Methods and systems for removing a material from a sample
View Patent ↗The present method relates to processes for the removal of a material from a sample by a gas chemical reaction activated by a charged particle beam. The method is a multiple step process wherein in a first step a gas is supplied which, when a chemical reaction between the gas and the material is activated, forms a non-volatile material component such as a metal salt or a metaloxide. In a second consecutive step the reaction product of the first chemical reaction is removed from the sample.
1. A method comprising:
using a beam of charged particles to activate a chemical reaction between a first gas and a material of a sample to form a non-volatile reaction product; and
removing the non-volatile reaction product from the sample,
wherein:
the first gas comprises nitrogen and oxygen;
the material of the sample comprises an element; and
the non-volatile reaction product comprises the element and oxygen.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the material of the sample is an electrically conductive material.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the electrically conductive material is a metal.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first gas comprises a nitrogen oxide.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein first the gas comprises nitrogen dioxide.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the non-volatile reaction product is removed by supplying light to the sample.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the non-volatile reaction product is removed by providing a second gas to the sample, the second gas being different from the first gas.
8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising activating a chemical reaction between the second gas and the non-volatile reaction product to remove the non-volatile reaction product from the sample.
9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising using the beam of charged particles to activate the chemical reaction between the second gas and the non-volatile reaction product.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the material of the sample is copper.
11. A method comprising:
using a beam of charged particles to activate a chemical reaction between a first gas and a material of a sample to form a non-volatile reaction product, the sample comprising an element, and the non-volatile reaction product comprising an oxide of the element; and
removing the non-volatile reaction product from the sample,
wherein the first gas comprises nitrogen and oxygen.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the material of the sample is an electrically conductive material.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the electrically conductive material is a metal.
14. A method comprising:
using a beam of charged particles to activate a chemical reaction between a first gas and a material of a sample to provide a non-volatile material; and
using the beam of charged particles to activate a chemical reaction between a second gas and the non-volatile material to provide a volatile material,
wherein the second gas is provided to the sample in repeating successive steps at a duty cycle that is less than 1:2.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the material of the sample is electrically conductive, and the non-volatile material is electrically non-conductive.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the non-volatile comprises a metal-oxide compound or a metal halogenide.
17. A method comprising:
a) using a beam of charged particles to activate a chemical reaction between a first gas and a material of a sample to form a non-volatile material;
b) removing the non-volatile material from the sample by reacting the non-volatile material with a second gas which is different from the first gas, a flux of the second gas to the sample being less than a flux of the first gas to the sample; and
c) repeating a) and b successively.
18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first gas comprises nitrogen dioxide, the material comprises copper, and the non-volatile reaction product comprises copper and oxygen.
19. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first gas comprises nitrogen dioxide, the material comprises copper, and the non-volatile reaction product comprises copper and oxygen.
20. The method of claim 7 , wherein the second gas comprises O 2 or a halogenide.
21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the material of the sample comprises a metal.
22. The method of claim 7 , wherein the material comprises copper, the non-volatile reaction product comprises copper and oxygen, and the second gas comprises O 2 or a halogenide.
23. The method of claim 11 , wherein the non-volatile reaction product is removed by supplying light to the sample.
24. The method of claim 11 , wherein the non-volatile reaction product is removed by providing a second gas to the sample, the second gas being different from the first gas.
25. The method of claim 24 , further comprising activating a chemical reaction between the second gas and the non-volatile reaction product to remove the reaction product from the sample.
26. The method of claim 25 , further comprising using the beam of charged particles to activate the chemical reaction between the second gas and the non-volatile reaction product.
27. The method of claim 1 , wherein the beam of charged particles comprises an electron beam.
28. The method of claim 1 , wherein the beam of charged particles comprises an ion beam.
29. The method of claim 11 , wherein the beam of charged particles comprises an electron beam.
30. The method of claim 11 , wherein the beam of charged particles comprises an ion beam.
31. The method of claim 14 , wherein the beam of charged particles comprises an electron beam.
32. The method of claim 14 , wherein the beam of charged particles comprises an ion beam.
33. The method of claim 14 , wherein duty cycle is 1:5.
34. The method of claim 14 , wherein:
the first gas comprises nitrogen and oxygen;
the material of the sample comprises an element; and
the non-volatile reaction product comprises the element and oxygen.
35. The method of claim 17 , wherein the beam of charged particles comprises an electron beam.
36. The method of claim 17 , wherein the beam of charged particles comprises an ion beam.
37. The method of claim 17 , wherein:
the first gas comprises nitrogen and oxygen;
the material of the sample comprises an element; and
the non-volatile reaction product comprises the element and oxygen.