Abstract: A voice coil motor used in a positioning means associated with either a first object table or a second object table in which the coil is cooled with a cooling jacket in thermal contact with the coil, the cooling jacket comprising at least one channel for circulation of a cooling fluid, the or each channel being arranged such as to be substantially located in a portion of the cooling jacket adjacent to the coil, for use in a lithographic projection apparatus comprising:

Abstract: A method and apparatus for e-beam fabrication of a workpiece. A surface of the workpiece is impinged with a e-beam during a manufacturing step in the manufacture of the workpiece. Simultaneously, the workpiece is optically sensed using thermal-wave imaging and/or ultrasound imaging techniques for process control of the workpiece. The e-beam impinging the workpiece in the manufacture of the workpiece provides substantially all the energy needed to be added to the workpiece to perform the optical sensing of the workpiece.

Abstract: The invention provides a wafer clamping apparatus and method for use in semiconductor processing. The apparatus includes a clamping component that holds a backside of the wafer to a supporting surface and cools the wafer to prevent overheating. The clamping component is a chemical compound, such as H2O, that covers at least a section of the supporting surface and can adhere the backside of the wafer to the supporting surface. The component undergoes one or more phase-changes (e.g., liquid to solid, solid to liquid, etc.) to facilitate various operations throughout the process. The phase-changes ensure that the wafer may be easily loaded onto and released from the supporting structure at the beginning and end of the process, respectively, while being securely held and cooled during the process.

Abstract: The present invention provides a beam stop for use in an ion implantation system that includes a base formed of a thermally conductive material, and a heat transfer layer formed of a semi-elastic material that is disposed on a surface of the base. The beam stop further includes one or more tiles, each formed of a thermally conductive refractory material, that are disposed on the semi-elastic layer so as to face an ion beam in the implantation system. The heat transfer layer transfers heat generated in the tile in response to ion beam impact to the base. The base in turn can be coupled to a heat sink to remove heat from the base. The thickness and the thermal conductivity of the base, and those of the heat transfer layer and the tile are chosen so as to ensure uniform expansion of the base and the tile when the beam stop is heated by ion beam impact.

Abstract: The invention relates to an ion implantation apparatus comprising a vacuum chamber, an ion beam generator generating an ion beam in the vacuum chamber and an implant wheel in the vacuum chamber. The wheel has a plurality of circumferentially distributed wafer support elements. A scanning arm is mounted for reciprocal movement about a scan axis and has a free end supporting the implant wheel for rotation about a wheel axis, so that rotation of the implant wheel about the axis brings the wafer support elements successively to intercept the ion beam and reciprocation of the scanning arm about the scan axis scans the ion beam across the wafer support elements. A motor drives the scanning arm, the motor having a drive shaft connected directly to a cycloid type gearbox, the output of which directly drives the scanning arm.

Abstract: A resist curing device including a workpiece stage with a plate adapted to support a silicon wafer laid thereupon, a workpiece retention device that vacuum adsorbs the silicon wafer laid upon the plate, a light source unit that provides ultraviolet irradiation to cure resist applied to the silicon wafer, and a workpiece temperature control device that heats and/or cools the silicon wafer supported on the plate, where the plate has an expansion coefficient substantially similar to that of the silicon wafer.

Abstract: A parameter monitoring apparatus for a high voltage chamber in a semiconductor wafer processing system monitors parameters in the high voltage chamber in real time by converting an electrical signal generated from the high voltage chamber into an optical signal using an electro-optical converter. The optical signal is then converted back into an electrical signal again by an opto-electrical converter. The parameters can be monitored in real time without damaging measurement devices, since they are not influenced by the potential difference between the high voltage chamber and the measurement device.

Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to avoid a decrease in the mechanical strength of a Si substrate because of the repetition of ion-implantation and annealing processes. As ions are implanted while the Si substrate surface temperature is kept at as low as −60° C. or less. Then the Si substrate is heated to recover the implantation defects caused by the ion-implantation. Such a combination of the low temperature ion-implantation and the annealing processes is repeated as required.

Abstract: The invention provides a wafer pad assembly for use in an ion implanter for mounting and cooling a wafer. The wafer pad assembly comprises a wafer support pad having an upper surface for mounting the wafer and a lower surface. The lower surface of the wafer support pad is connected to a coolant passage having an inlet section and an outlet section arranged in an opposed configuration, wherein said inlet section is counterbalanced by said outlet section. The lower surface is connected to a frame having an outer curved surface in mating engagement with a complementary shaped bearing surface of a housing wherein said wafer can be tilted or rotated about an axis.

Abstract: The present invention provides, according to a first aspect, a method for automatically evaluating the performance of a charged particle device. The method uses a signal coming from a gold-on-carbon reference target. From this signal the spot size of the particle beam is determined. The method according to the present invention has the advantage that it does not depend on operator judgment. Therefore, the method leads to improved consistency, accuracy and reliability of the beam characterization, and, accordingly, to a better characterization of the quality of the system's performance.

