APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR TREATING A WORKPIECE USING A GAS CLUSTER ION BEAM
Embodiments of an apparatus and methods of forming isolated islands of modified material with a gas cluster ion beam are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.
1 . A method of treating a workpiece using a gas cluster ion beam, the method comprising:
moving the workpiece and the gas cluster ion beam relative to each other; and
impinging a surface of the workpiece with ionized clusters of the gas cluster ion beam to form, after treatment is concluded, a plurality of islands that are spatially distributed across the surface.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the gas cluster ion beam comprises ionized clusters containing an inert species and a reactive species.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the gas cluster ion beam comprises ionized clusters containing an inert species and a deposition species.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of islands have a composition that includes one or more elements from the deposition species.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
annealing the workpiece to incorporate material from the workpiece into the plurality of islands.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of islands define nucleation sites for a subsequent process.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a width of each of the plurality of islands is between about 5 nm and about 50 nm.
8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
partially masking the workpiece to define the surface of the workpiece impinged with the ionized clusters.
9 . A method of treating a workpiece using a gas cluster ion beam, the method comprising:
moving the workpiece and the gas cluster ion beam relative to each other; and
impinging a surface of the workpiece with ionized clusters of the gas cluster ion beam to form, after treatment is concluded, a plurality of islands spatially distributed across the surface and one or more substantially unmodified regions between the plurality of islands.
10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
throttling the gas cluster ion beam to reduce a fluid of the gas cluster ion beam.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of isolated areas define nucleation sites for a subsequent process.
12 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
partially masking the workpiece to define the surface of the workpiece impinged with the ionized clusters.
13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein a width of each of the plurality of islands is between about 5 nm and about 50 nm.
14 . The method of claim 9 , wherein a thickness of each of the plurality of islands is between about 5 nm and about 50 nm.
15 . A method of treating a workpiece using a gas cluster ion beam, the method comprising:
moving the workpiece and the gas cluster ion beam relative to each other; and
impinging a surface of the workpiece with ionized clusters to form a plurality of indentations in the surface.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein each of said indentations has a depth measured relative to the surface of between about 2 nm and about 25 nm.
17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the gas cluster ion beam comprises ionized clusters containing an inert species.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the surface of the workpiece has a composition that is not modified by the impingement of the ionized clusters, and further comprising:
vaporizing the ionized clusters, after the indentations are formed, to release the inert species from the surface.
19 . A gas cluster ion beam apparatus for treating a workpiece using a gas cluster ion beam, the gas cluster ion beam apparatus comprising:
a vacuum vessel;
a gas cluster ion beam source within the vacuum vessel, the gas cluster ion beam source configured to produce the gas cluster ion beam; and
a positional support configured for controllably producing relative scanning motion between the workpiece and the gas cluster ion beam so that ionized clusters of the gas cluster ion beam impinge a surface of the workpiece at a plurality of spaced apart locations to form, after treatment is concluded, a plurality of islands.
20 . The gas cluster ion beam apparatus of claim 19 , further comprising:
an adjustable aperture configured to reduce a gas cluster ion beam flux.
21 . The gas cluster ion beam apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the positional support controllably is configured to produce relative scanning motion along a first axis.
22 . The gas cluster ion beam apparatus of claim 20 , further comprising:
a plurality of electrostatic scan plates configured to controllably scan the gas cluster ion beam along a second axis different than the first axis.