The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 16, 2024
Filed:
Mar. 01, 2021
University of Rhode Island Board of Trustees, Kingston, RI (US);
Jason Rodger Dwyer, Providence, RI (US);
Y. M. Nuwan D. Y. Bandara, Gonawala, LK;
Brian Sheetz, Saunderstown, RI (US);
University of Rhode Island Board of Trustees, Kingston, RI (US);
Abstract
The present invention provides a simple method for ablating a protective thin film on a bulk surface and roughening the underlying bulk. In an embodiment, silicon nitride thin films, which are useful as etch-stop masks in micro- and nano-fabrication, is removed from a silicon wafer's surface using a hand-held 'flameless' Tesla-coil lighter. Vias created by a spatially localized electron beam from the lighter allow a practitioner to perform micro- and nano-fabrication without the conventional steps of needing a photoresist and photolithography. Patterning could be achieved with a hard mask or rastering of the spatially confined discharge, offering—with low barriers to rapid use—particular capabilities that might otherwise be out of reach to researchers without access to conventional, instrumentation-intensive micro- and nano-fabrication workflows.