Gas cluster ion beam size diagnostics and workpiece processing
First Claim
1. An apparatus for gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) mass or cluster size diagnostics for improving GCIB workpiece processing, comprising:
- a vacuum vessel;
a gas cluster ion beam source within the vacuum vessel for producing a gas cluster ion beam;
an accelerator for accelerating the gas cluster ion beam along a trajectory;
a beam gate for controllably interrupting and restoring the gas cluster ion beam;
beam current measurement means disposed along the trajectory at a predetermined distance, L, from said beam gate;
workpiece holding means disposed along the trajectory for holding a workpiece for gas cluster ion beam processing;
control means for providing beam gating signals to said beam gate that controllably interrupt and restore the gas cluster ion beam;
time-of-flight measurement means for measuring the times-of-flight of components of the gas cluster ion beam over said distance, L; and
a time-of-flight analyzer to analyze said times of flight of components of the gas cluster ion beam in order to provide output information relative to GCIB mass or cluster size;
wherein said output information is used in the gas cluster ion beam processing of the workpiece.
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Abstract
Methods and apparatus for measuring the distribution of cluster ion sizes in a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) and for determining the mass distribution and mass flow of cluster ions in a GCIB processing system without necessitating the rejection of a portion of the beam through magnetic or electrostatic mass analysis. The invention uses time-of-flight measurement to estimate or monitor cluster ion size distribution either before or during processing of a workpiece. The measured information is displayed and incorporated in automated control of a GCIB processing system.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. An apparatus for gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) mass or cluster size diagnostics for improving GCIB workpiece processing, comprising:
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a vacuum vessel;
a gas cluster ion beam source within the vacuum vessel for producing a gas cluster ion beam;
an accelerator for accelerating the gas cluster ion beam along a trajectory;
a beam gate for controllably interrupting and restoring the gas cluster ion beam;
beam current measurement means disposed along the trajectory at a predetermined distance, L, from said beam gate;
workpiece holding means disposed along the trajectory for holding a workpiece for gas cluster ion beam processing;
control means for providing beam gating signals to said beam gate that controllably interrupt and restore the gas cluster ion beam;
time-of-flight measurement means for measuring the times-of-flight of components of the gas cluster ion beam over said distance, L; and
a time-of-flight analyzer to analyze said times of flight of components of the gas cluster ion beam in order to provide output information relative to GCIB mass or cluster size;
wherein said output information is used in the gas cluster ion beam processing of the workpiece. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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12. An apparatus for gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) mass or cluster size diagnostics for improving GCIB workpiece processing, comprising:
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a vacuum vessel;
a gas cluster ion beam source within the vacuum vessel for producing a gas cluster ion beam;
an accelerator for accelerating said gas cluster ion beam along a first trajectory;
a beam deflector for controllably interrupting and restoring the gas cluster ion beam flow along the first trajectory by deflecting the gas cluster ion beam along a second trajectory;
beam current measurement means disposed along the first trajectory at a predetermined distance, L, from said beam deflector;
workpiece holding means disposed along the first trajectory for holding a workpiece for gas cluster ion beam processing;
control means for providing beam deflecting signals to said beam deflector that controllably interrupt and restore the gas cluster ion beam;
time-of-flight measurement means for measuring the times-of-flight of components of the gas cluster ion beam along said distance, L; and
a time-of-flight analyzer to analyze said times of flight of components of the gas cluster ion beam in order to provide output information relative to GCIB mass or cluster size;
wherein said output information is used in the gas cluster ion beam processing of the workpiece.
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23. An apparatus for gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) mass or cluster size diagnostics for improving GCIB workpiece processing, comprising:
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a vacuum vessel;
a gas cluster ion beam source within the vacuum vessel for producing a gas cluster ion beam;
an accelerator for accelerating the gas cluster ion beam along a trajectory;
a beam gate for controllably interrupting and restoring the gas cluster ion beam;
beam current measurement means disposed along the trajectory at a predetermined distance, L, from said beam gate;
control means for providing beam gating signals to said beam gate that controllably interrupt and restore the gas cluster ion beam;
time-of-flight measurement means for measuring the times-of-flight of components of the gas cluster ion beam over said distance, L; and
a time-of-flight analyzer to analyze said times of flight of components of the gas cluster ion beam in order to provide output information relative to GCIB mass or cluster size.
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24. An apparatus for gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) mass or cluster size diagnostics for improving GCIB workpiece processing, comprising:
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a vacuum vessel;
a gas cluster ion beam source within the vacuum vessel for producing a gas cluster ion beam;
an accelerator for accelerating said gas cluster ion beam along a first trajectory;
a beam deflector for controllably interrupting and restoring the gas cluster ion beam flow along the first trajectory by deflecting the gas cluster ion beam along a second trajectory;
beam current measurement means disposed along the first trajectory at a predetermined distance, L, from said beam deflector;
control means for providing beam deflecting signals to said beam deflector that controllably interrupt and restore the gas cluster ion beam;
time-of-flight measurement means for measuring the times-of-flight of components of the gas cluster ion beam along said distance, L; and
a time-of-flight analyzer to analyze said times of flight of components of the gas cluster ion beam in order to provide output information relative to GCIB mass or cluster size.
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25. A method of measuring a characteristic of an ion beam comprising the steps of:
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projecting the ion beam along a path having a predetermined length;
collecting the ion beam current;
abruptly switching the ion beam at a time t0 to produce a current transient;
measuring the current transient; and
processing the current transient measurement to calculate a characteristic of the ion beam.
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Specification