TWI592975B - Method for treating a substrate using a charged particle beam - Google Patents

Description

Method for processing substrate using charged particle beam [Reciprocal Reference of Related Applications]

In accordance with 37 CFR § 1.78(a)(4), this application claims the provisional application No. 61/906,610 in the joint application filed on November 20, 2013, and on December 13, 2013. Priority of Application No. 61/915,894 of the application.

The present invention relates to a system and method for illuminating a substrate using a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB), and more particularly to an improved apparatus, system, and method for scanning a substrate by GCIB.

Gas cluster ion beams (GCIBs) are used to dope, etch, clean, planarize, and grow or deposit layers on a substrate. For the purposes of this discussion, gas clusters are nanometer sized material aggregates that are gaseous under standard temperature and pressure conditions. Such a gas cluster may be composed of agglomerates containing several to several thousand molecules or more loosely bonded together. The gas clusters can be ionized by electron bombardment, which allows the gas clusters to form a directional beam with controllable energy. Such cluster ions typically each have a positive charge, which is given by the product of the electron charge and the charge state of the cluster ion being greater than or equal to one. Larger size cluster ions are generally most useful because they can carry a large amount of energy per cluster ion while having only modest energy per individual molecule. The ion clusters disintegrate upon impact with the substrate. In a specific disintegration Each individual molecule in the ion cluster carries only a small fraction of the total cluster energy. Therefore, the impact of large ion clusters is quite large, but limited to extremely shallow surface areas. This allows gas cluster ions to be effectively used in many surface modification processes without the tendency to produce deeper subsurface damage, which is characteristic of conventional ion beam processing.

U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 11/565, 843, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SCANNING A WORKPIECE THROUGH AN ION BEAM", issued on November 30, 2006, and issued on October 27, 2009, is U.S. Patent No. 7,608,843 And incorporated herein by reference to its entirety, this patent describes a workpiece scanning mechanism for scanning workpieces (eg, wafers, substrates, etc.) by gas cluster ion beam (GCIB). . The scanner described therein has two movements that, when combined, allow the GCIB to reach every point of the workpiece. The first motion is a rapid reciprocating motion (ie, a fast scanning motion) of the workpiece through the GCIB, wherein the workpiece is attached to an arm that resembles an inverted pendulum; the resulting GCIB path across the workpiece has an arcuate shape. The second motion is a slow linear motion of the center of rotation of the arm (ie, a slow scan motion) that results in a different parallel arc path that traverses the GCIB of the workpiece, allowing the entire work piece to be The area is processed. The fast scanning motion motor of the described embodiment and the center of rotation of the arm of the holding workpiece are mounted on the shuttle of the vertical shuttle drive assembly, wherein the upward movement is via a pulley through a slow scanning servo motor. And the drive belt pulls the shuttle up and actuates. However, the downward motion is accomplished by gravity, that is, the slow scan servo motor unwinds the belt from the pulley, allowing the shuttle, the fast scan motor, and the arm to move down together.

Such a workpiece scanning mechanism has a number of disadvantages. For example, since at least one direction of the slow scan motion relies on gravity, the slow scan motion can only be in a vertical or near vertical direction. Second, failure of the contaminant or shuttle drive assembly may cause the slow scan motion to be stuck in certain positions of the shuttle along the track of the shuttle drive assembly. Gravity may not be able to meet the requirements of the process recipe under certain circumstances. The shuttle, the fast scanning motor, and the arm are pulled down, causing the workpiece to be not properly handled. Even worse, if gravity overcomes the stuck shuttle at some point, and if the length of the sufficient drive belt is first unwound from the pulley, the entire shuttle, the fast scan motor, and the arm carrying the work piece will suddenly Free fall occurs, causing excessive force to be applied to the belt, pulley, and slow-scan servo motor, which often results in a slow scan servo motor failure.

The present invention seeks to correct the aforementioned shortcomings of the gravity assisted workpiece scanning mechanism.

An embodiment of the present invention is a device for scanning a workpiece by GCIB, comprising: an elongated member adapted to be provided with a workpiece; a rotating mechanism for mounting the elongated member at a rotation point, and Configuring to repeatedly scan the workpiece through the GCIB along an arcuate path; a slow scanning mechanism suspending the elongate member and the rotating mechanism and configured to cause linear motion of the rotating mechanism and the elongate member such that The different parts of the working piece pass through the GCIB, and the slow scanning mechanism comprises a shuttle drive assembly having a track and a shuttle attached to the shuttle and suspended by the shuttle; a first pulley; a second pulley; a drive belt mounted on the pulleys and attached to the shuttle; and a drive mechanism for actuating the drive belt.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a device, wherein the driving mechanism comprises: a servo motor having a driving shaft; a first sprocket attached to the driving shaft; a vacuum rotary feedthrough; and a second a sprocket attached to the vacuum rotary feedthrough; and a geared transmission belt mounted on the first and second sprocket wheels.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a system for processing a workpiece using GCIB, comprising: a nozzle for forming a gas cluster beam from a gas; and a separator for undesired gas mass The cluster is removed by a gas cluster beam; a dissociator for ionizing the gas cluster beam to form a GCIB; an accelerator for accelerating the GCIB; a workpiece scanning mechanism, closed for processing The working chamber is configured to scan the workpiece by GCIB, the workpiece scanning mechanism comprises: an elongated member adapted to mount a working piece; a rotating mechanism, the elongated member is mounted at the rotating point, and configured Scanning the workpiece over the curved path through the GCIB; a slow scanning mechanism suspending the elongated member and the rotating mechanism and configured to cause linear motion of the rotating mechanism and the elongated member to enable the work The different parts of the piece pass through the GCIB, and the slow scanning mechanism comprises a shuttle drive assembly having a track and a shuttle attached to the shuttle and suspended by the shuttle; a first pulley; a second pulley; a transmission belt, Mounted on the pulleys and attached to the shuttle; and a drive mechanism for actuating the belt.

Yet another embodiment of the present invention is a method for scanning a workpiece by an ion beam, comprising the steps of: mounting a workpiece at an end of an elongated member and in a GCIB path; a rotating mechanism attached to the rotating point on the elongated member to partially rotate the elongated member to perform a reverse scanning of the working member along the curved path through the GCIB; causing the elongated member and the rotating mechanism to follow a slow speed The scanning mechanism moves, the rotating mechanism is attached to and suspended by the slow scanning mechanism, and the moving step causes different parts of the workpiece to pass through the GCIB path during the repeated scanning, the slow scanning mechanism includes a shuttle drive assembly having a track and a shuttle attached to the shuttle and suspended by the shuttle; a first pulley; a second pulley; a drive belt mounted on the pulley and attached to the pulley And a drive mechanism for actuating the drive belt, wherein the moving step comprises: actuating the drive mechanism and the drive belt to cause linear motion of the shuttle along the track.

100, 100', 100" ‧ ‧ GCIB processing system

102‧‧‧vacuum chamber

104‧‧‧Source chamber

106‧‧‧Ionization/Acceleration Chamber

108‧‧‧Processing chamber

110, 1010‧‧‧ nozzle

111, 1011‧‧‧ First gas source

112, 1012‧‧‧Second gas source

113, 1013‧‧‧ gas dose valve

113A, 1013A‧‧‧First gas control valve

113B, 1013B‧‧‧Second gas control valve

114, 1014‧‧‧ gas supply pipe

116, 1016‧‧‧ stagnation chamber

118‧‧‧ gas cluster beam

120‧‧‧Gas separator

122‧‧‧dissociator

124‧‧‧(dissociator) filament

126‧‧‧High voltage electrode

128‧‧‧GCIB

128A‧‧‧GCIB

128A'‧‧‧GCIB

130‧‧‧beam electronics

134‧‧‧Anode power supply

136‧‧‧ filament power supply

138‧‧‧Extracting power supply

140‧‧‧Accelerator power supply

142‧‧‧Lens power supply

144‧‧‧Lens power supply

146‧‧‧beam filter

148‧‧ ‧ beam brake

150‧‧‧Sheet holding parts

150A‧‧‧ alternate position

152‧‧‧Substrate

152A‧‧‧ alternate position

1521‧‧‧Rotating substrate

1522‧‧‧Rotating substrate

1523‧‧‧Rotating substrate

160‧‧‧X scan actuator

162‧‧‧Y scan actuator

164‧‧‧Y scanning movement

166‧‧‧beam incident angle

170A, B, C‧‧‧ vacuum pumping system

180‧‧‧beam current sensor

182‧‧‧Electrically insulated base

190‧‧‧Control system

250‧‧‧Substrate holder

252‧‧‧Substrate

253‧‧‧(X-Y) positioning platform

254‧‧‧ substrate holding surface

255‧‧‧Electrical insulation

260‧‧‧Base section

262‧‧‧X-Y controller

264‧‧‧ Direction

266‧‧‧beam incident angle

280‧‧‧ optical transmitter

282‧‧‧Optical Receiver

284‧‧‧Infrared optical signal

286‧‧‧projection impact zone

288‧‧‧scatter optical signal

300‧‧‧ section

302a~302c‧‧‧Linear Thermal Ion Filament

304a~304c‧‧‧(beam forming) electrode

306a~306c‧‧‧ (electron repeller) electrode

308a~308f‧‧‧Insulator

310‧‧‧Hot Electronics

312, 314, 316‧‧‧ secondary electrons

350‧‧‧ Pressure cell chamber

352‧‧‧Inert gas source

354‧‧‧pressure sensor

450‧‧·beam profile

452‧‧‧full width at half maximum

454‧‧‧Maximum width

456‧‧‧ cross section size

500‧‧‧Working parts scanning mechanism

505‧‧‧GCIB

510‧‧‧Processing chamber

520‧‧‧Workpieces

530‧‧‧ chuck

540‧‧‧ scanning arm

545‧‧‧ joint

550‧‧‧ fast scanning motor

560‧‧‧Slow scanning mechanism

570‧‧‧Slow scanning motion direction (linear motion)

575‧‧‧Circular motion (circular path)

580‧‧‧First scanning motion (arc path)

590‧‧‧Bending movement

595‧‧‧ Controller

598‧‧‧Communication lines

605‧‧‧ shuttle drive assembly

610‧‧‧ Track

612A, B‧‧‧stop

620‧‧‧ Shuttle

630‧‧‧ pulley

640‧‧‧ pulley

650A, B‧‧‧ drive belt

650A‧‧‧ drive belt section

650B‧‧‧ drive belt section

652A, B‧‧‧ Attachment

653B‧‧‧ Attachment

660‧‧‧ Attachment

670‧‧‧ drive mechanism

680‧‧‧Vacuum Rotary Feedthrough

685‧‧‧Deceleration gearbox

690‧‧‧Servo motor

692‧‧‧Reduction gear set

695‧‧‧ drive shaft

700‧‧‧Sprocket

710‧‧‧Sprocket

720‧‧‧Gear belt (flat belt)

750‧‧‧Restricted switch parts

760A, B‧‧‧ limit switch

770‧‧‧Guide

780‧‧‧Sliding parts

790‧‧‧symmetric longitudinal plane

1100‧‧‧Circular scan

1102‧‧‧ scan radius

1104‧‧‧ speed

1106‧‧‧First scan speed

1108‧‧‧second scanning speed

1110‧‧‧ Angle θ

1112‧‧‧ Angle δ

1302‧‧‧First radius (starting radius)

1304‧‧‧second radius

1306‧‧‧ third radius (end radius)

1400‧‧‧ thickness profile

1402‧‧‧ center line

1404‧‧‧Rotate

Section 1406‧‧‧

1500‧‧‧GCIB energy distribution (contour)

1502‧‧‧ scan density

1504‧‧‧Scan density (high density area)

1602, 1604, 1606‧‧‧ blocks

1702, 1704, 1706‧‧‧ blocks

1802, 1804, 1806‧‧‧ squares

A more complete understanding of the present invention and many of its advantages will become more apparent from the Detailed Description of the <RTIgt; Schematic diagram of the GCIB system.

2 is a schematic illustration of a multi-nozzle GCIB system, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a schematic illustration of a multi-nozzle GCIB system in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic illustration of one embodiment of a dissociator used in a GCIB system.

5A and 5B are schematic illustrations of one embodiment of a workpiece scanning mechanism used in a GCIB system.

Figure 6 is a detailed and partially cut away schematic view of a slow scanning mechanism, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a detailed schematic diagram of a slow scanning mechanism, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a detailed schematic view of a portion of a drive mechanism for a slow scanning mechanism, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

9A and 9B are detailed schematic views of a shuttle drive assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 10 is an exemplary outline showing the beam intensity of the entire GCIB.

Figure 11 shows an exemplary circular scan of a substrate surrounding a GCIB.

Figure 12 is a graph showing the relationship between the angle, distance, and velocity between the substrate and the GCIB during a circular scan.

Figure 13 is an example showing the starting radius and ending radius of a circular scan.

Figure 14A shows a simplified exemplary embodiment of performing a circular scan on a substrate having an exemplary thickness profile.

Figure 14B shows an exemplary result of using a circular scan on the thickness profile of the substrate.

Figure 15 shows the GCIB energy distribution over the substrate area between the starting radius and the ending radius.

Figure 16 is an illustration of an exemplary method of performing a circular scan of a substrate using a GCIB system.

Figure 17 is a diagram showing another exemplary method of performing a circular scan of a substrate using a GCIB system.

Figure 18 is a diagram showing another exemplary method of performing a circular scan of a substrate using a GCIB system.

In the following description, specific details are set forth, such as lithography, applicator/developer, and the specific geometry of the gap fill processing system, for the purpose of facilitating a thorough understanding of the present invention and for purposes of explanation and not limitation. And description of various components and processes. However, it is to be understood that the invention may be practiced in other embodiments that depart from these specific details.

In the following description, the term ion beam and gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) will be used interchangeably because the workpiece scanning mechanism described herein can be used to use common (ie, monomer) ion beams and gas clusters. An ion beam (GCIB) is used to process the workpiece.

In the following description, the terms work, substrate, and wafer will be used interchangeably to refer to a workpiece that is processed by an ion beam or gas cluster ion beam (GCIB). The workpiece can comprise a conductor, a semiconductor, or a dielectric substrate with or without various patterned or unpatterned films formed thereon. Further, the workpiece can have any shape (eg, circular, rectangular, etc.) and size (eg, a 6 inch, 8 inch, 12 inch, or larger diameter circular wafer). Example work pieces include wafer or semiconductor wafers, flat panel displays (FPDs), liquid crystal displays (LCDs), and the like.

Referring now to Figure 1, a GCIB processing system 100 for modifying, depositing, growing, or doping layers is depicted in accordance with an embodiment. The GCIB processing system 100 includes a vacuum chamber 102, a substrate holder 150 to which the substrate 152 to be processed is affixed, and vacuum pumping systems 170A, 170B, and 170C. The substrate 152 can be a semiconductor substrate, a wafer, a flat panel display (FPD), a liquid crystal display (LCD), or any other work piece. The GCIB processing system 100 is configured to generate a GCIB for processing the substrate 152.

Still referring to the GCIB processing system 100 of FIG. The vacuum chamber 102 includes three communicating chambers, namely a source chamber 104, an ionization/acceleration chamber 106, and a processing chamber 108 to provide a reduced pressure enclosed space. The three chambers are evacuated to the appropriate operating pressure by vacuum pumping systems 170A, 170B, and 170C, respectively. In the three communicating chambers 104, 106, 108, a gas cluster beam can be formed in the first chamber (source chamber 104) and the GCIB can be in the second chamber (ionization/acceleration chamber) Formed in 106) in which the gas cluster beam is ionized and accelerated. Next, in the third chamber (processing chamber 108), the substrate 152 can be processed using accelerated GCIB.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, GCIB processing system 100 includes two gas supplies and two nozzles 110, 1010. Additional embodiments having a plurality (not two) of nozzles and a plurality (not two) of gas supplies will be discussed later, all of which fall within the scope of the present invention. Each of the two gas supplies is coupled to one of the two stagnation chambers 116 and 1016 and one of the nozzles 110 and 1010, respectively. The first gas supply includes a first gas source 111, a second gas source 112, a first gas control valve 113A, a second gas control valve 113B, and a gas metering valve 113. For example, the first gas component stored in the first gas source 111 is allowed to pass through the first gas control valve 113A to one or more gas metering valves 113 under pressure. Further, for example, the second gas component stored in the second gas source 112 is allowed to pass through the second gas control valve 113B to one or more gas metering valves 113 under pressure. Further, for example, the first gas component, or the second gas component of the first gas supply, or both, may comprise a compressible inert gas, a carrier gas, or a diluent gas body. For example, the inert gas, carrier gas, or diluent gas may comprise a noble gas, that is, He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, or Rn.

Similarly, the second gas supply includes a first gas source 1011, a second gas source 1012, a first gas control valve 1013A, a second gas control valve 1013B, and a gas metering valve 1013. For example, the first gas component stored in the first gas source 1011 is allowed to pass through the first gas control valve 1013A to one or more gas metering valves 1013 under pressure. Further, for example, the second gas component stored in the second gas source 1012 is allowed to pass through the second gas control valve 1013B to one or more gas metering valves 1013 under pressure. Further, for example, the first gas component, or the second gas component of the second gas supply, or both, may comprise a compressible inert gas, a carrier gas, or a diluent gas. For example, the inert gas, carrier gas, or diluent gas may comprise a noble gas, that is, He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, or Rn.

Additionally, first gas sources 111 and 1011 and second gas sources 112 and 1012 can be used each to produce ionized clusters. The material composition of the first gas source 111, 1011 and the second gas source 112, 1012 comprises a primary atomic (or molecular) species, that is, a first to be introduced for doping, depositing, modifying, or growing layers. The second atom consists of.

A high pressure, compressible gas system comprising a first gas component and/or a second gas component is introduced into the stagnation chamber 116 by the first gas supply through the gas supply pipe 114 and through the appropriately shaped nozzle 110 It is sprayed into a vacuum of substantially lower pressure. Due to the expansion of the high pressure, compressible gas from the stagnation chamber 116 to the lower pressure region of the source chamber 104, the gas velocity is accelerated to supersonic speed and the gas cluster beam is ejected from the nozzle 110.

Similarly, a high pressure, compressible gas system comprising a first gas component and/or a second gas component is introduced into the stagnation chamber 1016 by a second gas supply through a gas supply pipe 1014 and is suitably shaped The nozzle 1010 is injected into a vacuum of substantially lower pressure. due to The expansion of the high pressure, compressible gas from the stagnation chamber 1016 to the lower pressure region of the source chamber 104 causes the gas velocity to accelerate to supersonic speed and the gas cluster beam is ejected from the nozzle 1010.

The nozzles 110 and 1010 are mounted so close that the individual gas cluster jets produced by the nozzles 110, 1010 are substantially merged into the vacuum environment of the source chamber 104 before reaching the gas separator 120. A single gas cluster beam 118. The chemical composition of the gas cluster beam 118 represents a mixture of components provided by the first gas supply and the second gas supply and injected through the nozzles 110 and 1010.

When the static energy is exchanged with the kinetic energy caused by the expansion in the jet, the intrinsic cooling effect of the jet causes a portion of the gas jet to be partially compressed and form a clustered gas cluster beam 118, each cluster being numbered It consists of thousands or thousands of weakly bonded atoms or molecules. The gas separator 120 located downstream of the outlets of the nozzles 110 and 1010 and between the source chamber 104 and the ionization/acceleration chamber 106 partially partially occludes gas molecules on the peripheral edge of the gas cluster beam 118 ( It may not be compressed into clusters) separated from gas molecules in the core of the gas cluster beam 118 (which may have formed clusters). The selection of a portion of this gas cluster beam 118 may reduce the pressure in the downstream region, among other reasons, and higher pressures in the downstream regions (e.g., dissociator 122 and processing chamber 108) may be disadvantageous. In addition, gas separator 120 defines the initial size of the gas cluster beam entering ionization/acceleration chamber 106.