Abstract: To reduce temperature drift and improve measurement precision there is provided a probe scanning device having a thick tube, of which one end is supported by a case for extending in a z direction and other end is reciprocative, an inner tube passing through the inside of the thick tube, a viscous material filled in a space between the thick tube and the inner tube, a heating coil for heating the viscous material, a zooming mechanism and for selectively fixing the thick tube to the case, a voice coil motor for coarse and fine adjustment of the inner tube along the thick tube, a tip, mounted at a front end of the inner tube, with the heating coil being energized to decrease viscosity of the viscous material during coarse adjustment in order to get the tip close to a sample surface, wherein fixing means is installed for selectively fixing the thick tube and the inner tube.

Abstract: An areal implant has a flexible polymer-based basic structure (10) and X-ray-visible elements (12) and is preferably set up as a permanent implant. The X-ray-visible elements can be arranged in an areal pattern in order to be able to judge the position of the implant in the patient at any time by means of an X-ray procedure.

Abstract: High resolution observation of a sample at a high temperature above 1000° C. is accomplished by suppressing sample drift by heating over a short time and with small electric current. A heater envelope made of a ceramic having a carbon coating on the surface is attached around a heater surrounding the sample. The heater envelope is rotatable around pivot screws, and has an outer frame portion of a holder individually having slots capable of letting an FIB enter so that the sample mounting on the holder, as it is, may be milled with the FIB.

Abstract: Providing an animal shield having two halves snapped together around an electrical bushing and connector. The animal shield has a multiplicity of closely spaced apart openings substantially covering its body. An infrared camera is aimed at the animal shield and the temperature output of the electrical bushing and connector are recorded. If the temperature reading shows a temperature output of more than 5° F. over ambient, a report is made so that the bushing and connector can be serviced by appropriate personnel.

Abstract: The present invention is a kind of wafer improved thermal desorption system. Mainly, a fixed infrared heating source is supplemental attached to a heating chamber with fixed type, also, and a fixed heat reflection mask is equipped at the bottom place of the fixed heating chamber respectively. Furthermore, the invent which a contact area between heating chamber and wafer and an air detracted device supplemental attached at one terminal of carrier gas to connect with the wafer thermal desorption chamber and adsorbent tube for collecting these substances to be analyzing. Thus, the invention can adapt with different brands of thermal desorption instruments, Thermal Desorption-Gas Chromatographic-Mass Spectroscopy (TD/GC/MS), and so on, for proceeding the analysis the micro contamination on the surface of wafer.

Abstract: An ion implantation apparatus and method. The apparatus has a vacuum chamber and an ion beam generator to generate an ion beam in the vacuum chamber. The apparatus also has an implant wheel (10), in the vacuum chamber, having a plurality of circumferentially distributed substrate holding positions. Each of the substrate holding positions comprises a substrate holder (17), which includes an elastomer overlying the substrate holder (17) and a thermal insulating material (71) (e.g., quartz, silicon, ceramics, and other substantially non-compliant materials) overlying the elastomer (72). The present thermal insulating material increases a temperature of a substrate as it is implanted.

Abstract: There is here disclosed charged particle beam apparatus in which reactant floating in vacuum can efficiently be removed by simple structure. The charged particle beam apparatus of the present invention comprises a pulse tube refrigerator, a refrigerator controller for controlling the refrigerator, a compressor, a high-pressure rotary valve, a low-pressure rotary valve, and an active damper for removing vibration generated in the refrigerator. Since a cold section is disposed between an objective lens and a specimen in a vacuum container, and adsorbs the reactant in the vacuum container, the amount of reactant in the vacuum container can be reduced, the errors of the critical dimension value of a critical dimension SEM are reduced, and measurement precision is improved. Moreover, since a pulse tube is used as the refrigerator for cooling the cold section, the structure of the apparatus can be simplified and miniaturized.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to heat wafers uniformly at a high temperature at all times regardless of the scanning motion of a rotary disk holding the wafers. A heater housing (11) for heating the wafers is mounted on a swing box (9) for mechanical scanning and a heater (12) is disposed so as to be opposite to wafers (5). The heater (12) moves together with a rotary disk (7). Therefore, the wafers can be uniformly heated at a high temperature even if the rotary disk (7) is moved for mechanical scanning because the heater (12) moves in synchronism with the rotary disk (7).

Abstract: In a charged particle beam apparatus comprising an ion optical system 3 for focusing ions, a secondary charged particle detector 7 for detecting secondary charged particles produced by beam irradiation of scanning a focused ion beam 2 focused by the ion optical system 3 to a predetermined region of a sample 5, a display unit 9 for displaying an image of the sample surface 5 based on a signal of the secondary charged particle detector, and a gas injector 4 for blowing a gas to the sample surface 5, a focused ion beam processing apparatus is characterized by conducting processing by cooling a gas trap provided between a reservoir 13 or cylinder 18 and a valve 12 to control an assist gas having a high vapor pressure and blowing it through the gas injector 4 simultaneously with irradiating a focused ion beam.

Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to avoid a decrease in the mechanical strength of a Si substrate because of the repetition of ion-implantation and annealing processes. As ions are implanted while the Si substrate surface temperature is kept at as low as −60° C. or less. Then the Si substrate is heated to recover the implantation defects caused by the ion-implantation. Such a combination of the low temperature ion-implantation and the annealing processes is repeated as required.