Process and apparatus for converged fine line electron beam treatment of objects
AssigneeEnergy Sciences Inc.
InventorsA. Stuart Denholm, William A. Frutiger, Kenneth E. Williams
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Abstract
This disclosure is concerned with the use of fine line converged electron beams of high aspect ratio for effecting physical, chemical, mechanical and other changes in the surface of objects, and also volume effects, including applications, for example, to semiconductor and other materials surface modification technology, annealing, welding, etching, polishing, cutting, curing and other surface and volume alteration.
Claims37
A process for treatment of objects with the aid of electron beam energy, that comprises, generating and propagating electrons within a vacuum along a predetermined direction and in a linear beam having spatial and temporal uniformity of both high current densities and low electron energy levels that extends transverse to said direction;
- converging the beam into a fine line of intense charge;
- and impacting the converged fine line beam upon an object-to-be-treated.
Apparatus for generating a fine line strip electron beam for the treatment of materials for physical, chemical, mechanical and other surface modifications, having, in combination, electron gun means for propagating electrons along a predetermined direction and disposed within an evacuated housing and comprising a cathode for generating the electrons extending linearly transversely to said direction, control grid and acceleration and focusing means, and means for adjusting the latter to converge the linear beam into a fine line electron beam strip;
- and means for supporting material-to-be treated in the path of the converged strip;
- the cathode being of shape and length corresponding substantially to a dimensional area of the material so that the same is treated by the fine line beam simultaneously across such dimension, and being formed such that the electron beam has spatial and temporal uniformity of both high current densities and low electron energy levels.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.