention provides a modular-building block method and system of fabrication, installation, alignment and operation of a multi-beam assembly of miniaturized, all-electrostatic charged particle optical columns, such electron beam or ion beam optical columns mounted in parallel in a closely packed cluster over a small target surface area for parallel simultaneous charged particle beam writing on the target surface with the multiple-channel cluster of charged particle beam optical columns. The assembly provides a system and method of increased thru-put in the direct charged particle beam writing on semiconductor target wafers during fabrication of semiconductor micro-circuit chips.

Modular all-electrostatic electron-optical column and assembly of said

An electron beam lens and deflector array mounting and alignment means are provided. The array is a structure composed of several parallel plates which are held in parallel and axial alignment. The mounting means comprises four slots, one at the end of the four corners of an imaginary rectangle, formed in each facing plate surface. Four cylindrical spacer rods are sandwich between the plates, each seated in two facing slots.

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Westford, MA, United States of America

David M Walker