Fabrication method for reduced-dimension FET devices
Granted: June 1, 1999
Patent Number:
5908307
Pre-amorphization of a surface layer of crystalline silicon to an ultra-shallow (e.g., less than 100 nm) depth provides a solution to fabrication problems including (1) high thermal conduction in crystalline silicon and (2) shadowing and diffraction-interference effects by an already fabricated gate of a field-effect transistor on incident laser radiation. Such problems, in the past, have prevented prior-art projection gas immersion laser doping from being effectively employed in the…
Multi-stage vent filter
Granted: April 6, 1999
Patent Number:
5891223
A vent filter assembly for use with containers containing hazardous chemical or radioactive waste, the assembly having a first stage attached to the container having a first filter media, preferably sintered steel, which allows unaltered passage of pure gas but which blocks passage of particulate matter, and a second stage removably attached to the first stage, the second stage allowing passage of gas but blocking passage of particulate matter and volatile organic solvents. Removal of…
Method for forming a silicide region on a silicon body
Granted: March 30, 1999
Patent Number:
5888888
The method of this invention produces a silicide region on a silicon body that is useful for a variety of purposes, including the reduction of the electrical contact resistance to the silicon body or an integrated electronic device formed thereon. The invented method includes the steps of producing an amorphous region on the silicon body using ion implantation, for example, forming or positioning a metal such as titanium, cobalt or nickel in contact with the amorphous region, and…
Magnetically-positioned X-Y stage having six-degrees of freedom
Granted: March 23, 1999
Patent Number:
5886432
The respective square cross-section permanent magnets of each of a plurality of spaced Halbach magnet arrays, attached to the bottom of movable X-Y stage and aligned with a given one of the X and Y axes, are spaced from one another parallel to the other one of the X and Y axes of by the width of the square cross-section cooperates with both a first set of a plurality of flat stationary electromagnet coils of wire and a second set of a plurality of flat stationary electromagnet coils of…
Low-loss light redirection apparatus
Granted: December 22, 1998
Patent Number:
5852693
The apparatus of this invention redirects light input to the apparatus without significant light loss, and preferably without increasing the light's etendue. The apparatus includes a light guide and a redirection member. The member has input, output and reflective surfaces. The member's input surface is joined to the light guide to define an interface, and the member's output surface is situated adjacent to a medium that can be another light guide or redirection member, a gas such as…
Point diffraction interferometer and pin mirror for use therewith
Granted: October 13, 1998
Patent Number:
5822066
This invention includes a pin mirror arranged to receive light, preferably from a laser source. The pin mirror has a reflective surface that diffracts and reflects the received light to generate a diffraction-limited spherical wavefront. The pin mirror can reflect the wavefront in a predetermined direction by angling the pin mirror's reflective surface with respect to the direction of travel of the light incident to the pin mirror. The capability of the pin mirror to generate a…
Hand truck with expandable secondary containment reservoir
Granted: September 29, 1998
Patent Number:
5813680
A handtruck for transporting and supporting in a generally horizontal position liquid dispensing drums, the handtruck having a secondary containment means to retain any spills or leakage, the secondary containment means having one or more expandable containment means connected in fluid communication, such that a large volume of liquid will force the expandable containment means into the expanded state, thereby greatly increasing the liquid retention capacity of the device.
