Low-energy focused ion-beam system for direct deposition

Low energy focused ion beam direct deposition has been developed as a new method for fabricating patterned metal films directly on substrate. The principle of this technique is to perform ion beam deposition by using a very low energy focused ion beam. A low energy focused ion beam system for direct deposition has been designed and constructed. In this system the desired material is ionized, separated from undesired ion species, focused, deflected, and decelerated to the optimum deposition energy. The main components of the system are a liquid metal ion source, a mass filter, two Einzel lenses, double octapole deflectors, and an electrically floating sample stage. The beam energy can be continuously varied from 0 eV to 20 keV for single charged ions. The beam diameter can be tuned between 0.5 and 8 micrometers and the beam current varies from 40 pA to 10 nA corresponding to the beam diameter for Au+ ion in the energy range from 30 eV to 200 eV. The purity of deposited gold film was measured by Auger electron spectroscopy and concentrations of carbon and oxygen were below detection limits. The resistivity of gold film was 3.7 +/- 0.1 (mu) (Omega) cm. Currently, new applications of this deposition method are being developed.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.