Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Lithoptek LLC

International Business Machines Corporation

Tokyo Electron Limited

Mark L Schattenburg

Henry Ignatius Smith

Rudolf H Hendel

John Glenn

Erik H Anderson

Michael Carcasi

Paul E Glenn

Michael Hong Lim

John George Hartley

Timothy R Groves

James Gregory Goodberlet

Patrick N Everett

Juan Ferrera

Mark K Mondol

Brandon Chalifoux

Youwei Yao

Mireille K Akilian

Ralf Heilmann

James Carter

A device includes a substrate and a stressed layer disposed on a first surface of the substrate. The stressed layer includes: a first set of patterns having a predetermined geometry, size, and arrangement selected to control an equibiaxial stress field of the stressed layer, wherein the equibiaxial stress field varies in magnitude over the first surface of the substrate, and a second set of patterns etched into the first set of patterns and the substrate, the second set of patterns comprising a plurality of substantially parallel lines arranged to control at least a uniaxial stress field of the stressed layer, wherein the uniaxial stress field varies in magnitude over the first surface of the substrate.

Stress patterning systems and methods for manufacturing free-form deformations in thin substrates

A method and apparatus for treating a substrate and, in particular, making secondary adjustments to the results of a primary process applied to the substrate, leading to improved uniformity of the overall process, in which a substrate is positioned on a substrate holder; a scanning a beam of light is directed onto the surface of the substrate; and the amplitude of the scanned beam is varied by location based on a substrate signature.

Apparatus and method for using scanning light beam for film or surface modification

A method and apparatus in which retroreflective materials and surfaces are used for determining the position, orientation and scale of work pieces in order to accurately place process beams thereon for the purpose of surface patterning or treatment.

Detection of position, orientation and scale of work pieces using retroreflective surfaces

A substrate may be disposed on a substrate support in a flood exposure treatment system. A flood exposure dose profile may be selected. The substrate may be exposed to flood irradiation from a source, and the flood irradiation may be terminated when the selected flood exposure dose profile is achieved. Exposing the substrate to flood irradiation may comprise controlling at least one of a substrate rotation rate, a source scanning rate, a substrate scanning rate, a source power setting, a distance from the source to the substrate, a source aperture setting, an angle of incidence of flood irradiation on the substrate, and a source focus position to achieve the selected flood exposure dose profile.

Exposure dose homogenization through rotation, translation, and variable processing conditions

Processes and apparati for shaping sheet glass or thermoplastic materials use force from a layer of a flowing fluid, such as air, between the sheet and a mandrel at close to the softening temperature of the thermoplastic. The shape is preserved by cooling. The shape of the air bearing mandrel and the pressure distribution of the fluid contribute to the final shape. A process can be conducted on one or two surfaces such that the force from the air layer is on one or two surfaces of the sheet. The gap size between the sheet and mandrel determines the pressure profile in the gap, which also determines the final sheet shape. In general, smaller gaps lead to larger viscous forces. The pressure profile depends on the shape of the mandrel, the size of the fluid gap and the sheet and the fluid supply pressure.

Method for shaping sheet thermoplastic and the like

A hybrid transmission-reflection grating includes an array of essentially parallel principal interfaces, with each principal interface separating a first medium and a second medium. The first medium has a first index of refraction, and the second medium has a second index of refraction. The first medium allows for transmission of quantum-mechanical objects in excess of one percent of an incident number of quantum-mechanical objects. The array of principal interfaces has a spacing distance between adjacent principal interfaces. The first medium has a width in the direction normal to the principal interfaces, the width being less than the spacing distance. Each principal interface has a length such that either (1) the length is greater that the width divided by tan(2&#x3b8;), wherein &#x3b8;is an critical angle of total external reflection for the quantum-mechanical objects at the principal interface, or (2) the length is greater that the width divided by tan(2&#x3b8;), wherein &#x3b8;is a critical angle defined by 2&#x3c0; sin(&#x3b8;)&#x3c3;=&#x3bb;, with &#x3bb; being de Broglie wavelength of the quantum-mechanical objects and &#x3c3; being a roughness of the principal interface.