The first gas supply and the second gas supply may be configured to independently control the stagnation pressure and temperature of the gas mixture introduced to the stagnation chambers 116 and 1016. Temperature control can be achieved by using an appropriate temperature control system (e.g., heater and/or cooler) (not shown) in each gas supply. Moreover, the manipulator can be mechanically coupled to the nozzle 110, for example, via a stagnation chamber 116 that is configured to position the coupled nozzle 110 relative to the gas separator 120 independently of the nozzle 1010. Likewise, the manipulator can be mechanically coupled to the nozzle 1010, for example, via a stagnation chamber 1016 configured to separate the coupled nozzle 1010 from the gas separator 120 independently of the nozzle 110. Bit. Thus, each of the multiple nozzle assemblies can be independently manipulated for proper positioning relative to a single gas separator 120.

After the gas cluster beam 118 has been formed in the source chamber 104, the component gas clusters in the gas cluster beam 118 can be ionized by the dissociater 122 to form the GCIB 128. The dissociator 122 can include an electron impact dissipator that generates electrons from one or more filaments 124 that are accelerated and directed to collide with gas clusters in the gas cluster beam 118 inside the ionization/acceleration chamber 106. . When colliding with a gas cluster, electrons with sufficient energy cause electrons to be ejected from molecules in the gas cluster to produce ionized molecules. Ionization of gas clusters can result in a population of charged gas cluster ions, which typically have a net positive charge.

As shown in FIG. 1, beam electronics 130 is used to ionize and extract, accelerate, and aggregate GCIB 128. Beam electronics 130 includes a filament power supply 136 that can provide a voltage V _F to heat the dissolver filament 124.

In addition, beam electronics 130 includes a set of suitably biased high voltage electrodes 126 in ionization/acceleration chamber 106 that can extract cluster ions from dissociator 122. The high voltage electrode 126 can then accelerate the extracted cluster ions to the desired energy and concentrate them to define the GCIB 128. The kinetic energy of the cluster ions in GCIB 128 typically ranges from about 1000 electron volts (1 keV) to tens of keV. For example, GCIB 128 can be accelerated to 1 to 100 keV.

As shown in FIG. 1, beam electronics 130 further includes an anode power supply 134 that provides a voltage V _A to the anode of dissociator 122 to accelerate electrons emitted from dissociator filament 124, The electrons are bombarded with gas clusters in the gas cluster beam 118, which will produce cluster ions.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, beam electronics 130 includes an extraction power supply 138 that can provide a voltage V _E to bias at least one of the high voltage electrodes 126 from the dissociater 122. The ionized regions extract ions and form GCIB 128. For example, the extraction power supply 138 can provide a voltage to the first electrode of the high voltage electrode 126 that is less than or equal to the anode voltage of the dissociator 122.

Further, the beam electronics 130 can include an accelerator power supply 140 that can provide a voltage V _ACC to bias one of the high voltage electrodes 126 relative to the dissociater 122 such that the total GCIB acceleration energy is equal to About V _ACC electron volts (eV). For example, the accelerator power supply 140 can provide a voltage to the second electrode of the high voltage electrode 126 that is less than or equal to the anode voltage of the dissociator 122 and the extracted voltage of the first electrode.

Still further, the beam electronics 130 can include lens power supplies 142, 144 that can be placed to bias certain high voltage electrodes 126 at potentials (eg, V _L1 and V _L2 ) to Gather GCIB 128. For example, the lens power supply 142 can provide a voltage to the third electrode of the high voltage electrode 126, which is less than or equal to the anode voltage of the dissociator 122, the extracted voltage of the first electrode, and the accelerator voltage of the second electrode. And the lens power supply 144 can supply a voltage to the fourth electrode of the high voltage electrode 126, the voltage is less than or equal to the anode voltage of the dissociater 122, the decimation voltage of the first electrode, the accelerator voltage of the second electrode, and the The first lens voltage of the three electrodes.

It should be noted that many variations of both the ionization scheme and the extraction scheme can be used. Although the approaches described herein are helpful for teaching purposes, another extraction scheme may involve setting the first component of the dissociator and extraction electrode (or extraction optics) at V _ACC . This usually requires fiber staging of the control voltage of the dissociator power supply, but a relatively simple series of monolithic devices can be built. The invention described herein is useful regardless of the details of the bias of the dissociator and the extraction lens.

The beam filter 146 located downstream of the high voltage electrode 126 and in the ionization/acceleration chamber 106 can be used to eliminate monomer, or monomer and light cluster ions from the GCIB 128 to define entry into the processing chamber 108. Filtered GCIB 128A. In an embodiment, the beam filter 146 substantially reduces the number of clusters having 100 or fewer atoms or molecules or both. The beam filter 146 can include a magnet assembly that is used to apply a magnetic field to the entire GCIB 128 to aid in the filtering process.

Still referring to FIG. 1, beam gate 148 is disposed in ionization/acceleration chamber 106 and on the path of GCIB 128. The beam brake 148 has an open state and a closed state. In the open state, the GCIB 128 is allowed to pass from the ionization/acceleration chamber 106 to the processing chamber 108 to define the processed GCIB 128A; in the off state, the GCIB 128 is blocked. Entering the processing chamber 108. A control cable can pass control signals from control system 190 to beam gate 148. The control signal controllably switches the beam gate 148 between an open state or a closed state.

Substrate 152 (which may be a wafer or semiconductor wafer, flat panel display (FPD), liquid crystal display (LCD), or other substrate to be processed by GCIB processing) is disposed in processing chamber 108 and is processed by GCIB 128A On the path. Since most applications allow for the processing of large substrates with spatially uniform results, it may be desirable for the scanning system to process the GCIB 128A to uniformly scan the entire large area to produce spatially homogeneous results.

The X-scan actuator 160 provides linear motion of the substrate holder 150 in the direction of the X-scan motion (in and out of the paper). Y-scan actuator 162 provides linear motion of substrate holder 150 in the direction of Y-scan motion 164, which is generally orthogonal to the X-scan motion. The combination of the X-scan and the Y-scan motion transfers the substrate 152 held by the substrate holder 150 through the processed GCIB 128A in a grating-like scanning motion, and causes the surface of the substrate 152 by the GCIB 128A for processing the substrate 152. Uniform (or otherwise stylized) illumination.

The substrate holder 150 sets the substrate 152 at an angle relative to the axis of the processed GCIB 128A such that the processed GCIB 128A has a beam incidence angle 166 relative to the surface of the substrate 152. The beam incidence angle 166 can be 90 degrees or some other angle, but is typically 90 degrees or nearly 90 degrees. During the Y-scan, the substrate 152 and the substrate holder 150 are respectively moved from the position shown to the label. The alternate position "A" indicated by 152A and 150A. It should be noted that when moving between the two positions, the substrate 152 is scanned by the processed GCIB 128A; and at the two end positions, the path of the processed GCIB 128A is completely removed (overscan). Although not explicitly shown in Figure 1, similar scans and overscans are performed in the (usually) orthogonal X-scan motion direction (in and out of the paper).

The beam current sensor 180 can be disposed on the path of the processed GCIB 128A and behind the substrate holder 150 to intercept the sample of the processed GCIB 128A as the substrate holder 150 scans beyond the path of the processed GCIB 128A. The beam current sensor 180 is typically a Faraday cup or the like that is sealed except for the beam entering the opening and is typically secured to the wall of the vacuum chamber 102 by an electrically insulating base 182.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control system 190 is coupled to the X-scan actuator 160 and the Y-scan actuator 162 by a cable, and controls the X-scan actuator 160 and the Y-scan actuator 162 to transfer the substrate 152. Substrate 152 is placed in or out of the processed GCIB 128A and uniformly scanned relative to the processed GCIB 128A to achieve the desired processing of the substrate 152 by processing the GCIB 128A. Control system 190 receives the sampled beam current collected by beam current sensor 180 via a cable to monitor GCIB and control by removing substrate 152 from processed GCIB 128A when a predetermined dose has been delivered. The dose of GCIB received by substrate 152.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the GCIB processing system 100' can be similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1 and further includes an XY positioning platform 253 that is operable to hold the substrate 252 and cause it to The axes move up and the substrate 252 is effectively scanned relative to the processed GCIB 128A. For example, the X motion can include motion into and out of the paper, while the Y motion can include motion along direction 264.

The processed GCIB 128A strikes the substrate 252 at a projected impact region 286 on the surface of the substrate 252 and at a beam incidence angle 266 relative to the surface of the substrate 252. By X-Y motion, the X-Y positioning platform 253 can position portions of the surface of the substrate 252 at the processed GCIB 128A. In the path, each region of the surface can be coincident with the projected impact region 286 for processing by the processed GCIB 128A. The X-Y controller 262 provides an electrical signal to the X-Y positioning stage 253 via a cable to control the position and speed in each of the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. The X-Y controller 262 receives control signals from the control system 190 via a cable and is controllable by the control system 190. The X-Y positioning platform 253 is moved in a continuous motion or in a step motion in accordance with conventional X-Y platform positioning techniques to position different regions of the substrate 252 within the projected impact region 286. In one embodiment, the XY positioning platform 253 can be operated in a programmable manner by the control system 190 to scan any portion of the substrate 252 through the projected impact region 286 at a programmable speed for processing by the GCIB 128A. GCIB processing.

The substrate holding surface 254 of the positioning platform 253 is electrically conductive and is coupled to a dosimetry processor operated by the control system 190. The electrically insulating layer 255 of the positioning platform 253 can isolate the substrate 252 and the substrate holding surface 254 from the base portion 260 of the positioning platform 253. The charge induced in the substrate 252 by the impacted GCIB 128A is conducted through the substrate 252 and the substrate holding surface 254, and a signal is coupled to the control system 190 via the positioning platform 253 for dosimetry measurements. Dosimetry measurements have an integral means for integrating the GCIB current to determine the GCIB treatment dose. In some cases, the target and source of the electron (not shown) (sometimes referred to as the electron tide) can be used to neutralize the processed GCIB 128A. In this case, a Faraday cup (not shown, but similar to beam current sensor 180 in Figure 1) can be used to ensure that although accurate dosimetry is still possible with additional sources of charge, the rationale The typical Faraday cup is only allowed to be measured by allowing high energy positive ions to enter.

In operation, control system 190 will signal the opening of beam gate 148 to illuminate substrate 252 using processed GCIB 128A. Control system 190 monitors the measurement of the GCIB current collected by substrate 252 to calculate the cumulative dose received by substrate 252. When the dose received by the substrate 252 reaches a predetermined dose, the control system 190 turns off the beam gate 148 and the processing of the substrate 252 is complete. Control based on the measurement of the GCIB dose received in a particular region of the substrate 252 System 190 can adjust the scan speed to achieve a suitable beam dwell time to process different regions of substrate 252.

Alternatively, the processed GCIB 128A can scan the surface of the substrate 252 at a fixed speed and in a fixed pattern; however, the intensity of the GCIB is modulated (which can be referred to as Z-axis modulation) to deliver a purposely uneven dose to the sample. . May be any one of many methods by the intensity of the 100 'the modulation of the GCIB GCIB processing system, the method comprising: changing the flow of gas from the supply source GCIB; filament voltage V _F changes by changing the anode voltage V _A or the Modulating the dissociator 122; modulating the lens focal length by changing the lens voltages V _L1 and / or V _L2 ; or mechanically using a variable beam stop, an adjustable gate, or a variable opening Block one part of the GCIB. The change in modulation can be a continuous analog change or can be a time-controlled switch or gate.

The processing chamber 108 can further include an in situ measurement system. For example, the in situ measurement system can include an optical diagnostic system having an optical transmitter 280 and a light receiver 282 configured to illuminate the substrate 252 with the incident optical signal 284 and receive the scattered optical signal 288 from the substrate 252, respectively. The optical diagnostic system includes an optical window to allow the incident optical signal 284 and the scattered optical signal 288 to pass in and out of the processing chamber 108. In addition, the optical transmitter 280 and the optical receiver 282 may respectively include a transmitting optical device and a receiving optical device. Optical transmitter 280 receives and responds to electrical signals for control from control system 190. The light receiver 282 sends the measurement signal back to the control system 190.

The in situ measurement system can include any instrument configured to monitor the progress of the GCIB process. According to an embodiment, the in situ measurement system may constitute an optical scatterometer system. The scatterometer system may comprise a scatterometer incorporating a beam profile ellipsometer (elliptical polarimeter) and a beam profile reflectometer (reflectometer), which may be from Therma-Wave, Inc. (1250 Reliance Way, Fremont, CA 94539) or Nanometrics, Inc. (1550 Buckeye Drive, Milpitas, CA 95035) was purchased.

For example, an in-situ measurement system can include an integrated optical digital profilometry (iODP) scatterometer module configured to measure Process performance data generated by performing a processing process in the GCIB processing system 100'. The metrology system can, for example, measure or monitor the metrology data produced by the processing process. This measurement data can be used, for example, to determine process performance data characterizing the process, such as process rate, relative process rate, feature profile angle, critical dimensions, feature thickness or depth, feature shape, and the like. For example, in a process for depositing materials directionally on a substrate, process performance data can include critical dimensions (CD) (eg, top, middle, or middle of features (ie, perforations, lines, etc.) Bottom CD), feature depth, material thickness, sidewall angle, sidewall shape, deposition rate, relative deposition rate, spatial distribution of any of its parameters, parameters used to characterize the uniformity of any spatial distribution thereof, and the like. The in-situ measurement system can calibrate one or more features of the substrate 252 as it passes through control signals from the control system 190 to operate the X-Y positioning platform 253.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the GCIB processing system 100" can be similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1 and further includes a pressure unit chamber 350, such as at the exit of the ionization/acceleration chamber 106. In or near the region, the pressure unit chamber 350 includes an inert gas source 352 and a pressure sensor 354 configured to supply background gas to the pressure unit chamber 350 to increase the pressure in the pressure unit chamber 350, The pressure sensor 354 is configured to measure the increased pressure in the pressure unit chamber 350.

The pressure cell chamber 350 can be configured to modify the beam energy distribution of the GCIB 128 to produce a modified processed GCIB 128A'. This modification of the beam energy distribution is achieved by directing the GCIB 128 through the pressurized zone within the pressure cell chamber 350 along the GCIB path, causing at least a portion of the GCIB to pass through the pressurized zone. The degree of modification of the beam energy distribution can be characterized by pressure-distance integration along at least a portion of the GCIB path, wherein the path length (d) represents the distance (or the length of the pressure cell chamber 350). As the value of the pressure-distance integral increases (by increasing the pressure and/or path length (d)), the beam energy distribution will broaden and the peak energy will decrease. Beam energy when the value of the pressure-distance integral is reduced (by reducing the pressure and/or path length (d)) The amount distribution will be narrower and the peak energy will increase. Further details of the design of the pressure unit can be determined by US Patent No. 7,060,989 entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVED PROCESSING WITH A GAS-CLUSTER ION BEAM", the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. .

Control system 190 includes a microprocessor, memory, and digital I/O ports capable of generating sufficient communication with and input to GCIB processing system 100 (or 100', 100"), and sufficient to monitor The control voltage of the output of the GCIB processing system 100 (or 100', 100"). In addition, the control system 190 can be coupled to the vacuum pumping systems 170A, 170B, and 170C, the first gas sources 111 and 1011, the second gas sources 112 and 1012, the first gas control valves 113A and 1013A, and the second gas control valve 113B. And 1013B, beam electronics 130, beam filter 146, beam gate 148, X-scan actuator 160, Y-scan actuator 162, and beam current sensor 180, and can exchange information therewith. For example, the above-described components of the GCIB processing system 100 can be enabled to perform a GCIB process on the substrate 152 using a program stored in memory in accordance with a recipe recipe.

However, control system 190 can be implemented as a general purpose computer system that executes a microprocessor based microprocessor of the present invention in response to a processor executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in the memory. Part or all of the processing steps. Such instructions can be read into the controller memory from another computer readable medium, such as a hard drive or a removable media drive. One or more processors of the multi-processing device may also be employed as the controller microprocessor to execute a series of instructions contained in the main memory. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of, or in combination with, software instructions. Thus, these embodiments are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

As noted above, control system 190 can be used to configure any number of processing elements, and control system 190 can collect, provide, process, store, and display data from processing elements. Control system 190 can include several applications and a number of controllers to control one or more of the processing elements By. For example, control system 190 can include a graphical user interface (GUI) component (not shown) that can provide an interface that allows a user to monitor and/or control one or more processing elements.

Control system 190 can be located at the local end relative to GCIB processing system 100 (or 100', 100"), or can be remotely located relative to GCIB processing system 100 (or 100', 100"). For example, control system 190 can exchange data with GCIB processing system 100 using direct connections, internal networks, and/or the Internet. Control system 190 can be coupled to an internal network, such as a user (ie, component producer, etc.); or can be coupled to an internal network, such as a vendor (ie, device manufacturer). . Alternatively or additionally, control system 190 can be coupled to the internet. In addition, another computer (i.e., controller, server, etc.) can access control system 190 to exchange data therethrough via a direct connection, an internal network, and/or the Internet.

The substrate 152 (or 252) can be secured to the substrate holder 150 (or the substrate holder 250) by a clamping system (not shown), such as a mechanical clamping system or an electrical clamping system (eg, electrostatic clamping) system). Additionally, the substrate holder 150 (or 250) can include a heating system (not shown) or a cooling system (not shown) configured to adjust and/or control the substrate holder 150 (or 250) and the substrate 152 (or 252). temperature.

The vacuum pumping systems 170A, 170B, and 170C can include turbo-molecular vacuum pumps (TMP) with pumping speeds up to about 5000 liters per second (and greater), and chamber pressure adjustments. gate. In a conventional vacuum processing apparatus, TMP of 1000 to 3000 liters per second can be employed. TMPs are quite useful for low pressure processing (typically less than about 50 mTorr). Although not shown, it will be appreciated that the pressure unit chamber 350 can also include a vacuum pumping system. Additionally, means (not shown) for monitoring chamber pressure may be coupled to either vacuum chamber 102 or three vacuum chambers 104, 106, 108. The pressure measuring device can be, for example, a capacitive pressure gauge or a free pressure gauge.

An alternate embodiment of the nozzle manipulator is also shown in Figures 2 and 3. Not as shown in FIG. 1, each of the nozzles 110, 1010 is coupled to an individually controllable manipulator, and the nozzles 110, 1010 can be coupled to each other and coupled together to a single manipulator. The positioning of the nozzles 110, 1010 relative to the gas separator 120 can then be collectively manipulated as a set of objects rather than individually manipulated.

Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown a gas cluster dissociator for ionizing a gas cluster jet (gas cluster beam 118 of Figures 1, 2, and 3) (122 of Figures 1, 2, and 3) ) Section 300. Section 300 is perpendicular to the axis of GCIB 128. For a typical gas cluster size (2000 to 15000 atoms), the gas separator (120 of Figures 1, 2, and 3) is opened and enters the dissociator (122 of Figures 1, 2, and 3). The cluster will travel at a kinetic energy of about 130 to 1000 electron volts (eV). In the case of such low energy, any deviation from the space charge neutrality in the dissociator 122 will result in a rapid dispersion of the jet stream and a significant loss of beam current. Figure 4 shows a self-neutralizer dissociator. Like other dissociators, gas clusters are ionized by electron impact. In this design, the hot electrons (seven examples represented by 310) are ejected from a plurality of linear thermionic filaments 302a, 302b, and 302c (typically tungsten) and are electrically repelled by electrodes 306a, 306b. And 306c and the appropriate electric field provided by the beam forming electrodes 304a, 304b, and 304c are extracted and collected. The hot electrons 310 will pass through the gas cluster jet and jet stream axis and then impact the opposite beam forming electrode 304b to produce low energy secondary electrons (e.g., as indicated by 312, 314, and 316).

Although not shown (for the sake of simplicity), the linear thermistor filaments 302b and 302c also generate hot electrons which, in turn, produce low energy secondary electrons. All secondary electrons help to ensure that the ionized cluster jet maintains space charge neutrality by providing low energy electrons that can be attracted to the positive ionized gas cluster jet as desired, To maintain space charge neutrality. The beam forming electrodes 304a, 304b, and 304c are positively biased with respect to the linear thermionic filaments 302a, 302b, and 302c, and the electron repeller electrodes 306a, 306b, and 306c are opposed to the linear thermionic filament. 302a, 302b, and 302c are applied with a negative bias. Insulators 308a, 308b, 308c, 308d, 308e, and 308f support electrodes 304a, 304b, 304c, 306a, 306b, and 306c and electrically insulate them. For example, this self-neutralizing dissociater is effective and can achieve argon GCIBs in excess of 1000 microamperes.

Alternatively, the dissociater can utilize electron extraction from the plasma to ionize the cluster. The geometry of these dissociators is quite different from the three-filament dissociator described herein, but the principles of operation and control of the dissociator are quite similar. For example, the design of the dissociator can be similar to the dissociator described in U.S. Patent No. 7,173,252, entitled "IONIZER AND METHOD FOR GAS-CLUSTER ION-BEAM FORMATION", which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. In this article.

The gas cluster dissociator (122 of Figures 1, 2, and 3) can be configured to modify the beam energy distribution of the GCIB 128 by changing the state of charge of the GCIB 128. For example, the state of charge can be modified by adjusting the electron impact of the gas cluster to initiate the electron flux, electron energy, or electron energy distribution of the electrons used in the ionization.

Referring now to Figures 5A and 5B, an embodiment of a workpiece scanning mechanism 500 is shown. The workpiece scanning mechanism 500 is enclosed in a processing chamber 510, which may be, for example, one of the processing chambers 100, 100', or 100" of the processing chambers 108 of Figures 1, 2, and 3. Processing chambers The purpose of the chamber 510 is to enclose the workpiece 520 in a low pressure environment without contamination during the use of the GCIB illumination workpiece 520. The workpiece 520 is attached to the first end of the scanning arm 540 using the chuck 530, the scanning arm 540 includes an elongate member for scanning workpiece 520 across curved path 580 across GCIB 505, and GCIB 505 is ionized/accelerated from processing systems 100, 100', or 100", such as Figures 1, 2, and 3. One of the chambers 106 enters the processing chamber 510. Depending on the configuration, the chuck 530 can secure the workpiece 520 to the scanning arm 540 using mechanical clamping, vacuum suction, or using electrostatic clamping. An exemplary embodiment of an electrostatically held chuck 530 is described in U.S. Patent No. 7,948,734 entitled "ELECTROSTATIC CHUCK POWER SUPPLY" and entitled "ELECTROSTATIC CHUCK POWER" U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 12/749,999, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein in

The second end (ie, the point of rotation) of the scanning arm 540 remote from the workpiece 520 and the chuck 530 is attached to the rotary output shaft of the fast scan motor 550, and the fast scan motor 550 is used as a rotating mechanism along the curved path. The 580 actuates the work piece 520 in the direction of the fast scan motion. An exemplary embodiment of the fast scan motor 550 is described in U.S. Patent No. 7,608,843, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SCANNING A WORKPIECE THROUGH AN ION BEAM", which is also incorporated by reference in its entirety. In this article. The fast scan motor 550 itself is supported by a slow scanning mechanism 560, which will be described in more detail later. The slow scanning mechanism 560 is configured to move the fast scan motor 550, the scanning arm 540, the chuck 530, and the workpiece 520 in a slow scanning motion direction 570 along a linear path.

Although the embodiment of FIGS. 5A and 5B shows that the slow scanning mechanism 560 is arranged in the vertical direction and thus the scanning arm 540 is used as an inverted pendulum, the slow scanning mechanism 560 can also be installed horizontally, or horizontally and vertically. The installation is at some angles while still allowing the GCIB 505 to reach all positions of the work piece 520. For example, in an embodiment, the slow scanning mechanism 560 can be mounted horizontally along the bottom wall of the processing chamber 510. In another exemplary embodiment, the slow scanning mechanism 560 can be horizontally mounted along the upper wall of the processing chamber 510.

In order to facilitate loading and unloading of the work piece, in one embodiment, the scanning arm 540 can include an optional joint 545 to allow the scanning arm 540 to be fully bent back in a curved motion 590 so that the workpiece 520 can be self-clamping in a horizontal position. 530 is loaded and unloaded as shown in Figure 5B. A motor (not shown) can be used to actuate the joint 545, and an embodiment of the joint actuation system is described in U.S. Patent No. 7,608,843, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SCANNING A WORKPIECE THROUGH AN ION BEAM", Patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

A controller 595 that communicates via communication line 598 is used to control the workpiece scanning mechanism 500. The controller 595 can be implemented as a separate controller or can be implemented as part of the control system 190 of the processing system 100, 100', or 100" of Figures 1, 2, and 3. The controller 595 includes a microprocessor And a digital I/O port capable of generating a voltage sufficient to communicate with the workpiece scanning mechanism 500 and to initiate an input thereto. Further, the controller 595 can be coupled to the fast scanning motor 550, slow. The speed scanning mechanism 560, the chuck 530, the joint 545, and the like can exchange information with each other. For example, the above-mentioned components of the workpiece scanning mechanism 500 can be activated by a program stored in the memory according to a process recipe. The GCIB process is performed on the work piece 520. The controller 595 can be implemented as a general-purpose computer system that executes the present in response to executing a processor of one or more serials of one or more instructions contained in the memory. Part or all of the microprocessor-based processing steps of the invention. Such instructions can be read into the controller memory from another computer readable medium (such as a hard disk or removable media drive). Multi-processing One or more processors are placed as controller microprocessors to execute a series of instructions contained in the main memory. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuits may be used in place of, or in combination with, software instructions. Thus, these embodiments are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

6 and 7 show an exemplary embodiment of a slow scanning mechanism 560 of the workpiece scanning mechanism 500. The exemplary embodiment of Figures 6 and 7 shows that the slow scan motion is mounted in a vertical orientation, but other mounting angles may be used as previously mentioned. Figure 6 shows a partial cutaway view of this assembly (but with surrounding structures, such as processing chamber 510). Figure 7 shows a diagram in the absence of a surrounding structure.

At the core of the slow scanning mechanism 560 is a shuttle drive assembly 605 that includes a track 610 and a shuttle 620. The shuttle 620 has an attachment point 660, the fast scan motor 550 can be attached to an attachment point 660, and the track 610 allows the shuttle 620 (and all structures attached thereto, ie, the fast scan motor 550, the scan arm 540, the chuck 530 And the work piece 520) along a straight path defining a slow scan motion direction 570 By mobile. Stoppers 612A and 612B are attached at the ends of the track 610 to prevent the shuttle 620 from slipping off the track 610.

The pulleys 630 and 640 are mounted substantially parallel to the shuttle drive assembly, and the drive belts 650A, B are mounted on the pulleys 630 and 640. Drive belts 650A, B contain a complete ring and may be a flat belt or a gear belt. Drive belts 650A, B are made of materials compatible with the GCIB process to reduce gas release and contamination, and may be made of metal or polymeric materials. In an embodiment, the drive belts 650A, B can be made from a single chain or material loop (not shown). In another embodiment, the belts 650A, B can be constructed from two portions 650A and 650B, each of which is independently attached to the pulleys 630 and 640 at attachment points 652A, 652B, 653B, etc., respectively. In this latter embodiment, each of the pulleys 630 and 640 includes two side-by-side pulleys that are attached together or integrally machined. Further, in the latter embodiment, the diameters of the larger pulleys 630 and 640 are selected, and in the case where the belt portions 650A and 650B are not separated by their respective attachment points 652A, 652B, 653B, etc., the pulley 630 is caused. The angular travel of 640 allows for slow scan motion of the full range of shuttles 620.

One portion 650B of the drive belt 650A, B is attached to the shuttle 620 near the attachment point 660 to assist in actuating the shuttle 620 in the slow scan motion direction 570. In an embodiment, the belts 650A, B may be geared belts, in which case sprocket wheels 630 and 640 are used in place of pulleys 630 and 640.

Still referring to Figures 5A, 5B, 6, and 7, in order to actuate the belts 650A, B and thereby achieve a slow scanning motion of the fast scan motor 550, a scanning arm 540, a chuck 530, and a workpiece 520, drive mechanism 670 are provided. . Drive mechanism 670 can be attached to any of pulleys 630, 640; while Figures 7 and 8 show drive mechanism 670 attached to pulley 630 mounted in an upper position along shuttle drive assembly 605. The drive mechanism 670 includes a vacuum rotary feedthrough 680 mounted to the wall of the processing chamber 510 to which the pulley 630 is attached. Vacuum rotary feedthrough 680 The rotary motion can be applied to the pulley 630 from a servo motor 690 external to the processing chamber 510 without damaging the vacuum maintained within the processing chamber 510. Between the vacuum rotary feedthrough 680 and the servo motor 690, an optional reduction transmission 685 can be installed. In one embodiment, the reduced speed transmission 685 can include a pair of sprockets 700 and 710 that are mounted on the sprockets 700 and 710. Alternatively, the reduction transmission 685 can include a pair of pulleys 700 and 710 that are mounted on the pulleys 700 and 710. In yet another alternative embodiment, the reduced speed transmission 685 can include, for example, a reduction gear set in place of the belt drive. The purpose of the reduction transmission 685 is to at least partially reduce the rpms of the servo motor 690 to the level required to safely operate the slow scanning mechanism 560. An additional reduction in the rpms of the servo motor 690 may be achieved using the optional reduction gear set 692, which may or may not be part of the servo motor 690 itself.

