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:
Mar. 04, 2003
Filed:
Nov. 07, 2000
Michael J. Lercel, Williston, VT (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
In accordance with the present invention, a method for forming a stencil mask from a difficult to form material, such as diamond, is provided. A stencil mask formed of diamond in accordance with the present invention provides advantageous properties of heat transmission and stiffness. The method in accordance with the present invention utilizes a nucleation layer over an etch stop layer. The nucleation layer facilitates the growth of a diamond film. The etch stop layer may comprise a buried oxide layer and the nucleation layer may comprise a thin layer of silicon. The buried oxide layer provides an etch stop for use in the definition of the diamond membrane and in the etching of the diamond layer to form the stencil. The use of the buried oxide layer as an etch stop provides improved profile control of the etches.