Processing Chamber Wall for Electron Ion Beam Gas Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional processing systems for semiconductor structures struggle with maintaining high positioning accuracy and are damaged by reactive gases, requiring long evacuation times to prevent corrosion of beam optics, limiting their effectiveness in processing and inspecting objects in the presence of process gases.
Innovation Solution
A flexible particle optical processing system with a processing chamber wall that encloses energy beams, allowing for the introduction of process gases while maintaining a high concentration within the processing chamber, and includes adjustable orientations and sealing mechanisms to prevent gas exposure to the vacuum chamber components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If process gas is supplied to the vacuum chamber for material deposition or ablation, then processing capability is improved, but beam optics components suffer from corrosion and damage
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the vacuum chamber into a processing region (where process gas is present) and a beam optics region (maintained in high vacuum) using a processing chamber wall with sealed openings. This spatial segmentation allows process gas to be supplied for material deposition or ablation without exposing the beam optics components to corrosive gases, thus maintaining both processing capability and beam optics integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The processing chamber wall acts as an intermediary barrier between the process gas environment and the beam optics. It includes sealed openings that guide energy beams from the beam optics region through the processing chamber wall into the processing region, where process gas is supplied. This intermediary structure enables gas supply for processing while protecting the beam optics from gas exposure
2Reliability
If the vacuum chamber is evacuated to protect beam optics from process gas, then beam optics are protected, but processing time is reduced due to long evacuation cycles
Solution Approach 1:
The processing chamber wall with sealed openings creates separate vacuum zones, allowing the beam optics region to maintain high vacuum continuously while the processing region can be filled with process gas during processing operations. This eliminates the need for repeated evacuation cycles, protecting beam optics while maintaining high processing throughput
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically maintains different vacuum conditions in different regions simultaneously. The processing chamber wall with its sealed openings allows the beam optics region to remain in high vacuum while the processing region experiences controlled process gas pressure, enabling continuous operation without evacuation downtime
3Productivity
If process gas concentration is increased for effective processing, then processing efficiency is improved, but damage to system components from reactive gas increases
Solution Approach 1:
The processing chamber wall with sealed openings confines high concentration process gas to the processing region only, where it is needed for effective material deposition or ablation. The beam optics region maintains high vacuum, preventing exposure to reactive gases even at high concentrations, thus achieving both processing efficiency and component protection
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise processing and inspection of objects in the presence of process gases with reduced damage to the system components, improving positioning accuracy and operational reliability by maintaining a high concentration of process gases within the processing chamber.
Implementation Method 1
a reaction gas is activated by an electron beam, an ion beam or a photon beam to cause material deposition or to cause material ablation at a region of the object to be processed
Implementation Method 2
a reaction gas is activated by an electron beam, an ion beam or a photon beam to cause material deposition or to cause material ablation at a region of the object to be processed
Implementation Method 3
a reaction gas is activated by an electron beam, an ion beam or a photon beam to cause material deposition or to cause material ablation at a region of the object to be processed
Implementation Method 4
a first beam optics for generating a first energy beam and focussing the same in a focussing region arranged in a vacuum chamber
Data Source
AI summary
A processing system for processing an object (3) is provided, wherein the processing system is adapted, to focus a first energy beam, in particular an electron beam (11), and a second energy beam, in particular an ion beam (21), on a focusing region (29) in which a object (3) to be processed is arrangeable. A processing chamber wall (35) having two openings (38, 39) for traversal of both energy beams and a connector (37) for supplying process gas delimits a processing chamber (45) from a vacuum chamber (2) of the processing system. Processing the object by activating the process gas through one of the energy beams and inspecting the object via one of the energy beams is enabled for different orientations of the object relative to a propagation direction of one of the energy beams.