To operate the slow scanning mechanism 560 of the workpiece scanning mechanism 500, the servo motor 690 is actuated based on a control signal from the controller 595. In one embodiment, the rotational motion from the servo motor 690 is transmitted to the vacuum rotary feedthrough 680 via the sprocket wheels 700 and 710 and the geared belt 720. The vacuum rotary feedthrough can provide rotational motion to a pulley 630 attached thereto that can actuate the belts 650A, B to cause the shuttle 620 to begin moving. Finally, driven by the belts 650A, B, the shuttle 620 slides along a linear path defined by the track 610 of the shuttle drive assembly 605 to guide the fast scan motor 550, the scanning arm 540, the chuck 530, And work piece 520.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary embodiment of a reduction transmission 685 that utilizes a pair of sprockets 700 and 710, and a geared belt 720. A larger sprocket 700 is attached to one end of the vacuum rotary feedthrough 680. The smaller sprocket 710 is attached to the drive shaft 695 of the servo motor. As mentioned above, it is necessary to limit the range of rotation of the movement of the sprocket 700, the vacuum rotary feedthrough 680, and the pulley 630 to prevent overtravel of the belts 650A, B. Overtravel may result in portions of the belts 650A, B. 650A and 650B are separated from pulleys 630 and 640. To prevent this, a set of limit switches 760A and 760B are installed in the reduction transmission 685, which can provide a signal to the controller 595 to be in the chain. When the wheel 700, the vacuum rotary feedthrough 680, and the end of the allowable rotation range of the stroke of the pulley 630 are turned off, the power of the servo motor 690 is turned off. A properly sized limit switch striker 750 is used to trigger the state of limit switches 760A and 760B at the extreme end of the allowable range of rotation of the sprocket 700, vacuum rotary feedthrough 680, and pulley 630.

A worm gear set, as described in, for example, U.S. Patent No. 7,608,843, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety in The advantages of the design of the 685 include simplicity, lower cost, and a higher restoring force for impacts caused by frictional changes in the shuttle 620 along the track 610 of the shuttle drive assembly 605. Along with the use of two pulleys 630 and 640, and the drive belts 650A, B mounted thereon, the present invention alleviates many of the failure modes of the workpiece scanning mechanism described in and discussed in U.S. Patent No. 7,608,843. In order to replace the natural action of the worm gear pair with "braking", that is, a sudden increase in torque load can be prevented from being transmitted to the servo motor that drives the worm wheel, in one embodiment, the servo motor 690 of the present invention can be equipped with Brake.

9A and 9B show an embodiment of a shuttle drive assembly 605. Referring to Figure 9B, the shuttle drive assembly 605 includes a track 610 that includes a guide 770 mounted thereon. Slide 780 is allowed to slide along guide 770, and shuttle 620 and attachment point 660 are attached to slider 780 for quick scan motor 550 attachment. The guide 770 and the slider 780 define a symmetrical longitudinal plane 790 of the shuttle drive assembly 605, while in the present embodiment, the shuttle 620 and the attachment point 660 are all located outside of the symmetrical longitudinal plane 790. Such an asymmetric configuration has many advantages over prior art symmetric shuttle drive assemblies, including the less likely failure of contaminants from GCIB, as can be seen in Figures 5A, 5B, and 6. It can be seen that, for example, the shuttle drive assembly of Figures 9A and 9B can be mounted such that the opening system that exposes the guide 770 and slider 780 is oriented away from the GCIB 505 into the processing chamber 510, thereby reducing contamination and obstruction. The resulting failure rate.

In one embodiment, GCIB is formed in the GCIB processing system using any one or any combination of these parameters, the GCIB having a beam profile that is substantially close to the Gaussian profile (as shown in Figure 7). In other embodiments, other beam profiles are also possible.

As shown in Figure 10, a beam profile 450 having a substantially Gaussian profile is formed. At an axial position along the length of the GCIB (eg, the surface of the substrate), the beam profile is characterized by a full width at half maximum (FWHM) 452 and a maximum width 454 (eg, a full width at a peak intensity of 5%).

After establishing the GCIB, the flow system proceeds to 520 where the measurement data is acquired for a substrate. The measurement data can include parameter data, such as geometric, mechanical, electrical, and/or optical parameters associated with the upper layer or one or more elements formed in or on the upper layer of the substrate. For example, the measurement data includes, but is not limited to, any parameter that can be measured by the above measurement system. Further, for example, the measurement data may include film thickness, film height, surface roughness, surface contamination, feature depth, groove depth, perforation depth, feature width, groove width, perforation width, critical dimension (CD), The measurement of the resistance, or any combination of two or more thereof. Further, for example, the measurement data can include one or more measurable parameters of one or more surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices, such as a SAW frequency.

The shaped aperture can be characterized by a cross-sectional dimension. The cross-sectional dimension can include a diameter or a width. Additionally, the shape of the one or more shaped apertures can comprise a circle, an ellipse, a square, a rectangle, a triangle, or a cross section having any shape. Referring again to Figure 10, a GCIB having a beam profile 450 that is substantially close to a Gaussian profile can be formed. As an example, the cross-sectional dimension 456 of the aperture is selected to include a diameter less than or equal to the FWHM of the GCIB.

Figure 11 shows an exemplary circular scan of a substrate 152 surrounding a GCIB 128A' that is at least partially in contact with the substrate along a circular path. Therefore, the GCIB 128A' can etch or deposit a thin film near the periphery of the substrate 152. This can be done to compensate for the edge profile of the substrate 152 that has a thickness that is higher or lower than the interior region of the substrate 152. For example, if The thickness of the edge of the substrate 152 is offset from the remainder of the substrate, and the film can be etched by circular scanning of the substrate 152 of the GCIB 128A' to minimize thickness variations. Thus, as shown in Figures 5A-5B, the workpiece scanning mechanism 500 can be programmed or configured to enable etching or deposition near the periphery of the substrate 152.

In FIG. 11, the substrate 152 can be moved in a rotational motion by using the workpiece scanning mechanism 500 as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. For ease of illustration and explanation, only the scanning arm 540 of the workpiece scanning mechanism 500 is shown in FIG. In one embodiment, a circular scan can enable the GCIB 128A' to contact along the perimeter of the substrate to etch the substrate or overlying film as the substrate 152 is rotated about the GCIB 128A'. For example, the substrate 152 can be coupled to the workpiece scanning mechanism 500 via the scanning arm 540, as described in the previous description of Figures 5A-5B. The workpiece scanning mechanism 500 can be moved in a direction 580 to move between two points while also moving in a linear motion 570. The combination of rotational motion 580 or radial motion and linear motion 570 enables circular motion 575 that allows GCIB 128A' to scan across the edge of substrate 152 in a rotational scan. As shown in FIG. 11, scanning of substrate 152 may begin at a point at or near the edge of substrate 152. The workpiece scanning mechanism 500 can move the substrate in a rotational motion 575 such that the GCIB 128A' follows a circular path around the substrate 152. For example, the motion of the substrate 152 surrounding the GCIB 128A' is illustrated by the position of the rotating substrates 1521, 1522, 1523, which shows how this circular scan can be accomplished. For ease of illustration and explanation, as shown in Figure 11, there are only four rotating substrates 1521, 1522, 1523. In fact, the GCIB 128A' can have more contact with the substrate 152 at more than four points shown by the substrate 152 and the rotating substrates 1521, 1522, 1523. For example, the GCIB 128A' can be in contact with the substrate 152 along a circular path that can begin at and end at the same point on the substrate 152. After completing the first circular scan, the workpiece scanning mechanism 500 can position the substrate to increase or decrease the circular scan radius (not shown) and begin another circular scan along another circle around the substrate 152. The path is etched or deposited. Scan radius positioning can be continued as desired to GCIB 128A' on the substrate Etching or deposition is performed at the intersection with the substrate 152. As such, the edge thickness profile of the substrate 152 can be optimized without changing or substantially altering the thickness profile of the remainder of the substrate 152.

Figure 12 is a graph showing the relationship between angle, distance, and velocity between substrate 152 and GCIB 128A' during a circular scan. Control can be controlled by a first scanning motion 580 (radial) oscillating with rotational motion between two points, and a second scanning motion 570 (straight line) that can form a circular path 575 around the substrate 152 when combined The speed and direction of the circular scan.

In one embodiment, the circular scan 1100 can be implemented by transmitting an angle δ 1112 representing the angle between the GCIB 128A' and the center of the substrate 152 to determine the scan radius from the center of the substrate 152. The relative position of the 1102, the angle θ 1110, and the GCIB 128A'. In an embodiment, the substrate radius may be at least 150 mm. By controlling the first scan motion speed 1106 and the second scan motion speed 1108, the speed 1104 or dwell time of the circular scan can be optimized. Speed 1104 can be constant and can be used to derive first scan motion speed 1106 and second scan motion speed 1108, as shown in FIG. For example, the first scan motion speed 1106 can be derived from the following equation:

The second scan motion speed 1108 can be derived from the following equation: Vf = vcosθ - vscosδ

In an embodiment, the speed 1104 may be constant during the scanning process to maintain a similar dwell time around the substrate. However, considering the variation in thickness profile (not shown), the characteristics of GCIB 128A' can be varied to increase or decrease the local etch rate or deposition rate in the same circular scan. Similarly, the etch rate or deposition rate can be varied by varying the speed 1104 during a circular scan. As such, the residence time of the GCIB 128A' can be optimized to account for variations in thickness that may exist along the circular scan pattern implemented by the workpiece scanning mechanism 500.

FIG. 13 shows a substrate 152 showing a circular scan path that can be performed during the etching or deposition process in the GCIB processing system 100. For ease of illustration and explanation, only three circular scan paths are shown in FIG. The first radius 1302 can be a starting or ending radius at or near the edge of the substrate 152. In some embodiments, the first radius 1302 can be slightly larger than the radius of the substrate 152 to account for the contour and/or intensity of the GCIB 128A'. In some cases, the beam profile can be quite large and can impact a larger area than other profiles. Thus, during the first radius 1302 scan, the beam profile of the entire GCIB 128A' may not necessarily be in full contact with the substrate. In some embodiments, the beam profile of the entire GCIB 128A' may not all be in contact with the substrate due to more than one circular scan 1100. However, in other embodiments, the first radius 1302 can be less than the radius of the substrate 152.

After the first radius 1302 scan, a second radius 1304 scan can be performed. The second radius 1304 can be less than the first radius 1302, as shown in FIG. However, this is not necessary in other embodiments. Typically, the second radius 1304 scan represents many other circular scans that can be performed during the etching or deposition process. For example, a process may include two or more circular scans that vary in radius between a first radius 1302 and a third radius 1306. The third radius 1306 can be a starting radius or an ending radius. The third radius 1306 may be a shorter distance than the first radius 1302 and the second radius 1304 when measured from the center of the substrate 152. The number and radius of scans can be based, at least in part, on the thickness profile of the substrate 152 and/or the characteristics of the GCIB 128'. In some embodiments, the circular scan can oscillate between the first radius 1302 and the third radius 1306 or the second radius 1304. For example, the first radius 1302 can be a starting radius and an ending radius for a GCIB scan that can be moved between the first radius 1302 and the third radius 1306. The starting radius and ending radius may vary depending on the thickness profile at the edge of the substrate 152.

14A shows a simplified exemplary embodiment of performing a circular scan (eg, a first radius 1302 scan) on substrate 152 by GCIB processing system 100. Figure 14A shows a cross section of the thickness profile 1400 of the substrate 152 and any overlying film. In the present embodiment, the GCIB 128A' shown at the starting radius is larger than the radius of the substrate 152. However, even at the starting radius may be larger than the base At the radius of the plate 152, the beam profile of the GCIB 128A' may still strike the thickness profile. The starting radius and the radius of the substrate 152 can be measured from the centerline 1402 of the substrate 152.

The circular scan 1100 can be accomplished by rotating the substrate 152 between the starting point (not shown) and the end point (not shown) by a rotational motion 1404, which can be the same position as the end point. As shown in FIG. 14A, the substrate 152 can be positioned toward the GCIB 128A' for another circular scan covering another portion of the substrate 152. Based on the beam profile of GCIB 128', the impact of two or more scans may overlap the same or similar portions of the substrate 152 or overlying film.

FIG. 14B shows an exemplary result of using a circular scan on the thickness profile 1400 of the substrate 152. In this embodiment, the portion 1406 of the underlying film can be etched away to minimize variations in the thickness profile 1400. Thus, the previous non-uniformity (eg, thickness profile 1400) of the substrate 152 may not affect, or only cause, minor effects on the additional processing (eg, etching, patterning, deposition, etc.) of the substrate 152. For example, additional processing may include, but is not limited to, etching the overlying film throughout the substrate 152.

Figure 15 shows the GCIB energy distribution 1500 over the area of the substrate 152 between the starting radius 1302 and the ending radius 1306. In the present embodiment, the scan density 1504 near the edge of the substrate 152 is higher than the scan density 1502 closer to the center of the substrate 152. The scanning density consists of the beam profiles of the GCIB 128A' during the circular scan, and their relative positions to each other and to the substrate 152. For example, each circular scan can be represented by at least one of the beam profile curves. The scan density plot shows that the highest scan density occurs around 1 mm from the edge of substrate 152 (eg, 0 on the x-axis). The integration of all beam profiles can be used to generate a GCIB energy distribution 1500 throughout the substrate. In the present embodiment, the etching process is limited to an annular region extending from the edge of the substrate to a position of 4 mm from the edge. However, in other embodiments, the process area can be up to 10 mm or more from the edge of the substrate 152.

In an embodiment, the GCIB energy distribution 1500 can correspond to a thickness profile of the substrate 152, wherein the high density region 1504 can correspond to a higher thickness of the substrate 152 or overlying film. In this embodiment, the higher density region 1504 can be formed by reducing the distance between the circular scans. In another embodiment (not shown), a high energy region can be formed by reducing the speed of the substrate to increase the residence time of the GCIB 128A' over a particular portion of the substrate 152. In another embodiment, a high energy region can also be formed by increasing the energy or other characteristics of the GCIB 128A'.

16 is an illustration of an exemplary method of performing a circular scan of substrate 152 using GCIB processing system 100. Substrate 152 may have a non-uniform thickness profile that may affect subsequent processes to some extent, which may affect component yield and/or performance. In an embodiment, the thickness profile may have a higher thickness near the edge of the substrate than in the inner portion of the substrate 152. One method may be to develop an etch process that has a higher etch rate at the edge of the substrate 152 than at the center. Another method may be to selectively etch a thicker region to reduce the thickness non-uniformity of the entire substrate 152 and then uniformly etch the entire substrate 152. The GCIB processing system 100 can be used to implement a selective etch process and a subsequent uniform etch process.

In block 1602, the GCIB processing system 100 can be configured to position and secure a workpiece (eg, substrate 152) to the workpiece scanning mechanism 500. The workpiece can be composed of tantalum, niobium, or any other semiconductor material. In an embodiment, the workpiece may be circular and have a radius of at least 100 mm. In an embodiment, the workpiece may include spatially varying surface characteristics between the peripheral edge region and the inner region of the substrate. In a particular embodiment, the surface characteristic can be the thickness of the film on the surface of the workpiece or workpiece. For example, this spatial variation can be represented by a change in the thickness of the entire workpiece or film covering the workpiece. The thickness profile 1400 can be a representation of a spatial variation. However, in other embodiments, surface characteristics may include, but are not limited to, surface profile, surface roughness, surface composition, surface layer composition, mechanical properties of the workpiece and/or film, workpiece And/or the electrical properties of the film, or the optical properties of the workpiece and/or film, or any combination of two or more thereof.

As described above, the workpiece scanning mechanism 500 can be configured to place a particular portion of the workpiece in the trajectory of the GCIB 128A'.

At block 1604, the workpiece scanning mechanism 500 can perform a first scanning motion (eg, circular motion 575) of the workpiece through a first GCIB (eg, GCIB 128A') along a substantially circular path, the first scanning motion The peripheral edge region of the workpiece is exposed to the first GCIB. Exposure of the GCIB can reduce spatial variations or other characteristics of the surface characteristics between the peripheral edge region and the inner region. An example of this reduction is the variation of the thickness profile 1400. Figure 14A can show the entry state of the work piece, while Figure 14B can show the post-first scan state of the work piece.

In an embodiment, the first scanning motion can include the workpiece scanning mechanism 500 moving the workpiece along a substantially circular path that begins and ends at substantially the same location. In other embodiments, the workpiece scanning mechanism 500 can move the workpiece in a series of circular motions, wherein one or more of the circular motions have different radii. For example, in FIG. 13, the starting radius (eg, first radius 1302) may be the first circular motion of the first scanning motion, and the ending radius (eg, the third radius 1306) may be the last circular motion of the first scanning motion. In short, the first scanning motion can include scanning the workpiece along two or more concentric circular paths. This concentric circular path can contain circles with different radii.

In another embodiment, the first scanning motion of the workpiece scanning mechanism 500 can include mounting the workpiece to a first end of the elongate member (eg, the scanning arm 540). The elongate member can be rotated using a rotating mechanism attached to the point of rotation, such as fast scan motor 550. In a particular embodiment, the point of rotation can be away from the end of the elongate member.

The workpiece scanning mechanism 500 can move the elongate member and the rotating mechanism together with the slow scanning mechanism 560 while accompanying rotation. This movement allows different parts of the surrounding edge area of the workpiece Pass the first GCIB and follow a substantially circular path. In addition to the circular motion, the characteristics of the first GCIB 128A' can also be changed. This property can include, but is not limited to, dose and/or energy.

The complete first scan should change the surface characteristics along the surrounding area of the workpiece. In one case, the surface characteristics along the surrounding area may be more similar to the surface characteristics of the inner workpiece. Therefore, subsequent processing can be applied to the entire work piece and not only the surrounding area.

At block 1608, the workpiece scanning mechanism 500 can perform a second scanning motion of the workpiece through the second GCIB along a non-circular path that exposes the peripheral edge region and the interior region of the workpiece to the second GCIB. The second scanning motion can include repeatedly scanning the workpiece along a straight or curved path across the workpiece.

The second scanning motion can include: mounting the workpiece to the first end of the elongated member of the workpiece scanning mechanism 500. Next, a rotating mechanism attached to the point of rotation on the elongate member is used to partially rotate the elongate member. The point of rotation may be remote from the first end, which causes one or more scans of the workpiece to follow an arcuate path (eg, an arc that does not fully form a circle). The second scanning motion can also include moving the elongate member and the rotating mechanism with the slow scanning mechanism, the rotating mechanism being attached to the slow scanning mechanism 560 and suspended from the slow scanning mechanism 560. Thus, during a repetitive scan, the second scan motion can cause different portions of the workpiece to pass the path of the second GCIB. In a particular embodiment, the characteristics of the second GCIB can also be changed. This property can include, but is not limited to, dose and/or energy, and the first GCIB is different from the second GCIB in at least one GCIB parameter.

FIG. 17 illustrates another exemplary method of implementing a circular scan 1100 of substrate 152 using GCIB processing system 100.

At block 1702, the workpiece is mounted to a scanning system (e.g., workpiece scanning mechanism 500) that is configured to scan the workpiece by a charged particle beam. In an embodiment, the charged particle beam can include, but is not limited to, a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB).

At block 1704, the scanning system can perform a first scanning motion of the workpiece through the charged particle beam along at least one circular path. This circular path can begin and end at substantially the same position on the workpiece. However, circular paths can have different radii of curvature. As described in the previous description of Figure 13, the circular path may extend along the peripheral edge region of the workpiece. In a particular embodiment, the surrounding area may comprise an area up to 10 mm from the edge of the workpiece. As described in the foregoing description of Fig. 11, the charged particle beam can change the surface characteristics in the surrounding area of the workpiece without substantially changing the surface characteristics of the inner region of the workpiece. Therefore, when the first scan is completed, the surface characteristics of the surrounding area and the inner area can be more similar to each other.

At block 1706, the scanning system can perform a second scan of the workpiece through the charged particle beam along a non-circular path that begins and ends at a substantially different location on the workpiece. This non-circular path can extend along a straight or curved path across the workpiece.

FIG. 18 shows another exemplary method of implementing a circular scan 1100 of substrate 152 using GCIB processing system 100. In an embodiment, selective etching may be performed by the GCIB processing system 100. However, subsequent processing may be performed on other devices that may not be able to implement the GCIB process. In this case, the GCIB processing system 100 can prepare additional processing for the substrate 152, which may not require a second scan as described in the previous Figures 16 and 17. Additionally, parameters related to determining a circular scan can also be performed on the GCIB processing system 100. One embodiment of this embodiment is shown in FIG.

At block 1802, the GCIB processing system 100 can mount the substrate 152 on a transfer system (e.g., workpiece scanning mechanism 500) that can place the substrate at or adjacent to the GCIB 128A'.

At block 1804, the GCIB processing system 100 can determine or receive process parameters that can be used to remove a portion of the substrate near the edge of the substrate by utilizing rotational motion of the substrate 152. The process parameters may include, but are not limited to, the number of scans performed by the GCIB processing system 100, the scan interval, Scan speed, starting radius of the scan, and the end radius of the scan. In one embodiment, the starting radius and the ending radius are based, at least in part, on the radius of the substrate as measured from a location on the substrate. This position may be the center of the substrate 152 when the substrate is circular. For example, the starting radius (eg, first radius 1302) can include the distance from the center of substrate 152 to GCIB 128A' (when the movement of the substrate surrounding GCIB 128A' begins). The end radius (eg, third radius 1306) may be the distance between the center of the substrate 152 and where the GCIB 128A' is located (when the movement of the substrate 152 ends).

In an embodiment, the process parameters can be based at least in part on the thickness profile of the substrate 152 and the characteristics of the GCIB. Process parameters can be determined to etch or deposit the film to minimize differences in surface characteristics of the substrate 152 from the interior to the periphery. Process parameters may be optimized to produce a GCIB energy profile 1500 that may remove portions of the substrate 152 as described in the previous description of FIG. In addition to the process parameters described above, the characteristics of the GCIB 128A' can also be varied to implement the GCIB energy profile 1500. In an embodiment, this characteristic may include, but is not limited to, beam profile, dose, energy, chemical properties, or any combination thereof. In a particular embodiment, the beam profile can include a substantially constant or flat portion at the center of the beam, and a sloped portion near the periphery of the GCIB 128A'. As such, the beam profile can include a first portion including substantially constant GCIB conditions and a second portion including GCIB conditions that vary as a function of distance and at a higher rate than the first portion. This effect can be illustrated by the Gaussian curve shown in FIG.

At block 1806, the GCIB processing system 100 can move the substrate around the GCIB 128A' in a rotational motion by utilizing the transfer system and process parameters. The circular motion coupled to the GCIB 128A' can remove portions of the substrate 152 that intersect the GCIB 128A'.

In an embodiment, the movement of the substrate can include placing the substrate adjacent to the GCIB 128A' such that the GCIB 128A' is located within or within a starting radius from the center of the substrate 152. The GCIB processing system 100 can vary the radius of the circular motion performed by the substrate 152 such that the GCIB 128A' can process the surrounding area of the substrate 152. GCIB processing when the processing of the surrounding area has been completed The system will cause the GCIB 128A' to be detached from the substrate 152. This process can be done when the radius of the circular scan is the same or similar to the end radius.

In another embodiment, GCIB processing system 100 can include computer executable instructions that are executable by a computer processor. For example, computer executable instructions can be used to implement any or all of the above methods.

The word "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" as used throughout the specification means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in In at least one embodiment of the invention, it is not intended to be present in every embodiment. The words "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" or "an" or "an" Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

Various operations will be described in sequence as a plurality of independent operations in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the present invention. However, the order of description should not be construed as implying that the operations must be in the order. In particular, such operations are not required to be performed in the order described. The operations described can be performed in a different order than the described embodiments. In additional embodiments, various additional operations may be performed and/or the operations described may be omitted.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. Those skilled in the art should be able to recognize various combinations and substitutions of the various components shown in the figures. Therefore, it is intended that the scope of the invention not be limited

152‧‧‧Substrate

540‧‧‧ scanning arm

570‧‧‧Slow (second) scanning motion

575‧‧‧Circular motion (circular path)

580‧‧‧First scanning motion (arc path)

1521‧‧‧Rotating substrate

1522‧‧‧Rotating substrate

1523‧‧‧Rotating substrate

128A'‧‧‧GCIB

Claims (20)

A method for processing a workpiece using a gas cluster ion beam, comprising: a workpiece providing step of providing a workpiece characterized by a surface characteristic, the surface characteristic being in a peripheral edge region and an interior a spatial change occurs between the regions; a first scanning motion performing step of performing a first scanning motion of the workpiece through a first gas cluster ion beam along a rotational path, the first scanning motion a peripheral edge region of the workpiece is exposed to the first gas cluster ion beam and reduces spatial variation of the surface characteristic between the peripheral edge region and the interior region; and a second scanning motion performing step along a The non-circular path performs a second scanning motion of the workpiece by a second gas cluster ion beam, the second scanning motion exposing the peripheral edge region and the inner region of the workpiece to the second gas cluster ion beam . The method for processing a workpiece by using a gas cluster ion beam according to claim 1, wherein the surface property comprises: film thickness, surface profile, surface roughness, surface composition, layer composition, and the working piece Mechanical properties, electrical properties of the work piece, or optical properties of the work piece, or any combination of two or more thereof. A method for processing a workpiece by using a gas cluster ion beam according to claim 1, wherein the first gas cluster ion beam is on the at least one gas cluster ion beam parameter and the second gas cluster The ion beam is different. The method for processing a workpiece by using a gas cluster ion beam according to claim 1, wherein the first scanning motion performing step comprises: scanning the workpiece along a substantially circular path, the substantially The circular path starts at and ends at the same or similar position. A method for processing a workpiece using a gas cluster ion beam according to claim 1, wherein the first scanning motion performing step comprises: scanning the workpiece along two or more concentric circular paths. A method for processing a workpiece using a gas cluster ion beam according to claim 1, wherein the first scanning motion performing step comprises: repeatedly scanning the workpiece along a substantially circular path. The method for processing a workpiece by using a gas cluster ion beam according to claim 1, wherein the second scanning motion performing step comprises: repeatedly scanning the line along a straight line or an arc path across the workpiece Work piece. The method for processing a workpiece by using a gas cluster ion beam according to claim 1, wherein the first scanning motion performing step comprises the step of: mounting the working member at a first end of an elongated member a rotating step of rotating the elongated member using a rotating mechanism attached to a rotating point on the elongated member, the rotating point being away from the first end, and the first gas cluster ion beam is used to perform the rotating member One or more scans of the workpiece; a moving step of moving the elongate member and the rotating mechanism along a slow scanning mechanism and simultaneously performing the rotating step, the rotating mechanism being attached to the slow scanning mechanism and The slow scanning mechanism is suspended, and the moving step passes a different portion of the peripheral edge region of the workpiece through the first gas cluster ion beam along a rotational path. The method for processing a workpiece by using a gas cluster ion beam according to claim 1, wherein the second scanning motion performing step comprises the step of: mounting the workpiece at a first end of an elongated member unit; a rotating step of partially rotating the elongate member by a rotating mechanism attached to a point of rotation of the elongate member, the point of rotation being away from the first end and passing along the ion beam of the second gas cluster An arcuate path for scanning one or more of the workpieces; a moving step of moving the elongate member and the rotating mechanism along a slow scanning mechanism attached to the slow scanning mechanism The slow scanning mechanism is suspended, the moving step passing different portions of the workpiece through the path of the second gas cluster ion beam during the repeated scanning. The method for processing a workpiece by using a gas cluster ion beam according to claim 1, further comprising: a first gas cluster ion beam dose changing step, changing a first during performing the first scanning motion Gas cluster ion beam dose. The method for processing a workpiece by using a gas cluster ion beam according to claim 1, further comprising: a second gas cluster ion beam dose changing step, changing a second during performing the second scanning motion Gas cluster ion beam dose. A method for scanning a workpiece by a charged particle beam, comprising: a workpiece mounting step of mounting a workpiece on a scanning system configured to scan the work by a charged particle beam a first scanning motion performing step of performing a first scanning motion of the workpiece through the charged particle beam along a circular path, the circular path starting and ending at substantially the same on the workpiece And a second scanning performing step of performing a second scan of the workpiece through the charged particle beam along a non-circular path, the non-circular path starting and ending at the workpiece substantially different position. A method for scanning a workpiece by a charged particle beam according to claim 12, wherein the charged particle beam comprises a gas cluster ion beam. A method for scanning a workpiece by a charged particle beam according to claim 12, wherein the circular path extends along a peripheral edge region of one of the workpieces. A method for scanning a workpiece by a charged particle beam according to claim 12, wherein the non-circular path extends along a straight or curved path across the workpiece. A method for processing a substrate by using a gas cluster ion beam, comprising: a substrate mounting step of mounting the substrate on a transfer system capable of placing the substrate in an ion beam with the gas cluster Intersecting or approaching the position of the gas cluster ion beam; a process parameter determining step of determining a plurality of process parameters to remove a portion of the substrate near the edge of the substrate by one of the substrate rotational motions; The step of using the transfer system and the process parameters to move the substrate around the gas cluster ion beam in the rotational motion to remove the portion of the substrate using the gas cluster ion beam. The method for processing a substrate by using a gas cluster ion beam according to claim 16, wherein the process parameters include one or more of the following: a scan quantity; a scan interval; a scan speed; a scan start radius ; or the end radius of the scan. The method for processing a substrate by using a gas cluster ion beam according to claim 16, wherein the substrate moving step comprises the steps of: placing the substrate near the gas cluster ion beam, and causing the gas group The cluster ion beam is located at or within a starting radius; the rotational motion of the substrate is varied based at least in part on the thickness profile of the substrate; and the gas cluster is caused when the gas cluster ion beam is at an end radius The cluster ion beam is detached from the substrate. A method for processing a substrate using a gas cluster ion beam as in claim 16 wherein the process parameters are based at least in part on a thickness profile of the substrate and a characteristic of the gas cluster ion beam. A method for treating a substrate using a gas cluster ion beam according to claim 19, wherein the characteristic of the gas cluster ion beam comprises one or more of the following: a beam profile of the gas cluster ion beam One or more energy levels of the gas cluster ion beam; one or more dose levels of the gas cluster ion beam; or one or more chemical components of the gas cluster ion beam.