Maskless Lithography, Inc.

International Business Machines Corporation

Other

Keysight Technologies, Inc.

Chime Ball Technology Co., Ltd.

William Daniel Meisburger

Steven D Golladay

Fritz J Hohn

David J Hutson

Juergen Rasch

Lawrence Muray

James P Spallas

Kurt Stephen Werder

An apparatus for inspecting a substrate is described. The apparatus includes an X-Y stage that supports a substrate to be inspected and is operable to move a substrate supported thereby in X and Y directions; and an imaging system including a plurality of beam columns operable to irradiate regions of a substrate supported by the X-Y stage with beams of energy, respectively, discrete from one another. Respective ones of the beam columns are movable relative to others of the electron beam columns.

Imaging apparatus having a plurality of movable beam columns, and method of inspecting a plurality of regions of a substrate intended to be substantially identical

An optical lithography system comprises a light source, a spatial light modulator, imaging optics and means for continuously moving a photosensitive substrate relative to the spatial light modulator. The spatial light modulator comprises at least one array of individually switchable elements. The spatial light modulator is continuously illuminated and an image of the spatial light modulator is continuously projected on the substrate; consequently, the image is constantly moving across the surface of the substrate. While the image is moving across the surface, elements of the spatial light modulator are switched such that a pixel on the surface of the substrate receives, in serial, doses of energy from multiple elements of the spatial light modulator, thus forming a latent image on the substrate surface. The imaging optics is configured to project a blurred image of the spatial light modulator on the substrate, enabling sub-pixel resolution feature edge placement.

Method of operation for SLM-based optical lithography tool

Apparatus for SLM-based optical lithography with gray level capability

Gray level method for slim-based optical lithography

Continuous direct-write optical lithography

An E-beam testing system uses the E-beam to test a sample with conductive elements thereon. The system charges conductive elements on the sample. Above the sample and parallel to its upper surface is a stacked pair of parallel extraction grids. One grid is biased positively to accelerate secondary electrons emitted from the sample. The other grid is biased at a voltage to control the angular distribution of secondary electrons passing through the grid. Rectangular double grid sets, tilted with respect to the beam and the sample, are located above and laterally of the sample and the E-beam. Those grids are charged to attract secondary electrons from the sample. Triangular grids between the rectangular grids and a top grid above and parallel to the sample with an aperture therethrough for the E-beam are biased negatively to repel secondary electrons. Below the rectangular and triangular grids is located a cylindrical attraction grid biased positively, coaxial with the E-beam. A method of testing electrical connections and short circuits of conductors on a body of insulating material without physical contact includes the steps of: a) applying an unfocused flood electron beam with a low current to a broad surface of the body, simultaneously applying a different focused probe electron beam having an energy predetermined to provide a charge of opposite polarity from the flood beam to other areas of the body to be probed, b) generating an electron beam to cause secondary electron emission from the conductors; and c) detecting the presence of connections not at a given potential.

Method for opens/shorts testing of capacitively coupled networks in

An E-beam testing system uses the E-beam to test a sample with conductive elements thereon. The system charges conductive elements on the sample. Above the sample and parallel to its upper surface is a stacked pair of parallel extraction grids. One grid is biased positively to accelerate secondary electrons emitted from the sample. The other grid is biased at a voltage to control the angular distribution of secondary electrons passing through the grid. Rectangular double grid sets, tilted with respect to the beam and the sample, are located above and laterally of the sample and the E-beam. Those grids are charged to attract secondary electrons from the sample. Triangular grids between the rectangular grids and a top grid above and parallel to the sample with an aperture therethrough for the E-beam are biased negatively to repel secondary electrons. Below the rectangular and triangular grids is located a cylindrical attraction grid biased positively, coaxial with the E-beam. A method of testing electrical connections and short circuits of conductors on a body of insulating material without physical contact includes the steps of: (a) applying an unfocused flood electron beam with a low current to a broad surface of the body, simultaneously applying a different focused probe electron beam having an energy predetermined to provide a charge of opposite polarity from the flood beam to other areas of the body to be probed, (b) generating an electron beam to cause secondary electron emission from the conductors; and (c) detecting the presence of connections not at a given potential.

Apparatus and method for opens/shorts testing of capacitively coupled

An electron lens having very low spherical aberration. The two electrodes of the lens, in the case of an immersion lens, and the outer electrodes in the case of a three electrode lens, have central openings (in the region of the optical axis) covered by a metallic thin foil or a fine mesh metallic screen curved in the general shape of a hyperbola. Equations and procedures are given for determining the exact shape of the curvature. A procedure is also disclosed for forming the metallic foil or screen section of the electrode to the desired shape.

Electron lens

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

William Daniel Meisburger