System and method for improving thin films by gas cluster ion beam processing
AssigneeEpion Corporation
InventorsLisa P. Allen, David B. Fenner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention provides apparatus and methods to carry out the task of both reducing the surface roughness (smoothing) and improving the thickness uniformity of, preferably, but not limited thereto, the top silicon film of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer or similar thin-film electronic and photonic materials (workpiece). It also provides a method and apparatus for smoothing the surface of a (preferably) SOI wafer (workpiece) and for making the surface of the silicon film of a (preferably) SOI wafer cleaner and more free from contaminants.
Claims40
An apparatus for gas cluster ion beam processing of a workpiece having an initially non-uniform thin film on a surface thereof, the apparatus comprising:
- a vacuum enclosure;
- a gas cluster ion beam source located within the vacuum enclosure for producing a gas cluster ion beam, the gas cluster ion beam having a beam path, a beam intensity and a controllable beam energy;
- means for disposing the workpiece in the path of the gas cluster ion beam for processing;
- means for controllably producing relative scanning motion between the workpiece and the gas cluster ion beam in order to sequentially process different regions on the surface of the workpiece with the gas cluster ion beam;
- means for storing a data map of non-uniformity of the workpiece;
- and
- means responsive to the stored data map of non-uniformity for modulating the amount of processing of the surface of the workpiece to modify the surface.
An apparatus for gas cluster ion beam processing of a workpiece having an initially non-uniform thin film on a surface thereof, the apparatus comprising:
- a vacuum enclosure;
- a gas cluster ion beam source located within the vacuum enclosure for producing a gas cluster ion beam, the gas cluster ion beam having a beam path, a beam intensity and a controllable beam energy;
- means for disposing the workpiece in the path of the gas cluster ion beam for processing;
- means for controllably moving the gas cluster ion beam relative to the workpiece in order to scan the surface of the workpiece with the gas cluster ion beam;
- means for storing a data map of non-uniformity of the workpiece;
- and
- means responsive to the stored data map of non-uniformity for modulating the amount of processing of the surface of the workpiece to modify the surface.
An apparatus for gas cluster ion beam processing of a workpiece having an initially non-uniform thin film on a surface thereof, the apparatus comprising:
- a vacuum enclosure;
- a gas cluster ion beam source located within the vacuum enclosure for producing a gas cluster ion beam, the gas cluster ion beam having a beam path, a beam intensity and a controllable beam energy;
- means for disposing the workpiece in the path of the gas cluster ion beam for processing;
- means for controllably producing relative motion between the workpiece and the gas cluster ion beam in order to scan the surface of the workpiece with the gas cluster ion beam, wherein said relative motion is varied to modulate the amount of processing of the surface of the workpiece and said variation is accomplished by beam-scan deflection plates being supplied with drive voltages that change non-uniformly with time;
- means for storing a data map of non-uniformity of the workpiece;
- and
- means responsive to the stored data map of non-uniformity for modulating the amount of processing of the surface of the workpiece to modify the surface.
An apparatus for gas cluster ion beam processing of a workpiece having an initially non-uniform thin film on a surface thereof, the apparatus comprising:
- a vacuum enclosure;
- a gas cluster ion beam source located within the vacuum enclosure for producing a gas cluster ion beam, the gas cluster ion beam having a beam path, a beam intensity and a controllable beam energy;
- means for disposing the workpiece in the path of the gas cluster ion beam for processing;
- means for controllably producing relative motion between the workpiece and the gas cluster ion beam in order to scan the surface of the workpiece with the gas cluster ion beam;
- means for storing a data map of non-uniformity of the workpiece;
- means responsive to the stored data map of non-uniformity for modulating the amount of processing of the surface of the workpiece to modify the surface;
- and
- means for measuring and mapping the non-uniformity of the workpiece, said means for measuring utilizing a spectral ellipsometry technique.
An apparatus for gas cluster ion beam processing of a workpiece having an initially non-uniform thin film on a surface thereof, the apparatus comprising:
- a vacuum enclosure;
- a gas cluster ion beam source located within the vacuum enclosure for producing a gas cluster ion beam, the gas cluster ion beam having a beam path, a beam intensity and a controllable beam energy;
- means for disposing the workpiece in the path of the gas cluster ion beam for processing;
- means for controllably producing relative motion between the workpiece and the gas cluster ion beam in order to scan the surface of the workpiece with the gas cluster ion beam;
- means for storing a data map of non-uniformity of the workpiece;
- and
- means responsive to the stored data map of non-uniformity for modulating the amount of processing of the surface of the workpiece to modify the surface.
- means for measuring and mapping the non-uniformity of the workpiece, wherein said measuring means is outside the vacuum enclosure and performs the measurement through transparent ports in the vacuum enclosure.
A method of modifying a surface of a workpiece having a non-uniformity by gas cluster ion beam processing comprising:
- mapping information about the non-uniformity of the workpiece by a measuring technique;
- scanning a gas cluster ion beam across a surface of the workpiece;
- and
- modulating the gas cluster ion beam processing of the surface of the workpiece according to the mapping information.
A method of modifying a surface of a workpiece having a non-uniformity by gas cluster ion beam processing comprising:
- mapping the non-uniformity of the workpiece by a spectral ellipsometry technique;
- directing a gas cluster ion beam toward a surface of the workpiece;
- and
- modulating the gas cluster ion beam processing of the surface of the workpiece according to the mapping information.
An apparatus for gas cluster ion beam processing of a workpiece having an initially non-uniform thin film on a surface thereof, the apparatus comprising:
- a vacuum enclosure;
- a gas cluster ion beam source located within the vacuum enclosure for producing a gas cluster ion beam, the gas cluster ion beam having a beam path, a beam intensity and a controllable beam energy;
- means for disposing the workpiece in the path of the gas cluster ion beam for processing;
- means for controllably producing relative motion between the workpiece and the gas cluster ion beam in order to scan the surface of the workpiece with the gas cluster ion beam;
- means for storing a data map of non-uniformity of the workpiece;
- means responsive to the stored data map of non-uniformity for modulating the amount of processing of the surface of the workpiece to modify the surface;
- and
- means for measuring and mapping the non-uniformity of the workpiece, said means for measuring utilizing a technique that can produce a point-by-point film thickness map that can be reduced to thickness contours.
A method of modifying a surface of a workpiece having a non-uniformity by gas cluster ion beam processing comprising:
- mapping the non-uniformity of the workpiece by a technique that can produce a point-by-point film thickness map that can be reduced to thickness contours;
- directing a gas cluster ion beam toward a surface of the workpiece;
- and
- modulating the gas cluster ion beam processing of the surface of the workpiece according to the mapping information.
An apparatus for gas cluster ion beam processing of a workpiece, the apparatus comprising:
- a vacuum enclosure;
- a gas cluster ion beam source located within the vacuum enclosure for producing a gas cluster ion beam, the gas cluster ion beam having a beam path, a beam intensity and a controllable beam energy;
- means for disposing the workpiece in the path of the gas cluster ion beam for processing;
- means for controllably producing relative motion between the workpiece and the gas cluster ion beam in order to scan the surface of the workpiece with the gas cluster ion beam for spatial variations across the surface of the substrate, wherein the spatial variations occur within a property of the substrate desired to be more uniform;
- means for creating a data map of the scanned spatial variations;
- means for storing the created data map;
- and
- means responsive to the stored data map for substantially continuously processing the surface of the workpiece to reduce the spatial variations across the surface of the substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.