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. 03, 2015
Filed:
Sep. 30, 2014
Applicant:
Fei Company, Hillsboro, OR (US);
Inventors:
Jeffrey Blackwood, Portland, OR (US);
Matthew Bray, Portland, OR (US);
Corey Senowitz, San Diego, CA (US);
Cliff Bugge, Portland, OR (US);
Assignee:
FEI Company, Hillsboro, OR (US);
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H01J 37/00 (2006.01); H01J 37/305 (2006.01); G01N 1/28 (2006.01); H01J 37/26 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
H01J 37/3056 (2013.01); G01N 1/286 (2013.01); H01J 37/261 (2013.01); G01N 2001/2886 (2013.01); H01J 2237/31745 (2013.01);
Abstract
An improved method of preparing ultra-thin TEM samples that combines backside thinning with an additional cleaning step to remove surface defects on the FIB-facing substrate surface. This additional step results in the creation of a cleaned, uniform 'hardmask' that controls the ultimate results of the sample thinning, and allows for reliable and robust preparation of samples having thicknesses down to the 10 nm range.