Patent EP0112960A1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5136169A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Energy beam locating
Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
•
Filing: 1991-04-05
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Granted: 1992-08-04
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Expires: 2011-04-05
Abstract
Abstract A method of monitoring the travel of a beam of energy on a substrate having a fiducial pattern rigidly fixed relative to the substrate, the pattern embracing an area where the beam can create a useful image with submicron precision. The method includes: adjusting the beam such that the dose delivered by the beam is sufficiently high to generate a signal produced by the interaction of the beam and the fiducial pattern, the signal being representative of the relative position of the fiducial pattern and the travel, the dose being sufficiently low so that the area of the substrate over which the beam passes remains receptive to subsequent creation, with submicron precision, of a useful image; moving the beam across the substrate; detecting the signal produced by the interaction of the beam with the fiducial pattern; and comparing the detected signal with a predetermined signal to provide a position signal representative of the beam travel with submicron precision.
Inventors
- 👤 Henry I. Smith
- 👤 Erik H. Anderson
- 👤 Mark L. Schattenburg
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 05:14
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01J; H01J37/00; H01J37/30; H01J37/317; H01J37/3174; B; B82; B82Y; B82Y10/00; B82Y40/00; H01J37/304; H01J37/3045; H01J2237/00; H01J2237/30; H01J2237/317; H01J2237/3175
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 53
Claim 1
Independent Claim
156 words
A method of monitoring the travel of a beam of energy on a substrate having a fiducial pattern rigidly fixed relative to said substrate, said pattern embracing an area where said beam can create a useful image with submicron precision, comprising adjusting said beam such that the dose delivered by said beam is sufficiently high to generate a signal produced by the interaction of said beam and said fiducial pattern, said signal being representative of the relative position of said fiducial pattern and said travel, said dose being sufficiently low so that the area of said substrate over which said beam passes remains receptive to subsequent creation, with submicron precision, of a useful image, moving said beam across said substrate, detecting said signal produced by the interaction of said beam with said fiducial pattern, and comparing said detected signal with a predetermined signal to provide a position signal representative of the beam travel with submicron precision.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
156 words
A method of monitoring the travel of a beam of energy on a substrate having a fiducial pattern rigidly fixed relative to said substrate, said pattern embracing an area where said beam can create a useful image with submicron precision, comprising adjusting said beam such that the dose delivered by said beam is sufficiently high to generate a signal produced by the interaction of said beam and said fiducial pattern, said signal being representative of the relative position of said fiducial pattern and said travel, said dose being sufficiently low so that the area of said substrate over which said beam passes remains receptive to subsequent creation, with submicron precision, of a useful image, moving said beam across said substrate, detecting said signal produced by the interaction of said beam with said fiducial pattern, and comparing said detected signal with a predetermined signal to provide a position signal representative of the beam travel with submicron precision.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said signal is representative of the relative orientation of said fiducial pattern and said travel.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
13 words
The method of claim further comprising creating said useful image with said beam.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said useful image includes a submicron feature.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 3, wherein said useful image is created with submicron precision.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said comparison occurs prior to creating a first useful image representative of areas of impingement of said beam on said substrate.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said comparison occurs after creating a first useful image representative of areas of impingement of said beam on said substrate.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said comparison occurs after creating a first image representative of areas of impingement of said beam and before creating a second image representative of areas of impingement of said beam.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of controlling the travel of said beam of energy on said substrate in response to said position signal.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 9, wherein said controlling occurs prior to creating a first useful image representative of areas of impingement of said beam on said substrate.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 9, wherein said controlling occurs after creating a first useful image representative of areas of impingement of said beam on said substrate.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of holographically producing said fiducial pattern.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
12 words
The method of claim wherein said predetermined signal is a periodic signal.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said predetermined signal is a quasiperiodic signal.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the beam travel characterizes a scan field, defined by orthogonal X and Y axes and said fiducial pattern is characterized by X and Y orthogonal axes, said position signal is representative of ⊖, which represents the angular rotation of the X, Y axes of the scan field of said beam relative to the X, Y axes of said fiducial pattern.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
29 words
The method of claim wherein said position signal is representative of φ, which represents the orthogonality of the X and Y axes of the scan field of said beam.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said position signal is representative of M x , which is the magnification in an X direction.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said position signal is representative of M y , which is the magnification in a Y direction.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said position signal is representative of X 0 , which is a first position of said beam in an X direction.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
26 words
The method of claim wherein said position signal is representative of X 1 , which is a second position of said beam in an X direction.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
25 words
The method of claim wherein said position signal is representative of Y 0 which is a first position of said beam in a Y direction.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
26 words
