Hitachi, Ltd.

Fumikazu Itoh

Akira Shimase

Satoshi Haraichi

Junzou Azuma

Hiroshi Yamaguchi

Michinobu Mizumura

Takahiko Takahashi

Takashi Kamimura

Yuuichi Hamamura

Yasuhiro Koizumi

Takashi Kobayashi

Yoshimi Kawanami

Kaoru Umemura

Tohru Ishitani

Mikio Hongo

Yuuichi Madokoro

Shoji Shukuri

Toshio Yamada

Shinji Sakano

Koji Ishida

Keiya Saito

Masao Tamura

Tsuneo Ichiguchi

Shunji Maeda

Toshihiko Nakata

Hitoshi Kubota

Yoshinori Nakayama

Yukio Honda

Sumio Hosaka

Tsuyoshi Hasegawa

Mikio Ichihashi

Shigeyuki Hosoki

Koji Suzuki

Mitsuo Sato

Masakazu Ichikawa

Katsuro Mizukoshi

Noboru Sugimoto

Takao Mifune

Hironobu Matsui

Hiroshi Saitoh

Yoshimasa Kondo

Yasuhiro Fujita

Nobu Kamita

Shiji Okazaki

Emiko Uda

Junichi Mori

Norio Akutsu

Akiyoshi Sasaki

Shuzo Sano

Herein disclosed are a variety of techniques relating to the wiring and logic corrections on a chip by making use of the focused ion beam (which is shortly referred to as &ldquo;FIB&rdquo;) or the laser selection metal CVD. The time periods for the wiring corrections and for debugging and developing an electronic system are shortened by making use of the processing characteristics of the FIB. Illustratively, a hole is bored in an insulating film above a portion of a wiring which is to be connected to another wiring by means of a focused ion beam. The inside of the hole and a predetermined region on the insulating film are irradiated with either a laser beam or an ion beam in a metal compound gas to deposit metal in the hole and on said region and a connecting wiring is formed by means of optically pumped CVD. The present invention also relates to an IC or VLSI structure having a trial cutting region, at test etching region and an auxiliary wiring or pad, suitable for the application of such defect correction and circuit change, as well as a method of making same, a designing method using such technique, and a focused ion beam system and other systems for use in those methods.

Method of making wiring and logic corrections on a semiconductor device by use of focused ion beams

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.

Processing method and apparatus using focused ion beam generating means

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.

Processing method and apparatus using focused energy beam

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.

Method for making specimen and apparatus thereof

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.

Process method and apparatus using focused ion beam generating means

A method of processing a sample using a charged beam and reactive gases and a system employing the same, the method and system being able to perform the reactive etching and the beam assisted deposition using a charged particle detector free from the degradation of the performance due to the reactive gas. The system is designed in such a way that a shutter mechanism is provided in the form of the charged particle detector, and a chamber for accommodating the charged particle detector can be evacuated. In the observation of the sample, the charged particle detector is turned on to open the shutter mechanism, and in the processing of the sample, the charged particle detector is turned off or left as it is to shut the shutter mechanism to evacuate the inside of the charged particle detector.

Method of processing a sample using a charged beam and reactive gases

An optical mask for a projection optical system and a method of correcting the mask wherein the mask includes a light intercepting pattern formed on a transparent substrate and a phase shifter for changing the phase of an exposure light provided at predetermined openings of the light intercepting pattern. An etching stopper film which transmits the exposure light is provided between said phase shifter and said light intercepting pattern and for correction of the mask a focused ion beam is utilized for removal of defects by the phase shifter.

Optical mask and method of correcting the same

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.

Phase shift mask, method of correcting the same and apparatus for

Apparatus for processing a sample using a charged beam and reactive gases

A combination apparatus having a scanning electron microscope includes equipment for performing any of observing, measuring and processing operations on a sample placed in a sample chamber. The sample chamber contains a focused electron beam irradiating unit apart from the components for performing the observing, measuring and processing operations. The focused electron beam irradiating unit irradiates a finely focused electron beam onto the surface of the sample for electron microscopic observation in scanning fashion. This setup allows the observing, measuring or processing equipment to combine with the scanning electron microscope without appreciably enlarging the construction of the combination apparatus.

Combination apparatus having a scanning electron microscope therein

There is disclosed an ion beam processing method of processing a rotating workpiece for a very small-size rotary member, using an ion beam or a focused ion beam. Apparatus for performing this method is also disclosed. In the formation of a product having a non-circular cross-section, when the amount of application of the ion beam is kept constant, the rotational angular velocity of the workpiece is varied in accordance with the rotational angular position of the workpiece. On the other hand, when the rotational angular velocity of the workpiece is kept constant, the amount of application of the ion beam is varied. When it is difficult to align the axis of the workpiece with the axis of rotation of a workpiece holder, the focused ion beam is applied in accordance with the oscillation of the workpiece.

Ion beam processing method and apparatus

Disclosed is an apparatus for forming a device having a fine structure, the apparatus including a high intensity ion source. The apparatus can be used to form fine grooves and/or a fine film, by supplying a reactive gas to the surface to be etched or coated while irradiating a focused ion beam on the surface. A laser or electron beam can be irradiated on substantially the same axis as that of the focused ion beam, whereby defects arising due to ion beam processing can be repaired. The apparatus can further include ion beam current detection and measurement structure to determine when a predetermined thickness of coating or depth of etching is achieved. The apparatus can include multiple chambers sequentially holding the surface treated, and can include a scanning electron microscope for scanning the surface being coated or etched.

Device having superlattice structure, and method of and apparatus for

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.

Method of etching a semiconductor device by an ion beam

In locally reactive etching by irradiating to a multilayered workpiece reactive beam generated by extracting the reactant gas ionized or by irradiating such focussing beam as ion beam, electron beam or laser beam to the multilayered workpiece in an atmosphere of reactant gas; each layer of a multilayered device comprising a plurality of layers formed on a substrate can be accurately and quickly eteched by detecting the change of the material of the layer currently being etched and after detecting the change of material, switching reactant gas to be ionized or atmospheric reactant gas to one complying with the material of the layer currently being etched. This multilayered device micro etching method can be readily put into practice by a multilayered device micro etching system further comprising means for detecting the change of the material of layer to be etched and means for switching and supplying a plurality of reactant gases, in a micro etching appratus for performing locally rective etching.

Multilayered device micro etching method and system

Growing community of inventors

Fujisawa, Japan

Fumikazu Itoh