Apparatus and method for controlled particle beam manufacturing
A chamber for exposing a workpiece to charged particles includes a charged particle source for generating a stream of charged particles, a collimator configured to collimate and direct the stream of charged particles from the charged particle source along an axis, a beam digitizer downstream of the collimator configured to create a digital beam including groups of at least one charged particle by adjusting longitudinal spacing between the charged particles along the axis, a deflector downstream of the beam digitizer including a series of deflection stages disposed longitudinally along the axis to deflect the digital beams, and a workpiece stage downstream of the deflector configured to hold the workpiece.
1. A method of removing material from a workpiece, the method comprising:
forming a digital beam comprising particles;
directing the digital beam towards the workpiece in a pattern in an exposure chamber; and
applying a reactive gas to the workpiece, the reactive gas reacting with the areas of the workpiece to remove the material.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a dosage of the digital beam is less than about 5×10 17 charged particles/cm 2 .
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein a dosage of the digital beam is less than about 5×10 16 charged particles/cm 2 .
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a dosage of the digital beam is less than about 5×10 14 charged particles/cm 2 .
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein a dosage of the digital beam is less than about 5×10 13 charged particles/cm 2 .
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein a dosage of the digital beam is less than about 5×10 12 charged particles/cm 2 .
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein a dosage of the digital beam is less than about 5×10 11 charged particles/cm 2 .
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein a dosage of the digital beam is less than about 5×10 10 charged particles/cm 2 .
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying the reactive gas comprises introducing a plurality of gases.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising increasing temperature while applying the reactant gas.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the workpiece is resistless while directing the digital beam.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the workpiece comprises a layer of etch-resistant material and wherein directing the digital beam comprises directing the digital beam towards the etch-resistant material.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the digital beam comprises:
forming a stream of the particles;
collimating the stream along an axis of propagation; and
digitizing the stream.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the digital beam comprises creating temporally and spatially resolved digital flashes comprising at least one particle per digital flash.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein directing the digital beam comprises:
deflecting the digital beam using a series of deflection stages disposed longitudinally along an axis of propagation of the beam; and
demagnifying the digital beam.
16. A workpiece manufactured by the method of claim 1 .
17. A method of removing a material from a workpiece, the method comprising:
forming a beam comprising particles;
directing the beam towards a surface of the workpiece in a pattern in a chamber, the particles chemically modifying portions of the surface; and
applying an etchant to the workpiece, the etchant reacting with the chemically modified portions to cause removal of the material.
18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising, before applying the reactant gas, transferring the workpiece to a second chamber.
19. The method of claim 17 , wherein forming the beam comprises forming a digital beam.
20. A workpiece manufactured by the method of claim 17 .
21. A method of etching a material from workpiece, the method comprising:
directing a digital beam comprising charged particles onto the workpiece in a pattern in a first chamber;
transferring the workpiece to a second chamber; and
applying a reactive gas to etch the area exposed to the digital beam on the workpiece surface.
22. A method of etching a material from workpiece, the method comprising:
directing a beam comprising charged particles onto a surface of the workpiece in a pattern in a first chamber to chemically modify portions of the surface;
transferring the workpiece to a second chamber; and
applying an etchant to the workpiece, the etchant reacting with the chemically modified portions to cause material removal.