Maskless, reticle-free, lithography
Granted: November 25, 1997
Patent Number:
5691541
A lithography system in which the mask or reticle, which usually carries the pattern to be printed onto a substrate, is replaced by a programmable array of binary (i.e. on/off) light valves or switches which can be programmed to replicate a portion of the pattern each time an illuminating light source is flashed. The pattern of light produced by the programmable array is imaged onto a lithographic substrate which is mounted on a scanning stage as is common in optical lithography. The…
Pattern recognition alignment system
Granted: April 15, 1997
Patent Number:
5621813
A substrate alignment and exposure system is disclosed The alignment is performed by capturing an image of the substrate with a pattern recognition system, determining the offset from the alignment and moving the substrate relative to the reticle to be in alignment. A first optical alignment system which captures an image of a position of the substrate off of the primary axis of the exposure optics is used to perform pre-alignment. A second optical alignment system captures an image of…
Arbitrarily wide lens array with an image field to span the width of a substrate
Granted: December 17, 1996
Patent Number:
5585972
A system to transfer a pattern from a reticle to a substrate using a lens array having an arbitrarily wide image field that spans the width of the substrate. The disclosed system incorporates multiple, Wynne Dyson lenses arranged in serial pairs and staggered in position so that each dual serial Wynne Dyson lens system transfers a portion of the overall image from the reticle to the substrate as each are transported past the array of lens pairs. To transfer a complete, unbroken pattern…
Beamsplitter in single fold optical system and optical variable magnification method and system
Granted: September 17, 1996
Patent Number:
5557469
An optical system to project an image from an illuminated object to an image plane with a selected magnification factor. This system includes a lens system having a fixed magnification factor and at least one flat plate that is optically compatible with the lens system and which when bent into a cylindrical shape varies the fixed magnification factor of the lens system along one axis of the image. This variable magnification technique is applicable to all lens system types, including a…
Collapsible, self-expanding liquid container
Granted: July 4, 1995
Patent Number:
5429437
A liquid container especially suited for use in the capture of liquid hazardous materials is disclosed, the container comprising a bottom, preferably circular, and a generally vertical wall, preferably annular or conical, attached to the perimeter of the bottom to form a container with a large open top. The bottom and wall are composed of a flexible, liquid impermeable material, preferably a material that is also chemical resistant and wear resistant. The container may further comprise a…
Reflective projection system comprising four spherical mirrors
Granted: April 25, 1995
Patent Number:
5410434
The reflective projection system has a relatively wide field of view that comprises two concave and two convex spherical mirrors, situated in certain non-light-blocking positions with respect to one another, for deriving, with negligible image aberrations, a projected magnified or demagnified image over at least one of a range of magnification or demagnification power values between 3 and infinity that may be zoomed over this range. Such a reflective projection system, utilizing a…
Alignment system for a Half-Field Dyson projection system
Granted: March 28, 1995
Patent Number:
5402205
An alignment system for a unit magnification system (such as a Half-Field Dyson system) for use in microlithography is provided. The alignment system provides for aligning a pattern on a reticle with a complementary pattern on a wafer.
Apparatus for measuring a departure from flatness or straightness of a nominally-plane mirror for a precision X-Y movable-stage
Granted: November 8, 1994
Patent Number:
5363196
By providing redundant interferometer laser-metering devices, either one of which is capable by itself of providing measurement data of the angular value .theta. of rotation of the X-Y movable stage of a wafer stepper about a vertical Z axis for use by a computer-controlled servo devices that controls the operation of the X-Y movable stage, the servo devices, in a calibration mode, may receive data of specific measurements defining the respective values of undesired departures from…
System for achieving a parallel relationship between surfaces of wafer and reticle of half-field dyson stepper
Granted: July 12, 1994
Patent Number:
5329332
Disclosed is tilt-sensing means that employs a point source of alternate 1st or 2nd divergent light beams which, after passing through collimating lenses of the Half-Field Dyson projection optics of the stepper, are separately incident on and reflected from a reflective pattern disposed on the surface of a reticle and from a reflective surface of a wafer, together with two-dimensional position detection means responsive to the position of each of the reflected alternate 1st or 2nd…
Illumination system for Half-Field Dyson stepper
Granted: April 12, 1994
Patent Number:
5303001
An illumination system for use in a unit magnification optical projection system (such as a Half-Field Dyson system) is provided. In a Half-Field Dyson system, a reticle and a wafer are parallel to each other with a window being provided on the reticle to allow for projection of the reticle pattern onto the wafer. The present invention provides uniform bright illumination over the reticle pattern with little or no spill over through the reticle window.
Focusing technique suitable for use with an unpatterned specular substrate
Granted: November 30, 1993
Patent Number:
5266790
A microlithographic stepper, employing a Half-Field Dyson projection optical system, achieves focusing of an image of a first-layer reticle pattern on a completely unpatterned reflective wafer surface by including a repetitive diffraction pattern on the reticle which has a configuration in which a particular ordinal diffraction order is normally missing. In response to being simultaneously illuminated with each of two incident monochromatic beams of light, diffraction orders generated by…
