US 11,958,739 B2 · Method for ablating or roughening wafer surfaces

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.

Claims23

Dependent claims

A method for removing portions of a thin film of an electric insulator from a surface of an underlying substrate and roughening the underlying substrate, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) placing a substrate, coated with a thin film comprising an electric insulator on at least one of the substrate's surfaces, in between two electrodes that are each electrically connected to a plasma generator;
and
(b) activating the plasma generator to discharge a plasma-containing electron beam or arc upon the thin film, thereby removing portions of the thin film from the entrance side and roughening the underlying substrate by the beam or arc;
provided that no liquid solution is used on the thin film before or during the above two steps.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method for ablating or roughening wafer surfaces

Life of this patent

Method for ablating or roughening wafer surfaces

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims23