Lucent Technologies Inc.

Agere Systems Inc.

At&t Bell Laboratories

Other

Triquint Technology Holding Co.

At+t Corp.

Agere Systems Guardian Corp.

James Alexander Liddle

Steven D Berger

Warren Kazmir Waskiewicz

Victor Katsap

Francis Michael Houlihan

Omkaram Nalamasu

Anthony E Novembre

Stuart T Stanton

George Patrick Watson

Madanagopal V Kunnavakkam

Avinoam Kornblit

Raymond A Cirelli

Masis Mkrtchyan

Gary Robert Weber

Cynthia A Volkert

Lloyd R Harriott

Michael Patrick Schlax

Joseph Allen Felker

David Lee Windt

Marvin Leventhal

Anthony Edward Novembre

A micro-lens array and a method for making are described. The micro-lens array includes a base element and a plurality of lenses formed of an epoxy and including nanoparticles. The micro-lens array is formed from a master micro-lens array, which is placed within a replica micro-lens making assembly. The master micro-lens array is coated with an anti-stiction material prior to having an elastomeric material positioned over it and cured. Removal of the elastomeric material provides a plurality of cavities, which are filled with an epoxy including nanoparticles. Curing of the epoxy finishes the fabrication of the micro-lens array. The lenses of the micro-lens array are formed from a colloidal suspension of nanoparticles and resin.

Micro-lens array and method of making micro-lens array

A MEMS device and a method for making a MEMS device are described. The MEMS device includes a support member, an optical device, and a flexible member. In one aspect, the flexible member is formed separately from the support member and the optical device. In one aspect, the flexible member is dimensioned to enable flex in one direction while maintaining stiffness in two orthogonal directions. In one fabrication embodiment, the MEMS device is formed by etching an opening into the structural layer to create a structural support member and an optical device. The structural support member and optical device are mounted on a support substrate with a sacrificial layer. A flexible member is conformally deposited over the structural support member and the optical device and then etched. The sacrificial layer is partially etched away to leave the structural support member anchored to the support substrate.

Micro-electro-mechanical system device and method of making same

An electron beam lithographic apparatus has an electron gun providing a beam of accelerated electrons, a mask stage adapted to hold a mask in a path of the beam of accelerated electrons, and a workpiece stage adapted to hold a workpiece in a path of electrons that have passed through the mask. The electron gun has a cathode having an electron emission surface, an anode adapted to be connected to a high-voltage power supply to provide an electric field between the cathode and the anode to accelerate electrons emitted from the cathode toward the anode, and a current-density-profile control grid disposed between the anode and the cathode. The current-density-profile control grid is configured to provide an electron gun that produces an electron beam having a non-uniform current density profile. A method of producing a micro-device includes generating a beam of charged particles having a non-uniform charged-particle current density, illuminating a mask with the beam of charged particles, and exposing a workpiece with charged particles from the beam of charged particles.

Device and method for suppressing space charge induced aberrations in charged-particle projection lithography systems

The specification describes a method and apparatus for electron beam lithography wherein a Wehnelt electron gun is modified to improve the uniformity of the electron beam. The bias on the Wehnelt aperture is reversed from the conventional bias so that it is biased positively with respect to the cathode. The Wehnelt opening is tapered with a disk emitter inserted into the taper. The result of these modifications is an electron beam output with low brightness which is highly uniform over the beam cross section.

Electron guns for lithography tools

The specification describes a method and apparatus for electron beam lithography wherein a Wehnelt electron gun is modified to improve the uniformity of the electron beam. A mesh grid is applied to the Wehnelt aperture and the mesh grid functions as a multiple secondary emitter to produce a uniform beam flux over a wide area. The grid voltage of the modified gun is substantially lower than in a conventional Wehnelt gun, i.e. less than 100 volts, which can be switched conveniently and economically using semiconductor drive circuits.

