Hitachi, Ltd.

Takashi Kamimura

Akira Shimase

Fumikazu Itoh

Toru Otsubo

Michinobu Mizumura

Yoshimi Kawanami

Kaoru Umemura

Susumu Aiuchi

Junzou Azuma

Yuuichi Madokoro

Yuuichi Hamamura

Mikio Hongo

Takahiko Takahashi

Katsuro Mizukoshi

Teru Fujii

Hiroshi Yamaguchi

Minori Noguchi

Toshihiko Nakata

Tohru Ishitani

Hitoshi Tamura

Satoshi Haraichi

Ichiro Sasaki

Shuzo Sano

Shyuzo Sano

Mitsuko Imatake

Minoru Noguchi

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 plasma processing apparatus is provided with a processing chamber having at least a pair of opposing windows to allow observation of the interior thereof, a plasma generation unit for generating a plasma in the processing chamber, a plasma light emission monitoring unit arranged externally of the processing chamber for monitoring the light emission of the plasma through one of the pair of opposing windows, a reference light irradiation unit for irradiating a reference light to the plasma light emission monitoring unit from that window of the pair of opposing windows which is opposite to the plasma light emission monitoring unit through the pair of opposing windows, and a control for controlling a plasma processing state of the substrate to be processed by comparing the data on the light emission of the plasma monitored by the plasma light emission unit and the reference light.

Plasma processing apparatus and processing method

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

The wiring of a semiconductor device having a multilayer interconnection on a semiconductor substrate is modified. A plurality of fine holes are formed on an insulation film by the radiation of a converged energy beam to expose selected ones of the internal lines of the underlying wiring. A thin buffer film of Cr, Ti, TiN, or W is formed along a path where an additional connection line is to be deposited. The path extends along an upper surface of the insulating film at least in and between the said fine holes. The additional connection line is deposited on the buffer film by energy beam CVD, using Mo, W, or Al, to interconnect the exposed internal lines. The additional connection line is annealed by radiating an energy beam thereon to reduce its resistance. A further insulating film is deposited covering the additional connection line by energy beam CVD.

Method for modifying wiring of semiconductor device

A semiconductor IC device having a substrate, a patterned conductor layer for interconnection of regions in the substrate and a passivation layer covering the device is provided with an additional conduction path of a pattern and/or part of the patterned conductor layer is removed for disconnection for the purpose of evaluation of the characteristics of the device. The additional conduction path is formed by forming a hole in the passivation layer to expose a part of the conductor layer, directing, in an atmosphere containing a metal compound gas, an ion beam onto the hole and onto a predetermined portion of the passivation layer on which the additional conduction path of a pattern is to be formed to thereby form a patterned film of the metal decomposed from the metal compound gas and forming an additional conductor on the patterned film. The provision of the additional conduction path and/or the removal of part of the patterned conductor layer is preformed in a chemical vapor deposition apparatus which includes a vacuum chamber and an ion beam radiation unit having a housing partitioned into, for example, first, second and third compartments. The ion beam radiation unit has an ion source placed in the first compartment, an ion beam focusing and deflecting device placed in the second compartment and pressure buffer constituted by the third compartment. The third compartment is coupled to and pneumatically isolated from the vacuum chamber for conducting an ion beam emitted from the ion source, passing the second compartment and ejected from the second compartment to the vacuum chamber.

Method of providing a semiconductor IC device with an additional

A plasma processing method and an apparatus for carrying out the method in which a processing gas is introduced into a processing chamber, and periodically an amplitude modulated or frequency-modulated high-frequency voltage is applied to plasma generating means, to generate a discharge plasma and to carry out predetermined processing by the plasma.

Plasma processing method and apparatus for carrying out the same

The invention is directed to a dry-etching apparatus used for etching an aluminum wiring film formed on a wafer, and more particularly to a dry-etching apparatus which can remove chlorides deposited on the surface of the wafer during the dry etching thereof, as well as an etching resist film, without having to take the wafer out. This dry-etching apparatus is provided with an etching chamber, a vacuum antechamber attached to the etching chamber by a gate valve, and a post-treatment chamber attached to the vacuum antechamber. The apparatus is so formed that etched wafers removed to the vacuum antechamber can be sent therefrom to the post-treatment chamber, and then the post-treated wafers can be removed to the vacuum antechamber again, and then removed therefrom to the atmosphere.

Dry-etching apparatus

The present invention consists in an etching method and apparatus wherein an optical image which is reflected from a region of a dicing stripe pattern on a substrate to-be-etched, such as a semiconductor wafer, is focused by a projecting optical system during selective etching. The focused pattern is converted into an image signal by an image detector, and a change of contrast in the region of the dicing stripe pattern is determined from the image signal. Based on this, an ending time for the etching can be decided from the change of contrast.

Etching method and apparatus

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Yokosuka, Japan

Takashi Kamimura