Shimadzu Corporation

Rikagaku Kenkyusho

The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research

Tokyo Electron Limited

National University of Singapore

Yoshinobu Aoyagi

Tamio Hara

Kozo Ando

Hideo Hirose

Susumu Namba

Manabu Hamagaki

Nobuo Ishii

Kohei Kawamura

Naoki Takayama

Yongfeng Lu

An apparatus for dry cleaning a surface includes a laser generator, a laser beam homogenizer, an aperture and a lens that are controlled by a CPU. The laser is preferably a KrF excimer laser although any laser capable of generating a pulsed output in the ultraviolet spectrum may be used. The lens is preferably a plano-convex lens. Articles to be cleaned are placed on a conveyor that transports the article through the laser beam. The CPU can store parameters for optimizing removal of a particular contaminant. These parameters may include the frequency of the pulse beam generated by the laser, the shape of the aperture, the position of the lens is controlled by a stage, and the speed of the conveyor belt.

Apparatus for CFC-free laser surface cleaning

An X-ray generating apparatus in which X-rays are emitted from laser plasma, the X-ray generating apparatus including a strong magnetic field generating device for generating a magnetic field component substantially parallel with the target surface in the vicinity of the laser plasma. The magnetic field component is arranged to generate a magnetic force which acts directly on charged particles in the laser plasma to bend the tracks of the charged particles, causing the charged particles to be confined in a magnetic field formed by the magnetic field component. The magnetic flux of the strong magnetic field is directed to a direction which is different from the direction in which the laser plasma is generated. An X-ray supply object is disposed in the laser plasma generating direction. Charged particles, liable to be directed to the X-ray supply object, are mainly confined in the strong magnetic field.

X-ray generating apparatus and X-ray microscope

An X-ray microscope utilizing X-rays radiating from a laser-irradiated target so as to form an X-ray image of a specimen placed in a sample cell, the X-ray microscope includes a target for radiating X-rays when the same is irradiated with a laser beam, a sample cell for housing a specimen, the sample cell provided near the surface of target placed opposite to where the target is irradiated with the laser beam, and a detector for forming an X-ray image of the specimen by X-ray penetration, wherein the target, the sample cell and the detector are unified in a unit. The unit is placed at a place where the laser beam is irradiated to the target. A spacer is provided between the target and the sample cell, wherein the size of the spacer is determined depending on a distance between the specimen and the target. With this construction, this facilitates the fabrication of the unit. The unit is placed in the miniature vacuum chamber which comprises a division for housing the unit, and a space provided toward the target. And the vacuum chamber housing the unit is placed in an X-ray microscope.

X-ray microscope

An X-ray generating apparatus generates X-rays from plasma formed by irradiating a laser beam to a target. The apparatus includes an X-ray transmitting film disposed at at least one side of the target with a predetermined gap provided therebetween. The X-ray transmitting film has a thickness such that the film is not broken due to an action in the X-ray generating process. The X-rays are taken out through the X-ray transmitting film. An X-ray microscope can employ such an X-ray generating apparatus, with the X-rays from the apparatus being guided to the sample, with the sample to be observed being disposed in the vicinity of the X-ray transmitting film, and with a detecting device for detecting an X-ray image formed by X-rays transmitted through the sample.

An electron beam-excited ion beam source having a plasma region, an accelerating cathode, an electron beam accelerating region, an accelerating anode, an ion producing region and a target cathode in this order, and further comprising means for applying a negative electric potential to the target cathode as against the accelerating cathode and an ion extracting electrode for extracting positive ions or negative ions produced in the ion producing region whereby a high current ion beam can be obtained in a low input power.

Electron beam-excited ion beam source

An ion-producing apparatus comprises an electron-producing vessel having an electron-producing chamber, an ion-producing vessel having an ion-producing chamber communicating with the electron-producing chamber, a cathode provided at one end of the electron-producing vessel, an accelerating electrode provided within the ion-producing chamber, for allowing passage of electrons, an anode provided between the cathode and the accelerating electrode, and a power supply circuit for providing a potential difference between the cathode and the anode, thereby to produce electrons in the gap between the cathode and the anode. A vacuum pump is provided for evacuating gas from the ion-producing chamber. A partition is provided within the electron-producing vessel, between the cathode and the anode to divide the electron-producing vessel into a cathode-side chamber and an anode-side chamber, and hinders a gas flow from the cathode-side chamber to the anode-side chamber to apply a pressure difference between both chambers.

Ion-producing apparatus

Disclosed is a method of producing echelette gratings using a beam of electrically charged particles to bomber a masked substrate. The shape and blazed angle '.delta.' of the echelette grating is controlled by putting the substrate at a selected slant angle '.theta.' with regard to the beam of electrically charged particles.

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Yoshinobu Aoyagi