PSI developing atom beam processing

08/01/1997

PSI developing atom beam processing

Under a small contract from the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI), Andover, MA, will develop a high flux, high fluence neutral atom beam tool for next-generation etching, cleaning, and deposition applications.

In the first six months and first phase of the project, PSI plans to show the feasibility of its high flux atom beam source, which will produce fluorine, oxygen and nitrogen atom beams, according to Alan Gelb, PSI principal research scientist. Gelb said PSI will offer limited demonstrations for each atom beam produced. As examples, PSI will demonstrate photoresist removal with the oxygen beam and etching with the fluorine beam.

The atom beam source, with significantly less ion content than current sources, will reduce wafer surface damage. If all goes as planned, the demonstrations will show the feasibility of an atom source that could eventually replace the plasma sources now used by chipmakers.

The first phase of this work, if successful, could be followed by a second phase - likely to be a two-year project - under which the atom beam source prototype would be integrated into a cluster tool. PSI`s tool is based on the research company`s microwave-driven plasma source technology and uses an electrodeless discharge with swirl gas flow injection to produce stable discharges over a wide range of operating pressures.

- Christine Lunday, WaferNews