US4904866A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Wide area soft vacuum abnormal glow electron beam discharge hardening process
Assignee: QUANTRAD SENSOR Inc
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Filing: 1988-11-17
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Granted: 1990-02-27
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Expires: 2008-11-17
Abstract
Abstract A process for large area hardening of photoresists or polymer films placed on substrates is disclosed. The process requires the use of a short duration (<1 us.) pulsed electron beam produced in soft vacuum by an abnormal glow discharge. The pulsed electron beam interacts with the patterned photoresist/polymer resist so as to harden or stabilize the patterns thereon by electron induced cross-linking. The use of a soft vacuum environment allows for both thermal as well as chemically induced hardening.
Inventors
- 👤 George J. Collins
- 👤 Jayaram Krishnaswamy
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 05:50
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01J; H01J37/00; H01J37/32; H01J37/32009; H01J37/32018; G; G03; G03F; G03F7/00; G03F7/20; G03F7/2022; G03F7/2024; H01J37/30; H01J37/317
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
114 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate, the process comprising: positioning a substrate having a previously patterned resist layer thereon in a vacuum chamber; evacuating the vacuum chamber with a selected gas to a selected pressure level; producing a wide area pulsed abnormal glow electron beam discharge from a cold cathode abnormal glow discharge electron gun positioned within the vacuum chamber, said pulsed abnormal glow electron beam discharge being pulsed from a first current level to a higher second current level; and exposing the previously patterned resist layer on the substrate to the wide area pulsed abnormal glow electron beam discharge for a predetermined number of pulses.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
114 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate, the process comprising: positioning a substrate having a previously patterned resist layer thereon in a vacuum chamber; evacuating the vacuum chamber with a selected gas to a selected pressure level; producing a wide area pulsed abnormal glow electron beam discharge from a cold cathode abnormal glow discharge electron gun positioned within the vacuum chamber, said pulsed abnormal glow electron beam discharge being pulsed from a first current level to a higher second current level; and exposing the previously patterned resist layer on the substrate to the wide area pulsed abnormal glow electron beam discharge for a predetermined number of pulses.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate as in claim 1 wherein said selected gas comprises helium.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate as in claim 1 wherein said selected gas comprises hydrogen.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
25 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate as in claim 1 wherein said selected gas comprises synthetic air.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
30 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate as in claim 1 wherein said selected gas comprises a mixture of hydrogen and synthetic air.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
30 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate as in claim 1 wherein said selected gas comprises a mixture of helium and synthetic air.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
50 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate as in claim 1 wherein said first pressure level is within the range of 10 -4 to 10 -6 Torr and wherein said second pressure level is within the range of 1.0 to 10 -3 Torr.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
38 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate as in claim 1 wherein each pulse of said wide area glow discharge electron beam discharge has a duration of less than 1 microsecond.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
38 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate as in claim 8 where each pulse of said wide area glow discharge electron beam discharge has an energy level greater than 0.1 joule.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
27 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate as in claim 1 wherein said patterned resist layer comprises an organic material.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
27 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate as in claim 1 wherein said patterned resist layer comprises a copolymer material.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
33 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate as in claim 1 wherein said patterned resist layer comprises a polymer material and one or more inorganic materials.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
27 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate as in claim 1 wherein said patterned resist layer comprises an organosilicon material.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
27 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate as in claim 1 wherein said patterned resist layer comprises an organometallic material.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
27 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate as in claim 1 wherein said patterned resist layer comprises a polysilane material.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
33 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate as in claim 1 wherein said patterned resist layer comprises a polymer material directly doped with a metal compound.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
32 words
A resist hardening process for hardening a previously patterned resist layer on a substrate as in claim 1 wherein said patterned resist layer comprises a top layer of a plurality of layers.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1993-02-26 | 1993-08-28 | 1994-02-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1997-02-26 | 1997-08-28 | 1998-02-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2001-02-26 | 2001-08-28 | 2002-02-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |