First Solar, Inc.

Applied Materials, Inc.

Kla Tencor Corporation

Kla-tencor Technologies Corporation

Ming Lun Yu

Mehran Nasser-Ghodsi

Markus Eberhard Beck

Rudy Flores Garcia

Erel Milshtein

Gabor D Toth

Stuart L Friedman

Niles MacDonald

Garrett Pickard

Raffi Garabedian

Chris Huang

Sergey D Lopatin

Benyamin Buller

Marian Mankos

Tai-Hon Philip Chang

Matthew Lent

Ulrich Alexander Bonne

Kenneth Krzeczowski

Khashayar Shadman

Mehran Naser-Ghodsi

Gang Xiong

Kim Yang Lee

Robert L Green

Andres Fernandez

David K Hwang

Alan D Brodie

Timothy N Thomas

Rick C Powell

Steven Thomas Coyle

Markus Gloeckler

Jimmy Iskandar

Zhibo Zhao

Xiaolan Chen

Pratima V Addepalli

Rui Shao

Akhlesh Gupta

Andrei Los

San Yu

Scott C Stovall

Tzu-Chin Chuang

Wo-Tak Wu

A method to improve operation of a CdTe-based photovoltaic device is disclosed, the method comprising the steps of depositing a semiconductor absorber layer adjacent to a substrate, depositing a semiconductor buffer layer adjacent to the semiconductor layer, and annealing at least one of the semiconductor absorber layer and the semiconductor buffer layer with one of a laser and a flash lamp.

Method of manufacturing a photovoltaic device

A method of measuring vapor flux density including directing a light beam through a vapor flux to a pixel array sensor and using the pixel array sensor to measure attenuation of the light beam.

Method of measuring vapor flux density

A temperature-adjusted spectrometer can include a light source and a temperature sensor.

Temperature-adjusted spectrometer

A flux monitor system includes a light source and a sensor.

Flux monitor

A particle detector for evaporation flux is disclosed. The particle detector includes a light source and at least one reflective surface.

Particle detector

A defect may be characterized using primary radiation directed from a primary electron source to a measurement location on the sample. An electron energy analyzer may capture secondary electrons emitted from the measurement location in a focusing direction by an electron energy analyzer. A transverse focusing device may focus electrons emitted from the measurement location in a transverse direction that is perpendicular to the focusing direction.

Transverse focusing action in hyperbolic field detectors

Structural modification using electron beam activated chemical etch (EBACE) is disclosed. A target or portion thereof may be exposed to a gas composition of a type that etches the target when the gas composition and/or target are exposed to an electron beam. By directing an electron beam toward the target in the vicinity of the gas composition, an interaction between the electron beam and the gas composition etches a portion of the target exposed to both the gas composition and the electron beam. Structural modifications of the target may be conducted by means of etching due to interaction between the electron beam and gas composition.

Structural modification using electron beam activated chemical etch

A method for controlling chemical dry etching to improve smoothness of an etched surface is disclosed. Ions are implanted into a surface to form a volatilizable compound at a temperature low enough to avoid, reduce, or eliminate formation of three-dimensional structures of the volatilizable compound that might create the roughness at an etched surface of the volatilizable compound. The ions are applied in a sufficient energy to penetrate to a predetermined depth of material that is to be removed from the surface in an etching cycle, and in a sufficient dosage to achieve full formation of the volatilizable compound. The surface of the volatilizable compound is exposed to a gas composition for a time duration sufficient to completely etch the volatilizable compound.

Use of ion implantation in chemical etching

Etch selectivity enhancement during electron beam activated chemical etch (EBACE) is disclosed. A target or portion thereof may be exposed to a gas composition of a type that etches the target when the gas composition and/or target are exposed to an electron beam. By directing an electron beam toward the target in the vicinity of the gas composition, an interaction between the electron beam and the gas composition etches a portion of the target exposed to both the gas composition and the electron beam. Selectivity of etching of the target due to interaction between the electron beam and gas composition may be enhanced in a number of ways.

Etch selectivity enhancement in electron beam activated chemical etch

A method for sharpening a metal carbide emitter tip is disclosed. The metal carbide emitter tip is exposed to an oxygen rich, low vacuum environment when the metal carbide emitter tip is at a first temperature. The metal carbide emitter tip is rapidly heated to a higher second temperature at regular intervals of time.

Sharpening metal carbide emitters

A scanning electron beam apparatus with an Auger spectrometer. The apparatus includes at least an electron column for generating a primary electron beam, a magnetic objective lens configured to focus the primary electron beam onto a surface of a target substrate, and a spectrometer configured to detect Auger electrons emitted from the surface of the target substrate. The magnetic objective lens applies a magnetic field strength greater than 10 Gauss and less than 50 Gauss at the surface of the target substrate. Other embodiments, aspects and features are also disclosed.

Auger electron spectrometer with applied magnetic field at target surface

A method and the instrument for characterization of the defects on a surface with Auger electron spectroscopy in a high vacuum environment are disclosed. Defects on the surface of a sample may be characterized with Auger electron spectroscopy in a high vacuum environment.

Method and instrument for chemical defect characterization in high vacuum

A system and method of determining shape and position corrections of a beam such as a particle or other beam used in a system such as a particle beam lithography. The method of providing corrected deflector voltages may include determining a voltage step value by subtracting a previous deflector voltage value with a current deflector voltage value; determining a plurality of correction values using the voltage step value and an exposure time for the current deflector voltage value; selecting a current voltage correction value from the plurality of correction values using the current deflector voltage value; and calculating a corrected deflector voltage value by adding the current voltage correction value to the current deflector voltage value.

Beam exposure correction system and method

A photocathode as a source of electron beams, having a substrate of optically transmissive diamond and a photoemitter. A photocathode with a single emitting region provides a single electron beam; a photocathode with multiple emitting regions provides multiple electron beams. The photoemitter is positioned on the side of the diamond substrate opposite the surface on which the illumination is incident, and has an irradiation region at the contact with the optically transmissive diamond, and an emission region opposite the irradiation region, these regions being defined by the path of the illumination. The diamond substrate at the irradiation region/emission region interface conducts heat away from this focused region of illumination on the photocathode. Alternately, a diamond film is used for heat conduction, while another material is used as a substrate to provide structural support. The thermal conductivity of diamond is at least three orders of magnitude greater than that of fused silica, which is an alternative substrate material for photocathodes. This allows for efficient conduction of heat away from the irradiation region/emission region interface, and therefore allows higher currents to be achieved from the photocathode. This, in turn, permits higher throughput rates in applications including electron beam lithography.

Diamond supported photocathodes for electron sources

Growing community of inventors

Fremont, CA, United States of America

Ming Lun Yu