US 6,663,747 B2 · Apparatus and method for enhancing the uniform etching capability of an ion beam grid

Abstract

A shaper for an ion beam gun has a plate with a non-symmetrical profile including notches and tabs. The shaper is mounted to the surface of an ion beam grid having an array of holes. The shaper is oriented radially on the grid and covers some of the holes in the grid. The grid is mounted to an ion beam gun above a specimen that is rotated beneath the ion beam gun. The ion beam is filtered into smaller ion beamlets by the grid. The ion beamlets permeate the holes in the grid that are not covered by the shaper. The ion beamlets reach the specimen to etch it more uniformly than a grid that does not have a shaper. The shaper may be further optimized for a particular grid via a trial-and-error process to even further refine the uniformity of etching depth.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A device for etching a specimen, comprising:

support means for supporting the specimen and having a central axis;
an ion beam gun axially spaced apart from the support means for emitting an ion beam toward the specimen, wherein one of the ion beam gun and the support means is rotatable relative to the other;
an ion beam grid mounted to the gun and having a surface with a plurality of holes extending therethrough for filtering the ion beam;
and
blocking means mounted to the ion beam grid for covering at least some of the holes in the grid such that the ion beam emitted by the gun is blocked from passing through said at least some of the holes for improving an etch depth uniformity of the specimen across an entire surface of the specimen.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatus and method for enhancing the uniform etching capability of an ion beam grid

Life of this patent

Apparatus and method for enhancing the uniform etching capability of an ion beam grid

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims12