Apparatus for enhancing the lifetime of stencil masks

1. An apparatus for masked ion-beam irradiation wherein a beam consisting of energetic ions is radiated through a substantially flat stencil mask, said stencil mask comprising a stencil pattern made up of a plurality of transparent structures, and said beam transfers the stencil pattern to a substrate, the apparatus comprising a mask holding means to position said stencil mask in the path of the beam, the apparatus further comprising:

first means for depositing material to said mask, said first means comprising at least one deposition source being positioned in front of the mask as seen in the direction of the beam and outside the path of the beam, the at least one deposition source being suitable for depositing material to the side of the mask irradiated by the beam, and

second means for sputtering off material from said mask, said second means comprising at least one sputter source producing a sputter ion beam directed to the mask, the at least one sputter source being positioned in front of the mask holder means as seen in the direction of the beam of energetic ions and outside the path of the beam of energetic ions.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second means comprises deflection means to adjust the direction of the sputter ion beam(s).

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the deflection means comprises an electrostatic ion-optical arrangement.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the lateral size of the sputter ion beam(s), as measured in the plane of the mask, is smaller than the dimension of the structure pattern area of the stencil mask by at least one order of magnitude.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the direction of the sputter ion beam forms an angle (β) with the beam of energetic ions of at least 30°.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the angle is at least 60°.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second means comprises a plurality of sputter sources arranged on a ring around the beam of energetic ions.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second means comprises a sputter source mounted on a positioning means to rotate the sputter source around an axis as defined by the beam of energetic ions.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a measuring means to measure the thickness and/or the surface profile of the stencil mask in the area of the stencil pattern, the measuring means being connected to a controlling means to control sputtering with the sputter source(s).

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the mask holding means comprises an aperture means being positioned immediately in front of the side of the mask irradiated by the beam of energetic ions, the aperture means having an aperture corresponding to a selected portion of said side of the mask.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 for use in masked ion-beam lithography.

12. An apparatus for masked ion-beam lithography wherein a lithography beam consisting of energetic ions is radiated through a substantially flat stencil mask, said stencil mask comprising a stencil pattern made up of a plurality of transparent structures, and said lithography beam transfers the stencil pattern to a substrate, the apparatus comprising:

a mask holding means to position said stencil mask in the path of the lithography beam;

a deposition source for depositing material to said mask, said deposition source being positioned in front of the mask as seen in the direction of the lithography beam and outside the path of the lithography beam, and being suitable for depositing material to the side of the mask irradiated by the lithography beam; and

a sputter source producing a sputter ion beam directed to the mask, said sputter source being positioned in front of the mask holder means as seen in the direction of the lithography beam and outside the path of the lithography beam.