Electron emitters for lithography tools

Method of electron beam exposure utilizing emitter with conductive mesh grid

A lithographic process for device fabrication in which a pattern is transferred from a mask into an energy sensitive material by projecting charged particle (e.g. electron beam) radiation onto the mask is disclosed. The pattern on the mask is divided into segments. The radiation transmitted through the mask and incident on the layer of energy sensitive material transfers a continuous image of the segmented mask pattern into the energy sensitive material. The images of each segment are joined together to form the continuous image by seam blending techniques. The seam blending techniques employ duplicate pattern information on segments for which the images are joined together. The image of the duplicate pattern information from a first segment is overlapped with the image of the duplicate pattern information from the second segment to blend the seams together. The exposure of the duplicate pattern information is controlled so that the aggregate dose of radiation used to transfer the image of the duplicate pattern information into the energy sensitive resist is about the same as the does of radiation used to transfer the image of the non-duplicate pattern information into the energy sensitive resist material.

Lithographic process for device fabrication using electron beam imaging

The invention provides an improved process for fabricating masks suitable for use in SCALPEL and similar electron-based or ion-based lithographic processes. Specifically, the process allows use of commercially-available (100) oriented silicon substrates, and better control over the profiles of mask struts. Specifically, the struts of the mask are formed by plasma etching, using a fluorine-based gas, and a unique multilayer mask blank is fabricated to promote successful use of the plasma etch. According to an embodiment of the process, an etch stop layer is deposited onto the front surface of a silicon substrate, and a membrane layer is deposited over the etch stop layer. A scattering layer, typically tungsten, is deposited over the membrane layer. A patterning layer is deposited on the back surface of the substrate, and the desired grillage pattern for the struts is patterned into the patterning layer. The grillage structure is then etched into the silicon, to form the struts, by plasma etching with the fluorine-based gas. The etch stop layer acts to prevent the etch from damaging the membrane layer.

Process for fabricating a lithographic mask

An improved, scattering-type mask for use in a charged-particle beam lithography process comprises the mask having a membrane portion and a scattering portion, the membrane portion being fabricated with a conductive material or a plurality of materials in which one of them is conductive. The conductive nature of the membrane portion mitigates the accumulation of charge in the mask, thereby enhancing the definition of the charged-particle pattern transferred from the mask onto the wafer under fabrication and reducing the distortion obtained with the system.

Membrane mask for projection lithography

The invention is directed to a method and apparatus of projection lithography in which the contrast introduced into a radiation sensitive material caused by the proximity effect is effectively removed in a single exposure. Patterned radiation is transmitted through a lens system with at least one lens and a back focal plane filter. The back focal plane filter has at least two apertures, an image aperture and a proximity effect correction aperture. Patterned radiation is transmitted through the image aperture and introduces the desired image into the energy sensitive resist material. A portion of the inverse pattern radiation is transmitted through the proximity effect correction aperture and onto the energy sensitive resist material to effectively remove the contrast therein caused by the proximity effect.

Projection lithography apparatus

Process for device fabrication using projection lithography and an

A process for controlling the stress of multilayer films formed on a substrate is disclosed. A plurality of periods, each period having at least two layers of material wherein one of the layers of material is under compressive stress and the other layer of material is under tensile stress, are formed in a substrate. The stress in the multilayer film is controlled by selecting a thickness for the layer under compressive stress and a thickness for the layer under tensile stress that will provide a multilayer film of the desired stress. The thickness of each layer is about 0.5 nm to about 10 nm. Multilayer films with a stress of about -50 MPa to about 50 MPa are obtained using the present process. The present invention is also directed to masks with such multilayer films.

Masks with low stress multilayer films and a process for controlling the

Fabrication of sub-micron design rule integrated circuits entails imposition of patterning information, consisting of degree of scattering, on a projected scanning beam of accelerated electrons by means of a mask, imaging being dependent upon passage through a back focal plane filter including a plurality of apertures for selectively passing relatively unscattered electrons.

Sub-micron device fabrication using multiple aperture filter

It has been found that for a SCALPEL lithographic system thermal effects dictate that the acceleration voltage for the exposing electrons be maintained within a specific range. This range depends on a variety of factors but is generally in the 50 to 150 KeV region. Additionally, thermal considerations also dictate the method of scanning the mask to print an entire wafer.

Growing community of inventors

Westfield, NJ, United States of America

James Alexander Liddle