Axcelis Technologies, Inc.

Edward Eisner

Bo H Vanderberg

William F DiVergilio

Michael A Graf

Daniel R Tieger

Andy M Ray

Victor M Benveniste

Geoffrey Ryding

Theodore H Smick

Neil J Bassom

Marvin Farley

Takao Sakase

Shu Satoh

Wilhelm P Platow

Robert D Rathmell

Brian S Freer

Joshua M Abeshaus

Ronald Horner

Michael Cristoforo

Manny Sieradzki

Paul Eide

Donald N Polner

Mark Lambert

Donovan Beckel

A scanning magnet is positioned downstream of a mass resolving magnet of an ion implantation system and is configured to control a path of an ion beam downstream of the mass resolving magnet for a scanning or dithering of the ion beam. The scanning magnet has a yoke having a channel defined therein. The yoke is ferrous and has a first side and a second side defining a respective entrance and exit of the ion beam. The yoke has a plurality of laminations stacked from the first side to the second side, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of laminations associated with the first side and second side comprise one or more slotted laminations having plurality of slots defined therein.

Scanning magnet design with enhanced efficiency

An ion implantation system and method provide a non-uniform flux of a ribbon ion beam. A spot ion beam is formed and provided to a scanner, and a scan waveform having a time-varying potential is applied to the scanner. The ion beam is scanned by the scanner across a scan path, generally defining a scanned ion beam comprised of a plurality of beamlets. The scanned beam is then passed through a corrector apparatus. The corrector apparatus is configured to direct the scanned ion beam toward a workpiece at a generally constant angle of incidence across the workpiece. The corrector apparatus further comprises a plurality of magnetic poles configured to provide a non-uniform flux profile of the scanned ion beam at the workpiece.

Scan and corrector magnet designs for high throughput scanned beam ion implanter

An electrode system for an ion source has a source electrode that defines a source aperture in an ion source chamber, and is coupled to a source power supply. A first ground electrode defines a first ground aperture that is electrically coupled to an electrical ground potential and extracts ions from the ion source. A suppression electrode is positioned downstream of the first ground electrode and defines a suppression aperture that is electrically coupled to a suppression power supply. A second ground electrode is positioned downstream of the suppression electrode and defines a second ground aperture. The first and second ground electrodes are fixedly coupled to one another and are electrically coupled to the electrical ground potential.

Tetrode extraction apparatus for ion source

An ion implantation system and method are provided where an ion beam is tuned to a first process recipe. The ion beam is scanned along a scan plane at a first frequency, defining a first scanned ion beam. A beam profiling apparatus is translated through the first scanned ion beam and one or more properties of the first scanned ion beam are measured across a width of the first scanned ion, thus defining a first beam profile associated with the first scanned ion beam. The ion beam is then scanned at a second frequency, thus defining a second scanned ion beam, wherein the second frequency is less than the first frequency. A second beam profile associated with the second scanned ion beam is determined based, at least in part, on the first beam profile. Ions are subsequently implanted into a workpiece via the second scanned ion beam.

Beam profiling speed enhancement for scanned beam implanters

An ion implantation system has an ion source forming an ion beam. An mass analyzer defines and varies a mass analyzed beam along a beam path. A moveable mass resolving aperture assembly has a resolving aperture whose position is selectively varied in response to the variation of the beam path by the mass analyzer. A deflecting deceleration element positioned selectively deflects the beam path and selectively decelerate the mass analyzed beam. A controller selectively operates the ion implantation system in both a drift mode and decel mode. The controller passes the mass analyzed beam along a first path through the resolving aperture without deflection or deceleration in the drift mode and deflects and decelerates the beam along a second path in the decel mode. The position of the resolving aperture is selectively varied based on the variation in the beam path through the mass analyzer and the deflecting deceleration element.

Ion implantation system having beam angle control in drift and deceleration modes

A system and method are provided for implanting ions at low energies into a workpiece. An ion source configured to generate an ion beam is provided, wherein a mass resolving magnet is configured to mass resolve the ion beam. The ion beam may be a ribbon beam or a scanned spot ion beam. A mass resolving aperture positioned downstream of the mass resolving magnet filters undesirable species from the ion beam. A combined electrostatic lens system is positioned downstream of the mass analyzer, wherein a path of the ion beam is deflected and contaminants are generally filtered out of the ion beam, while concurrently decelerating and parallelizing the ion beam. A workpiece scanning system is further positioned downstream of the combined electrostatic lens system, and is configured to selectively translate a workpiece in one or more directions through the ion beam, therein implanting ions into the workpiece.

