Gas cluster ion beam smoother apparatus

• US 6,486,478 B1
• Filed: 12/06/2000
• Issued: 11/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lumentum Operations, LLC (Lumentum Holdings Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Epion Corporation (Tokyo Electron Limited)
• Inventors: Crawford, Lester G., Bachand, James G., Gwinn, Matthew C., Yamada, Isao, Greer, James A., Torti, Richard P., Libby, Bruce K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, John R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vanore, David A.
• Application Number:
  US09/731,688
• Time in Patent Office: 720 Days
• Field of Search: 250/492.1, 250/492.2, 250/492.22, 204/192.1
• US Class Current: 250/492.1
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/0812 Ionized cluster beam [ICB] sources
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3053 for evaporating or etching

Abstract

An apparatus for smoothing a surface of a substrate includes an ionizer to form gas cluster particles; a power supply to accelerate the gas cluster particles; a triode/Einzel lens combination assembly to focus the accelerated gas cluster particles; a permanent magnet beam filter; scan plates to irradiate the filtered accelerated gas cluster particles onto a surface of a workpiece situated in a reduced pressure atmosphere chamber; and a substrate loading/unloading mechanism to load and unload the workpiece. The ionizer includes an alignment device wherein the alignment device includes a X/Y translation element and an angular translation element. The substrate loading/unloading mechanism provides a workpiece from a plurality of workpieces onto a holder positioned at a first position within the reduced pressure atmosphere chamber, the first position being substantially parallel to a central axis of a flow of the filtered accelerated gas cluster particles. The substrate loading/unloading mechanism also moves the holder with a workpiece thereon to a second position, the second position being substantially perpendicular to the first position and the central axis of a flow of the filtered accelerated gas cluster particles.

Claims

1. A substrate surface treatment method, comprising the steps of:

(a) forming a beam comprising gas cluster particles comprising a plurality of atoms or molecules, said beam further comprising gas monomers;

(b) ionizing the gas cluster particles and gas monomers;

(c) accelerating the gas cluster particles and gas monomers;

(d) filtering accelerated gas cluster particles and gas monomers to remove the accelerated gas monomers using a permanent magnet beam filter; and

(e) irradiating the accelerated magnetically filtered gas cluster particles onto a surface of a substrate in a reduced pressure atmosphere.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the permanent magnet beam filter includes a permanent magnet having north and south poles, iron pole pieces attached to the permanent magnet to form a magnetic circuit having two pole faces separated by a gap between which the ionized gas cluster particles flow.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the filtering step further removes accelerated low mass gas cluster particles.

4. A substrate surface treatment apparatus, comprising:

a nozzle to form a beam comprising gas cluster particles comprising a plurality of atoms or molecules, said beam further comprising gas monomers;

an ionizer to ionize said gas cluster particles and gas monomers;

a power supply to accelerate the gas cluster particles and gas monomers;

a permanent magnet beam filter to remove accelerated gas monomers from said beam; and

scanning means for irradiating the magnetically filtered accelerated gas cluster particles onto a surface of a substrate in a reduced pressure atmosphere.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said permanent magnet beam filter includes a permanent magnet having north and south poles, iron pole pieces attached to the permanent magnet to form a magnetic circuit having two pole faces separated by a gap between which the gas cluster particles flow.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the permanent magnet beam filter further removes accelerated low mass gas cluster particles.

7. A substrate surface treatment method, comprising the steps of:

(a) forming a beam comprising gas cluster particles comprising a plurality of atoms or molecules, said beam further comprising gas monomers;

(b) accelerating the gas cluster particles and gas monomers;

(c) focussing the accelerated gas cluster particles and gas monomers using a lens combination to realize a long focal length;

(d) filtering the focussed gas cluster particles and gas monomers to remove the monomers using a permanent magnet beam filter; and

(e) irradiating the accelerated magnetically filtered gas cluster particles onto a surface of a substrate in a reduced pressure atmosphere.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the lens combination is a triode/Einzel lens combination.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the focal length is less than 1.5 meters.

10. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the permanent magnet beam filter includes a permanent magnet having north and south poles, iron pole pieces attached to the permanent magnet to form a magnetic circuit having two pole faces separated by a gap between which the gas cluster particles flow.

11. A substrate surface treatment apparatus, comprising:

a nozzle to form a beam comprising gas cluster particles comprising a plurality of atoms or molecules, said beam further comprising gas monomers;

an ionizer to ionize said gas cluster particles comprising a plurality of atoms or molecules and said gas monomers;

a power supply to accelerate the gas cluster particles and the gas monomers;

a lens combination to focus the accelerated gas cluster particles and the gas monomers to realize a long focal length;

a permanent magnet beam filter to filter the gas monomers from the gas cluster particles within the focussed beam; and

scanning means for irradiating the magnetically filtered accelerated gas cluster particles onto a surface of a substrate in a reduced pressure atmosphere.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the lens combination is a triode/Einzel lens combination.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein said permanent magnet beam filter includes a permanent magnet having north and south poles, iron pole pieces attached to the permanent magnet to form a magnetic circuit having two pole faces separated by a gap between which the gas cluster particles flow.

14. An apparatus for treating a surface of a substrate, comprising:

a nozzle to form a beam comprising gas cluster particles comprising a plurality of atoms or molecules, said beam further comprising gas monomers;

an ionizer to ionize the gas cluster particles and gas monomers;

a power supply to accelerate the gas cluster particles and gas monomers;

a lens assembly to focus the accelerated gas cluster particles and gas monomers;

a filter to remove the gas monomers from the gas cluster particles;

scanning means for irradiating the filtered accelerated gas cluster particles onto a surface of a workpiece situated in a reduced pressure atmosphere chamber; and

a substrate loading/unloading mechanism to load and unload the workpiece;

said substrate loading/unloading mechanism providing a workpiece from a plurality of workpieces onto a holder positioned at a first position within the reduced pressure atmosphere chamber, said first position being substantially parallel to a central axis of a flow of the filtered accelerated gas cluster particles;

said substrate loading/unloading mechanism moving the holder with a workpiece thereon to a second position, said second position being substantially perpendicular to said first position and the central axis of a flow of the filtered accelerated gas cluster particles.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein said filter includes a permanent magnet having north and south poles, iron pole pieces attached to the permanent magnet to form a magnetic circuit having two pole faces separated by a gap between which the gas cluster particles flow.

16. An apparatus for treating a surface of a substrate, comprising:

a nozzle to form a beam comprising gas cluster particles comprising a plurality of atoms or molecules;

a skimmer for removing undesired gas molecules from the beam, said skimmer having an entrance aperture through which said beam passes;

an ionizer to ionize said gas cluster particles;

a power supply to accelerate the gas cluster particles; and

scanning means for irradiating the accelerated gas cluster particles onto a surface of a workpiece situated in a reduced pressure atmosphere chamber;

said nozzle including an alignment device;

said alignment device including,

a X/Y translation element, and

an angular translation element,

wherein the angular translation element has a pivot point at the entrance aperture of the skimmer and is capable of providing angular adjustment through rotation about the pivot point without corresponding adjustments to the X/Y translational element.

17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16, further comprising a permanent magnet beam filter for removing low mass particles from said beam.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein said permanent magnet beam filter includes a permanent magnet having north and south poles, iron pole pieces attached to the permanent magnet to form a magnetic circuit having two pole faces separated by a gap between which the gas cluster particles flow.

19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16, further comprising a lens assembly to focus the accelerated gas cluster particles.

20. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16, further comprising a substrate loading/unloading mechanism to load and unload the workpiece, wherein said substrate loading/unloading mechanism provides a workpiece from a plurality of workpieces onto a holder positioned at a first position within the reduced pressure atmosphere chamber, said first position being substantially parallel to a central axis of a flow of the accelerated gas cluster particles;

and

said substrate loading/unloading mechanism moves the holder with a workpiece thereon to a second position, said second position being substantially perpendicular to said first position and the central axis of a flow of the accelerated gas cluster particles.

21. An apparatus for smoothing a surface of a substrate, comprising:

a nozzle to form gas cluster particles comprising a plurality of atoms or molecules;

an Ionizer to ionize said gas cluster particles;

a power supply to accelerate the gas cluster particles;

a triode/Einzel lens combination assembly to focus the accelerated gas cluster particles;

a permanent magnet beam filter to filter the focussed gas cluster particles;

scanning means for irradiating the filtered accelerated gas cluster particles onto a surface of a workpiece situated in a reduced pressure atmosphere chamber; and

a substrate loading/unloading mechanism to load and unload the workpiece;

said nozzle including an alignment device;

said alignment device including,

a X/Y translation element having micrometer driving heads with opposing return spring assemblies, and

an angular translation element having micrometer driving heads with opposing return spring assemblies;

said substrate loading/unloading mechanism providing a workpiece from a plurality of workpieces onto a holder positioned at a first position within the reduced pressure atmosphere chamber, said first position being substantially parallel to a central axis of a flow of the filtered accelerated gas cluster particles;

said substrate loading/unloading mechanism moving the holder with a workpiece thereon to a second position, said second position being substantially perpendicular to said first position and the central axis of a flow of the filtered accelerated gas cluster particles.