Hybrid transmission-reflection grating

A method and system of interference lithography (also known as interferometric lithography or holographic lithography) which utilizes phase-locked, scanning beams (so-called scanning beam interference lithography, or SBIL). The invention utilizes a high-precision stage that moves a substrate under overlapped and interfering pairs of coherent beams. The overlapped beams interfere, generating fringes, which form a pattern 'brush' for subsequent writing of periodic and quasi-periodic patterns on the substrate. The phase of the fringes in the overlapped region is phase-locked to the motion of the precision stage. The invention includes methods for forming, overlapping, and phase-locking interfering pairs of beams on a variety of substrates; methods for measuring and controlling the period, phase, and angular orientation of fringes generated by the overlapping beams; and methods for measuring and controlling the effects of stage mechanical and thermal drift and other disturbances during the writing process.

Method and system for interference lithography utilizing phase-locked scanning beams

Fine positioning of a shaped or patterned charged particle beam without use of intrusive fiducial marks is achieved by providing a dithered shadow pattern, preferably in the form of a grid, within the shaped or patterned charged particle beam. Light output from fiducial marks preferably formed of a scintillating material is reduced when the dithered shadow pattern is incident on some or all of the fiducial marks. The timing of the incidence of the shadow pattern on fiducial marks indicates the position of the shaped or patterned charged particle beam such that correction of the beam position on the target can be corrected to a small fraction of system resolution. The dither pattern and repetition period is chosen to avoid interference with uniformity of beam illumination of the target. Feedback of position error thus provides phase locked position correction in real time and is suitable for mask making since the fiducial marks are not intrusive.

Spatial phase locking with shaped electron beam lithography

X-ray masking apparatus includes a frame having a supporting rim surrounding an x-ray transparent region, a thin membrane of hard inorganic x-ray transparent material attached at its periphery to the supporting rim covering the x-ray transparent region and a layer of x-ray opaque material on the thin membrane inside the x-ray transparent region arranged in a pattern to selectively transmit x-ray energy entering the x-ray transparent region through the membrane to a predetermined image plane separated from the layer by the thin membrane. A method of making the masking apparatus includes depositing back and front layers of hard inorganic x-ray transparent material on front and back surfaces of a substrate, depositing back and front layers of reinforcing material on the back and front layers, respectively, of the hard inorganic x-ray transparent material, removing the material including at least a portion of the substrate and the back layers of an inside region adjacent to the front layer of hard inorganic x-ray transparent material, removing a portion of the front layer of reinforcing material opposite the inside region to expose the surface of the front layer of hard inorganic x-ray transparent material separated from the inside region by the latter front layer, and depositing a layer of x-ray opaque material on the surface of the latter front layer adjacent to the inside region.

X-ray lithography masking

First and second coherent beams illuminate a common area on an exposure station. A phase detector senses the relative phase between the first and second beams to provide a control signal. There is at least one phase shifter in the path of at least one of the coherent beams. The control signal is coupled to the phase shifter to adjust the phase imparted thereby so that the relative phase between the first and second coherent beams is substantially constant.

Holographic lithography

A method of monitoring the travel of a beam of energy on a substrate having a fiducial pattern rigidly fixed relative to the substrate, the pattern embracing an area where the beam can create a useful image with submicron precision. The method includes: adjusting the beam such that the dose delivered by the beam is sufficiently high to generate a signal produced by the interaction of the beam and the fiducial pattern, the signal being representative of the relative position of the fiducial pattern and the travel, the dose being sufficiently low so that the area of the substrate over which the beam passes remains receptive to subsequent creation, with submicron precision, of a useful image; moving the beam across the substrate; detecting the signal produced by the interaction of the beam with the fiducial pattern; and comparing the detected signal with a predetermined signal to provide a position signal representative of the beam travel with submicron precision.

Energy beam locating

The mask includes an attenuator which passes a fraction of the incident electromagnetic radiation and phase shifts the radiation relative to the radiation passing through open features of the mask by approximately an odd multiple of .pi. radians. This phase shifting of light passing through the attenuator by .pi. radians reduces the edge blurring that results from diffraction effects. The present invention steepens the slope of the intensity profile at the edges of features in x-ray lithographic replication relative to the slope obtained with a conventional x-ray mask. The steeper slope is a highly significant advantage because it permits improved linewidth control.

Growing community of inventors

Brookline, MA, United States of America

Mark L Schattenburg