The method of claim wherein said position signal is representative of Y 1 , which is a second position of said beam in a Y direction.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
19 words
The method of claim wherein said beam comprises an electron beam and said substrate comprises an electron sensitive layer.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said beam comprises an ion beam and said substrate comprises an ion sensitive layer.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
110 words
A method of monitoring the travel of a beam of energy on a substrate having a fiducial pattern rigidly fixed relative to said substrate, said pattern embracing an area where said beam can write a useful image with submicron precision, comprising moving said beam across said substrate to create said image, detecting a signal produced by the interaction of said beam with said fiducial pattern while said beam is creating said useful image, said signal being representative of the relative position of said fiducial pattern and said travel, and comparing said detected signal with a predetermined signal to provide a position signal representative of the beam travel with submicron precision.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
110 words
A method of monitoring the travel of a beam of energy on a substrate having a fiducial pattern rigidly fixed relative to said substrate, said pattern embracing an area where said beam can write a useful image with submicron precision, comprising moving said beam across said substrate to create said image, detecting a signal produced by the interaction of said beam with said fiducial pattern while said beam is creating said useful image, said signal being representative of the relative position of said fiducial pattern and said travel, and comparing said detected signal with a predetermined signal to provide a position signal representative of the beam travel with submicron precision.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said signal is representative of the relative orientation of said fiducial pattern and said travel.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said useful image includes a submicron feature.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said useful image is created with submicron precision.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said comparison is performed while said beam is creating said useful image.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 25, further comprising the step of controlling the travel of said beam of energy on said substrate in response to said position signal.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 30, wherein said controlling is performed while said beam is writing said useful image.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 25, further comprising the step of holographically producing said fiducial pattern.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said predetermined signal is a periodic signal.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said predetermined signal is a quasiperiodic signal.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method of claim 25, wherein the beam travel characterizes a scan field, defined by orthogonal X and Y axes and said fiducial pattern is characterized by X and Y orthogonal axes, said position signal is representative of Θ, which represents the angular rotation of the X, Y axes of the scan field of said beam relative to the X, Y axes of said fiducial pattern.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said position signal is representative of φ, which represents the orthogonality of the X and Y axes of the scan field of said beam.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said position signal is representative of M x , which is the magnification in an X direction.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said position signal is representative of M y , which is the magnification in a Y direction.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said position signal is representative of X 0 , which is a first position of said beam in an X direction.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said position signal is representative of X 1 , which is a second position of said beam in an X direction.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said position signal is representative of Y 0 which is a first position of said beam in a Y direction.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said position signal is representative of Y 1 , which is a second position of said beam in a Y direction.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said beam comprises an electron beam and said substrate includes an electron sensitive layer.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 25, wherein said beam comprises an ion beam and said substrate comprises an ion sensitive layer.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
86 words
A substrate for establishing a useful image representative of the path traversed by a beam of energy in a region of said substrate, said substrate responsive to impingement of said beam of energy, comprising a fiducial pattern fixed with reference to said region of said substrate, located in the region of said substrate where said useful image is created, comprising indices representative of beam travel, and characterized by producing a detectable position signal representative of the travel of said beam on said substrate with submicron precision.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
86 words
A substrate for establishing a useful image representative of the path traversed by a beam of energy in a region of said substrate, said substrate responsive to impingement of said beam of energy, comprising a fiducial pattern fixed with reference to said region of said substrate, located in the region of said substrate where said useful image is created, comprising indices representative of beam travel, and characterized by producing a detectable position signal representative of the travel of said beam on said substrate with submicron precision.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
49 words
The substrate of claim 45, wherein said fiducial pattern embraces a portion of said substrate that lies between a first region of said substrate in which a useful image is to be established and a second region of said substrate in which a useful image is to be established.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
18 words
The substrate of claim 45, wherein said substrate comprises a film sensitive to the impingement of an electron-beam.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
18 words
The substrate of claim 45, wherein said substrate comprises a film sensitive to the impingement of a photon-beam.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
18 words
The substrate of claim 45, wherein said substrate comprises a film sensitive to the impingement of an ion-beam.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
14 words
The substrate of claim 45, wherein said indices are distributed in a regular array.
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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) | 1995-08-04 | 1996-02-03 | 1996-08-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1999-08-04 | 2000-02-03 | 2000-08-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2003-08-04 | 2004-02-03 | 2004-08-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |