Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/30—Electron-beam or ion-beam tubes for localised treatment of objects
  • H01J37/305—Electron-beam or ion-beam tubes for localised treatment of objects for casting, melting, evaporating, or etching
  • H01J37/3053—Electron-beam or ion-beam tubes for localised treatment of objects for casting, melting, evaporating, or etching for evaporating or etching
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B5/00—Optical elements other than lenses
  • G02B5/18—Diffraction gratings
  • G02B5/1847—Manufacturing methods
  • G02B5/1857—Manufacturing methods using exposure or etching means, e.g. holography, photolithography, exposure to electron or ion beams
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/10—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type
  • G02B6/12—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type of the integrated circuit kind
  • G02B6/13—Integrated optical circuits characterised by the manufacturing method
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/02—Details
  • H01J37/04—Arrangements of electrodes and associated parts for generating or controlling the discharge, e.g. electron-optical arrangement or ion-optical arrangement
  • H01J37/06—Electron sources; Electron guns
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  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/02—Details
  • H01J37/04—Arrangements of electrodes and associated parts for generating or controlling the discharge, e.g. electron-optical arrangement or ion-optical arrangement
  • H01J37/08—Ion sources; Ion guns
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  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/30—Electron-beam or ion-beam tubes for localised treatment of objects
  • H01J37/3002—Details
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  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/30—Electron-beam or ion-beam tubes for localised treatment of objects
  • H01J37/305—Electron-beam or ion-beam tubes for localised treatment of objects for casting, melting, evaporating, or etching
  • H01J37/3053—Electron-beam or ion-beam tubes for localised treatment of objects for casting, melting, evaporating, or etching for evaporating or etching
  • H01J37/3056—Electron-beam or ion-beam tubes for localised treatment of objects for casting, melting, evaporating, or etching for evaporating or etching for microworking, e. g. etching of gratings or trimming of electrical components
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/32—Gas-filled discharge tubes
  • H01J37/32009—Arrangements for generation of plasma specially adapted for examination or treatment of objects, e.g. plasma sources
  • H01J37/32082—Radio frequency generated discharge
  • H01J37/32091—Radio frequency generated discharge the radio frequency energy being capacitively coupled to the plasma
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/32—Gas-filled discharge tubes
  • H01J37/32009—Arrangements for generation of plasma specially adapted for examination or treatment of objects, e.g. plasma sources
  • H01J37/32366—Localised processing
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/32—Gas-filled discharge tubes
  • H01J37/32009—Arrangements for generation of plasma specially adapted for examination or treatment of objects, e.g. plasma sources
  • H01J37/32422—Arrangement for selecting ions or species in the plasma
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/32—Gas-filled discharge tubes
  • H01J37/32431—Constructional details of the reactor
  • H01J37/32532—Electrodes
  • H01J37/32541—Shape
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10P—GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H10P50/00—Etching of wafers, substrates or parts of devices
  • H10P50/20—Dry etching; Plasma etching; Reactive-ion etching
  • H10P50/24—Dry etching; Plasma etching; Reactive-ion etching of semiconductor materials
  • H10P50/242—Dry etching; Plasma etching; Reactive-ion etching of semiconductor materials of Group IV materials
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/10—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type
  • G02B6/12—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type of the integrated circuit kind
  • G02B2006/12083—Constructional arrangements
  • G02B2006/12107—Grating
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/10—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type
  • G02B6/12—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type of the integrated circuit kind
  • G02B2006/12166—Manufacturing methods
  • G02B2006/12176—Etching
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B27/00—Optical systems or apparatus not provided for by any of the groups G02B1/00 - G02B26/00, G02B30/00
  • G02B27/01—Head-up displays
  • G02B27/017—Head mounted
  • G02B27/0172—Head mounted characterised by optical features
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/10—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type
  • G02B6/12—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type of the integrated circuit kind
  • G02B6/12007—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type of the integrated circuit kind forming wavelength selective elements, e.g. multiplexer, demultiplexer
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/10—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type
  • G02B6/12—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type of the integrated circuit kind
  • G02B6/122—Basic optical elements, e.g. light-guiding paths
  • G02B6/124—Geodesic lenses or integrated gratings
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06T—IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
  • G06T19/00—Manipulating three-dimensional [3D] models or images for computer graphics
  • G06T19/006—Mixed reality
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J2237/00—Discharge tubes exposing object to beam, e.g. for analysis treatment, etching, imaging
  • H01J2237/04—Means for controlling the discharge
  • H01J2237/045—Diaphragms
  • H01J2237/0451—Diaphragms with fixed aperture
  • H01J2237/0453—Diaphragms with fixed aperture multiple apertures
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J2237/00—Discharge tubes exposing object to beam, e.g. for analysis treatment, etching, imaging
  • H01J2237/06—Sources
  • H01J2237/061—Construction
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J2237/00—Discharge tubes exposing object to beam, e.g. for analysis treatment, etching, imaging
  • H01J2237/06—Sources
  • H01J2237/065—Source emittance characteristics
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J2237/00—Discharge tubes exposing object to beam, e.g. for analysis treatment, etching, imaging
  • H01J2237/06—Sources
  • H01J2237/083—Beam forming
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J2237/00—Discharge tubes exposing object to beam, e.g. for analysis treatment, etching, imaging
  • H01J2237/30—Electron or ion beam tubes for processing objects
  • H01J2237/303—Electron or ion optical systems
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J2237/00—Discharge tubes exposing object to beam, e.g. for analysis treatment, etching, imaging
  • H01J2237/32—Processing objects by plasma generation
  • H01J2237/33—Processing objects by plasma generation characterised by the type of processing
  • H01J2237/334—Etching
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/02—Details
  • H01J37/04—Arrangements of electrodes and associated parts for generating or controlling the discharge, e.g. electron-optical arrangement or ion-optical arrangement
  • H01J37/05—Electron or ion-optical arrangements for separating electrons or ions according to their energy or mass
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/02—Details
  • H01J37/04—Arrangements of electrodes and associated parts for generating or controlling the discharge, e.g. electron-optical arrangement or ion-optical arrangement
  • H01J37/06—Electron sources; Electron guns
  • H01J37/073—Electron guns using field emission, photo emission, or secondary emission electron sources
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/02—Details
  • H01J37/04—Arrangements of electrodes and associated parts for generating or controlling the discharge, e.g. electron-optical arrangement or ion-optical arrangement
  • H01J37/147—Arrangements for directing or deflecting the discharge along a desired path
  • H01J37/1472—Deflecting along given lines
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/30—Electron-beam or ion-beam tubes for localised treatment of objects
  • H01J37/304—Controlling tubes by information coming from the objects or from the beam, e.g. correction signals
  • H01J37/3045—Object or beam position registration
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/32—Gas-filled discharge tubes
  • H01J37/32431—Constructional details of the reactor
  • H01J37/3244—Gas supply means
  • H01J37/32449—Gas control, e.g. control of the gas flow

Definitions

• Embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to apparatus and methods for optical device fabrication. More specifically, embodiments of the disclosure relate to apparatus and methods for ion beam and electron beam waveguide fabrication.
• Virtual reality is generally considered to be a computer generated simulated environment in which a user has an apparent physical presence.
• a virtual reality experience can be generated in three dimensions (3D) and viewed with a head-mounted display (HMD), such as glasses or other wearable display devices that have near-eye display panels as lenses to display a virtual reality environment that replaces an actual environment.
• HMD head-mounted display
• Waveguides are used to assist in overlaying images. Generated light propagates through a waveguide until the light exits the waveguide and is overlayed on the ambient environment. Fabricating waveguides can be challenging as waveguides tend to have non-uniform properties. Accordingly, what is needed in the art are improved methods and systems of waveguide fabrication SUMMARY
• an electron beam etching apparatus in another embodiment, includes a chamber body defining a process volume, a pedestal disposed in the process volume, a first electrode coupled to the pedestal, a lid coupled to the chamber body, and a second electrode coupled to the lid.
• the second electrode is fabricated from a high secondary electron emission coefficient material and the second electrode includes a segmented surface having a plurality of angled surfaces disposed in a non normal orientation relative to a datum plane defined by the first electrode.
• Figure 2 illustrates a schematic side view of an angled etch system according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
• Figure 4A illustrates a schematic side view of a segmented ion source according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
• Figure 4C illustrates a schematic side view of a segmented ion source according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
• Figure 5A illustrates a schematic plan view of a filter plate according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
• Figure 6 illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of an electron beam etching system according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
• Figure 7A illustrates an angled etching process performed on a waveguide at a first position according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
• Figure 7B illustrates the waveguide of Figure 7A during the angled etching process at a second position according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
• Figure 9 illustrates operations of a method for etching a waveguide with an angled electron beam according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
• One approach to control the T1 beams coupled through the waveguide combiner 100 to the intermediate region 104 is to optimize the slant angle of each fin of the plurality of gratings 110 to control the intensity of the T-1 beams coupled to the output coupling region 106.
• a portion of the intermediate region 104 may have gratings 110 with a slant angle different than the slant angle of gratings 110 from an adjacent portion of the intermediate region 104.
• the gratings 110 may have fins with slant angles different than the slant angles of fins of the gratings 108.
• T-1 beams coupled through the waveguide combiner 100 to the output coupling region 106 undergo TIR in the waveguide combiner 100 until the T-1 beams contact a grating of the plurality of gratings 112 where the T-1 beams are split into TO beams refracted back or lost in the waveguide combiner 100.
• the T1 beams that undergo TIR in the output coupling region 106 continue to contact fins of the plurality of gratings 112 until either the intensity of the T-1 beams coupled through the waveguide combiner 100 to the output coupling region 106 is depleted or remaining T1 beams propagating through the output coupling region 106 have reached the end of the output coupling region 106.
• the plurality of gratings 112 are tuned to control the T-1 beams coupled through the waveguide combiner 100 to the output coupling region 106 in order to control the intensity of the T-1 beams coupled out of the waveguide combiner 100 to further modulate the field of view of the virtual image produced from the microdisplay from the user’s perspective and further increase the viewing angle from which the user can view the virtual image.
• One approach to control the T-1 beams coupled through the waveguide combiner 100 to the output coupling region 106 is to optimize the slant angle of each fin of the plurality of gratings 112 to further modulate the field of view and increase the viewing angle.
• a portion of the intermediate region 104 may have gratings 110 with a fin slant angle different than the slant angle of fins of the gratings 110 from an adjacent portion of the intermediate region 104.
• the gratings 112 may have fin slant angles different that the fin slant angles of the gratings 108 and the gratings 110.
• Figure 2 illustrates a schematic side view of an angled etch system 200 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. It is to be understood that the angled etch system 200 described below is an exemplary angled etch system and other angled etch systems may be used with or modified to fabricate waveguide combiners in accordance with the embodiments of the disclosure.
• the angled etch system 200 includes an ion beam chamber 202 that houses an ion beam source 204.
• the ion beam source 204 is configured to generate an ion beam 216, such as a spot beam, a ribbon beam, or a full substrate-size beam.
• the ion beam chamber 202 is configured to direct the ion beam 216 at an angle a relative to a datum plane 218 oriented normal to the substrate 210.
• the system 200 also includes a segmented source 230.
• the segmented source 230 modulates the angle of the ion beam 216 to achieve the angle a utilized to fabricate the fins in the grating material 212.
• the segmented source 230 which may include a plurality of segments, each including one or more electrodes, is described in detail with regard to Figure 3 and Figures 4A-4C.
• the substrate 210 is retained on a platen 206 coupled to a first actuator 208.
• the first actuator 208 which may be a linear actuator, a rotary actuator, a stepper motor, or the like, is configured to move the platen 206 in a scanning motion along a y-direction and/or a z-direction.
• the first actuator 208 is further configured to tilt the platen 206 such that the substrate 210 is positioned at a tilt angle b relative to the x-axis of the ion beam chamber 202.
• the angle a and tilt angle b result in an ion beam angle Q relative to the datum plane 218.
• the ion beam source 204 generates an ion beam 216 and the ion beam chamber 202 directs the ion beam 216 through the segmented source 230 towards the substrate 210 at the angle a.
• the first actuator 208 positions the platen 206 so that the ion beam 216 contacts the grating material 212 at the ion beam angle Q and etches fins having a slant angle Q’ on desired portions of the grating material 212.
• a second actuator 220 may also be coupled to the platen 206 to rotate the substrate 210 about the x-axis of the platen 206 to control the slant angle & of gratings.
• various different regions of the substrate 210 may be exposed to the ion beam 216 by rotating the substrate 210 without otherwise changing apparatus of the ion beam chamber 202.
• the electrode assembly 300 is positioned within the housing 402 adjacent to the first surface 408 of the second wall 406.
• the electrode assembly 300 may be coupled to the first surface 408 within the housing 402.
• the housing 308 of the electrode assembly 300 may include a shape selected to match or interface with the angle of the first surface 408.
• the first surface 408 may also include one or more openings 418 therein adjacent to where the electrode assembly 300 is positioned to enable the ion beam 216 to pass through the first surface 408.
• the first wall 404 may also have one or more openings 420 formed therein and the openings 420 formed in the first wall 404 may be aligned with one or both of the openings 418 formed in the first surface 408 or the electrode assembly 300. Accordingly, the ion beam 216 may propagate through the first wall 404 at an orientation substantially normal to a datum plane defined by the first wall 404 but exit the housing 402 through the first surface 408 of the second wall 406 at a predetermined angle.
• Figure 4B illustrates a schematic side view of a segmented ion source 230 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
• the segmented ion source 230 is coupled to or otherwise integrated with the ion beam chamber 202 and segments 412 of the segmented ion source 230 are aligned or otherwise positioned to receive the ion beam 216 from the beam source 204.
• the segmented ion source 230 includes a housing 422 having a first wall 424, a second wall 426, a third wall 434, and a fourth wall 436.
• the first wall 424 and second wall 426 are oriented substantially parallel to one another.
• the third wall 434 and fourth wall 436 are also substantially parallel to one another and extend between the first wall 424 and the second wall 426. While the above-described orientation of walls 424, 426, 434, 436 may be beneficially employed, it is contemplated that other wall configurations may be utilized.
• a second surface 430 extends between the first surface 428 and a third surface 432.
• the second surface 430 is oriented substantially parallel to the datum plane defined by the second wall 426. However, it is contemplated that the second surface 430 may be oriented at non-parallel angles with respect to the datum plane defined by the second wall 426.
• the third surface 432 extends from the second surface 430 to the second wall 426 at an adjacent first surface 428.
• the third surface 432 is angled with respect to the datum plan defined by the second wall 426. In one example, the angle of the third surface 432 is substantially similar to the angle of the first surface 428. Alternatively, the angle of the third surface 432 may be different from the angle of the first surface 428.
• the magnitude of the second surface 430 spaces the third surface 432 from the first surface 428. Accordingly, it is contemplated that the first surface 428 may be oriented at a wider range of angles to enable angled etching of the substrate 210. Additionally, the spacing and orientation of the third surface 432 from the first surface 428 is believed to enable a larger area of the substrate 210 to be processed at a time. While three segments 412 are illustrated, it is contemplated that a greater or lesser number of segments 412 may be utilized to modulate the ion beam 216 depending upon the area of the substrate 210 desired to be etched. It is also contemplated that the magnitude of the surfaces 428, 430, 432 may be changed relative to one another to modulate angle characteristics of the ion beam 216.
• the electrode assembly 300 is positioned within the housing 422 adjacent to the first surface 428 of the second wall 426.
• the electrode assembly 300 may be coupled to the first surface 428 within the housing 422.
• the housing 308 of the electrode assembly 300 may include a shape selected to match or interface with the angle of the first surface 428.
• the first surface 428 may also include one or more openings 438 therein adjacent to where the electrode assembly 300 is positioned to enable the ion beam 216 to pass through the first surface 428.
• Figure 4C illustrates a schematic side view of a segmented ion source 230 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
• the segmented ion source 230 is coupled to or otherwise integrated with the ion beam chamber 202 and segments 412 of the segmented ion source 230 are aligned or otherwise positioned to receive the ion beam 216 from the beam source 204.
• the segmented ion source 230 includes a housing 442 having a first wall 444, a second wall 446, a third wall 454, and a fourth wall 456.
• the first wall 444 and second wall 446 are oriented substantially parallel to one another.
• the third wall 454 and fourth wall 456 are also substantially parallel to one another and extend between the first wall 444 and the second wall 446. While the above-described orientation of walls 444, 446, 454, 456 may be beneficially employed, it is contemplated that other wall configurations may be utilized.
• a third region 512 of the body 502 includes a third plurality of apertures 514. Although the third region 512 is illustrated as occupying approximately one third of the body 502, it is contemplated that the third region 512 may include a greater or lesser portion of the body 502.
• the third plurality of apertures 514 are illustrated as being substantially circle-shaped with an approximately even distribution between adjacent apertures of the third plurality of apertures 514. However, any number, shape, orientation, spacing, or arrangement of the third plurality of apertures 514 may be utilized to modulate the intensity or distribution of the ion beam 216 passing through the third plurality of apertures 514.
• the first plurality of apertures 506 occupy an area of the body 502 in the first region 504 which is greater than an area of either the second plurality of apertures 510 and/or the third plurality of apertures 514.
• the ion beam 216 passing through the first region 504 of the body 502 is less obstructed when compared to the second region 508 and/or the third region 512.
• the ion beam 216 passing through the first region 504 may contact a first region of the substrate 210 with a greater amount and intensity of ions.
• Figure 6 illustrates a schematic, cross-sectional view of an electron beam etching system 600 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
• An electron beam etching system 600 is the SYM3TM apparatus available from Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA, which may be modified in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure. It is contemplated that other suitable apparatus from other manufacturers may also benefit from the embodiments described herein.
• the pedestal 604 includes an electrode 606 disposed therein.
• the electrode 606 is a chucking apparatus, such as an electrostatic chuck, for securing a substrate 614 thereto during processing of the substrate 614.
• a conduit 610 such as an electrical conduit or the like, is coupled between the electrode 606 and a power source 612. Power from the power source 612 may be utilized to bias the electrode 606 to either chuck the substrate 614 to the electrode 606 or influence bombardment of electrons on the substrate 614.
• the electrode 606 and the conduit 610 are surrounded by an insulating material 608, such as a dielectric material, to electrically isolate the electrode 606 and conduit 610 from the pedestal 604.
• Ion bombardment energy of the electrode 618 and density of the plasma formed in the process volume 640 are controlled, at least in part, by the power source 626 (e.g. RF power source). Ion bombardment of the electrode 618 is believed to heat the electrode 618 and cause the electrode 618 to emit secondary electrons.
• the electrode 618 is fabricated from a process compatible material having a high secondary electron emission coefficient, such as silicon, carbon, silicon carbon material, or silicon oxide materials.
• the electrode 618 may also be fabricated from a metal oxide material such as aluminum oxide, yttrium oxide, or zirconium oxide.
• At least a portion of the electron beam 660 comprised of the secondary electron flux emitted from the electrode 618 due to energetic ion bombardment of the segmented surface 620, propagates through the process volume 640 and contacts the substrate 614 to etch the substrate 614.
• the electron beams 660 in addition to the capacitively generated plasma, generate chemically reactive radicals and ions which may adsorb to the surface of the substrate 614 and form a chemically reactive layer on the surface of the substrate 614.
• Figure 7A illustrates an angled etching process performed on the substrate 210 at a first position according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
• the substrate 210 has the grating material 212 disposed thereon and the patterned hardmask 213 is disposed on a surface 702 of the grating material 212.
• the substrate 210 is positioned a first distance 710 from the segmented ion source 230, such as the segmented ion sources described with regard to the ion beam system 200 of Figures 2-5B.
• the substrate 210 may be processed by the system 600 utilizing the segmented surface 620 of the electrode 618 to generate an electron beam to etch the grating material 212.
• the ion beam 216 (or electron beam 660) is directed toward the substrate 210 at a non-normal angle relative to a major axis of the substrate 210.
• the patterned resist 213 exposes certain regions at the surface 702 of the grating material 212 which is etched by the ion beam 216 or electron beam 660.
• recesses 704 and fins 706 are formed in the grating material 212. While only two fins 706 and three recesses 704 are illustrated, the entire grating material 212 or desired portions thereof may be etched to form the recesses 704 and fins 706 depending upon the desired grating design for the waveguide to be fabricated.
• the fins 706 and recesses 704 collectively comprise a grating.
• Figure 8 illustrates operations of a method 800 for etching a waveguide with an angled ion beam according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
• a waveguide or substrate, such as the substrate 216, to be fabricated into a waveguide
• the waveguide is positioned on the platen 206.
• the platen is positioned a first distance from an angled ion beam source.
• the platen 206 is positioned a first distance 710 from the segmented ion source 230.
• ions are projected from the angled ion beam source toward the waveguide to form fins having a first depth.
• the platen is positioned a second distance from the angled ion beam source. The second distance is different from the first distance.
• the platen 206 is positioned the second distance 720 from the segmented ion source 230.
• ions are projected from the angled ion beam source toward the waveguide to form fins having a second depth different from the first depth.
• the depth of the fins 706 concerns the distance the fins 706 extend into the grating material 212 and also correlates to the depth of the recesses 704.
• the second depth is greater than the first depth. In another embodiment, the second depth is less than the first depth.
• Figure 9 illustrates operations of a method 900 for etching a waveguide with an angled electron beam according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
• a waveguide or substrate, such as the substrate 216, to be fabricated into a waveguide
• the waveguide is positioned on the pedestal 604.
• the platen is positioned a first distance from an angled electron beam source.
• the pedestal 604 is positioned a first distance 710 from the segmented surface 620 of the electrode 618.
• the platen is positioned a second distance from the angled electron beam source. The second distance is different from the first distance.
• the pedestal 604 is positioned the second distance 720 from the segmented surface 620 of the electrode 618.
• electrons are projected from the angled electron beam source toward the waveguide to form fins having a second depth different from the first depth.
• the depth of the fins 706 concerns the distance the fins 706 extend into the grating material 212 and also correlates to the depth of the recesses 704.
• the second depth is greater than the first depth. In another embodiment, the second depth is less than the first depth.
• the methods 800, 900 respectively enable waveguide fabrication utilizing ion and electron beams. It is contemplated that the methods 800, 900 may utilize a single etching cycle or multiple etching cycles. In one example, a 45° angled etching process may be performed about 14 times for a duration of about 300 seconds per time. In this example, an approximately 240 nm deep recess was formed with an etching rate of about 3nm/min. In another example, a 60° angled etching process may be performed for about 18 times for a duration of about 300 seconds per time. In this example, an approximately 190 nm deep recess was formed with an etching rate of about 1.8 nm/min. However, it is contemplated that the apparatus and methods described herein may enable etching rates up to about 50 nm/min, depending upon the process variables of the ion or electron beam etching process and the desired angle of etch.
• the methods 800, 900 may be utilized for blanket substrate etches over substantially the entire substrate surface or for more localized etching processes when specified regions of the substrate are etched preferentially to other regions.
• the segmented ion source 230 and segmented surface 620 of the electrode 618 enable improved angled etching efficiency with ion and electron beams, respectively. It is also contemplated that segmented ions sources 230 and segmented surfaces 620 of the electrode 618 may be swapped out of their respective systems 200, 600 to more efficiently change etching profiles of waveguides which embody gratings having a plurality of fin heights and recess or trench depths or with gratings of different angles.

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