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:
Nov. 04, 2003
Filed:
Mar. 27, 2001
Michael Phaneuf, Ottawa, CA;
Jian Li, Ottawa, CA;
Richard F. Shuman, Concord, MA (US);
Kathryn Noll, Tewksbury, MA (US);
J. David Casey, Jr., Peabody, MA (US);
FEI Company, Hillsboro, OR (US);
Abstract
A charged particle beam uniformly removes material, particularly crystalline material, from an area of a target by compensating for or altering the crystal orientation or structure of the material to be removed. The invention is particularly suited for FIB micromachining of copper-based crystalline structures. Uniformity of material removal can be improved, for example, by passing incoming ions through a sacrificial layer formed on the surface of the material to be removed. The sacrificial layer is removed along with the material being milled. Uniformity of removal can also be improved by changing the morphology of the material to be removed, for example, by disrupting its crystal structure or by altering its topography.