Future Beam-Controlled Processing Technologies for Microelectronics
DIETER P. KERN 1,
THOMAS F. KUECH 1,
MODEST M. OPRYSKO 1,
. AL WAGNER 1, and
DEAN E. EASTMAN 1
1 IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598.
Beam-controlled processes that utilize photons, electrons, ions, and molecules have become essential in the fabrication of microelectronics. These processes are required for the deposition, patterning, etching, and characterization of semiconductor, packaging, and processing-related materials that form the basis of the integrated circuit. Fabrication techniques demand an increasing precision as the physical size of the device structures shrink to submicrometer dimensions. In this article, selected examples of beam-controlled processes expected to be important in the microelectronics industry are described. The continued rapid advances in microelectronics technology that underlie the electronic information-processing industry require the continued development and refinement of these new techniques.
