Localized plasma processing
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of processing a work piece, comprising:
- inserting the work piece into a vacuum chamber;
producing a plasma in a plasma chamber;
passing a plasma jet through a reactive gas chamber containing a reactive gas, wherein the plasma jet activates the reactive gas;
directing the reactive gas toward a work piece to process an area of the work piece having a diameter smaller than 5 mm in the vacuum chamber;
directing a focused charged particle beam toward the work piece to process the work piece without removing the work piece from the vacuum chamber; and
detecting secondary or backscattered particles generated by the impact of the charged particle beam onto the surface of the work piece.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of localized plasma processing improves processing speed and reduces work piece damage compared to charged particle beam deposition and etching. In one embodiment, a plasma jet exits a plasma generating chamber and activates a reactive gas. A jet of plasma and reactive gas impacts and processes the work piece. Because the plasma and the ions in the reactive gas can have low kinetic energy, there can be little or no surface damage. This is particularly useful for deposition processes. When it is desired to etch material, the reactive ions can be more energetic to enhance etching.
-
Citations
25 Claims
-
1. A method of processing a work piece, comprising:
-
inserting the work piece into a vacuum chamber; producing a plasma in a plasma chamber; passing a plasma jet through a reactive gas chamber containing a reactive gas, wherein the plasma jet activates the reactive gas; directing the reactive gas toward a work piece to process an area of the work piece having a diameter smaller than 5 mm in the vacuum chamber; directing a focused charged particle beam toward the work piece to process the work piece without removing the work piece from the vacuum chamber; and detecting secondary or backscattered particles generated by the impact of the charged particle beam onto the surface of the work piece. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
-
-
25. A method of processing a work piece, comprising:
-
providing a vacuum chamber containing a stage for holding a work piece; providing a reactive gas chamber containing a reactive gas activated by a plasma, the reactive gas chamber having a diameter and an opening for the activated reactive gas to exit the reactive gas chamber directly into the vacuum chamber containing the stage and impact an area of having a diameter of less than 5 mm on the work piece, the opening of the reactive gas chamber being smaller than the diameter of the reactive gas chamber; supplying the reactive gas from a source to the reactive gas chamber; supplying energy from a power supply to maintain the plasma; positioning an electrode within the plasma to provide a potential difference between the plasma and the work piece to control the energy of ions reaching the work piece; directing a focused charged particle beam of ions or a beam of electrons toward the work piece in the vacuum chamber; and detecting secondary or backscattered particles generated from the impact of the charged particle beam onto the surface of the work piece, the method capable of processing the work piece by the ion beam or by the reactive jet without removing the work piece from the vacuum chamber.
-
Specification