Combined electrostatic lens system for ion implantation

A combined scanning and focusing magnet for an ion implantation system is provided. The combined scanning and focusing magnet has a yoke having a high magnetic permeability. The yoke defines a hole configured to pass an ion beam therethrough. One or more scanner coils operably are coupled to the yoke and configured to generate a time-varying predominantly dipole magnetic field when electrically coupled to a power supply. One or more focusing coils are operably coupled to the yoke and configured to generate a predominantly multipole magnetic field, wherein the predominantly multipole magnetic field is one of static or time-varying.

Combined multipole magnet and dipole scanning magnet

Methods and apparatus for reducing energy contamination can be provided to a beam line assembly for ion implantation. Protrusions comprising surface areas and grooves therebetween can face neutral trajectories within a line of sight view from the workpiece within the beam line assembly. The protrusions can alter the course of the neutral trajectories away from the workpiece or cause alternate trajectories for further impacting before hitting a workpiece, and thereby, further reduce energy contamination for more sensitive implants.

Beam line design to reduce energy contamination

Beam current is adjusted during ion implantation by adjusting one or more parameters of an ion source. The ion beam is generated or provided by a non-arc discharge based ion source, such as an electron gun driven ion source or an RF driven ion source. A beam current adjustment amount is determined. Then, one or more parameters of the ion source are adjusted according to the determined beam current adjustment amount. The beam current is provided having a modulated beam current.

Methods for beam current modulation by ion source parameter modulation

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for varying the cross-sectional shape of an ion beam, as the ion beam is scanned over the surface of a workpiece, to generate a time-averaged ion beam having an improved ion beam current profile uniformity. In one embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of an ion beam is varied as the ion beam moves across the surface of the workpiece. The different cross-sectional shapes of the ion beam respectively have different beam profiles (e.g., having peaks at different locations along the beam profile), so that rapidly changing the cross-sectional shape of the ion beam results in a smoothing of the beam current profile (e.g., reduction of peaks associated with individual beam profiles) that the workpiece is exposed to. The resulting smoothed beam current profile provides for improved uniformity of the beam current and improved workpiece dose uniformity.

Method and apparatus for improved uniformity control with dynamic beam shaping

A scanning system including a scanning element, a beam profiler, analysis system, and a ZFE-limiting element, is disclosed. The scanning element is configured to scan an ion beam over an ion beam scan path. The beam profiler measures beam current of the ion beam as it is scanned over the ion beam scan path, and the analysis system analyzes the measured beam current to detect a ZFE condition. The ZFE-limiting element, which is upstream of the beam profiler and is coupled to the analysis system via a feedback path, is configured to selectively apply an electric field to the scanned ion beam based on whether the ZFE condition is detected. The selectively applied electric field induces a change in the scanned beam to limit the ZFE condition.

System and method for ion implantation with improved productivity and uniformity

One embodiment relates to an ion implanter. The ion implanter includes an ion source to generate an ion beam, as well as a scanner to scan the ion beam across a surface of a workpiece along a first axis. The ion implanter also includes a deflection filter downstream of the scanner to ditheredly scan the ion beam across the surface of the workpiece along a second axis.

Uniformity of a scanned ion beam

An ion beam angle calibration and emittance measurement system, comprising a plate comprising an elongated slit therein, wherein the elongated slit positioned at a rotation center of the plate and configured to allow a first beam portion to pass therethrough. A beam current detector located downstream of the plate, wherein the beam current detector comprises a slit therein configured to permit a second beam portion of the first beam portion to pass therethrough, wherein the beam current detector is configured to measure a first beam current associated with the first beam portion. A beam angle detector is located downstream of the beam current detector and configured to detect a second beam current associated with the second beam portion. The plate, the current beam detector and the beam angle detector are configured to collectively rotate about the rotation center of the plate.

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Lexington, MA, United States of America

Edward Eisner