Laser ablation deposition process for semiconductor manufacture

Claim 2

A laser ablation deposition process for semiconductor manufacture, comprising: depositing a plurality of metal layers on a source substrate sequentially with an additional step of breaking vacuum between each successive metal layer deposition; mounting the source substrate in a vacuum chamber separated by a gap from and in close proximity to a target substrate which is optically transparent; heating the source substrate with a heating element to a desired temperature range; and scanning the metal layers on the source substrate by a laser beam passed through the target substrate for transmitting a threshold laser fluence to the metal layers to ablate the metal layers and transport fragments from the metal layers and deposit the fragments in a pattern upon the target substrate.

Claim 3

The process as defined in claim 1 and further comprising: using a source substrate having a thermal conductivity selected to provide a selected laser fluence and a controlled ablation of the metal films.

Claim 4

The process as defined in claim 2 and further comprising: directing the laser beam through a mask for ablating and depositing the metal layers in a selected pattern.

Claim 5

The process as defined in claim 3 and further comprising: rescanning the metal deposited onto the target substrate to erase the metal pattern.

Claim 6

The process as defined in claim 4 and wherein: the target substrate is formed of SiO 2 .

Claim 7

A laser ablation deposition process for semiconductor manufacture comprising: depositing a first metal layer and a second metal layer on a source substrate with an additional step of breaking vacuum between the deposition of the second metal layer and the deposition of the first metal layer, having a selected thermal conductivity and a laser ablation deposition threshold; mounting the source substrate in a vacuum chamber; heating the source substrate with a heating element to a desired temperature range; mounting an optically transparent target substrate in close proximity to the source substrate with the target substrate and source substrate separated by a gap; scanning the first metal layer on the source substrate by a laser beam, of a selected energy and pulse duration passed through the target substrate to the first metal layer with a controlled fluence for transmitting a threshold laser fluence in order to ablate the first metal layer, transport metal across the gap and deposit the first metal layer onto the target substrate in a controlled manner; and scanning the second metal layer on the source substrate by a laser beam of a selected energy and pulse duration passed through the target substrate to the second metal layer with a controlled fluence for transmitting a threshold laser fluence in order to ablate and deposit the second metal layer on the first metal layer deposited on the target substrate in a layer by layer manner.

Claim 8

A laser ablation deposition process for semiconductor manufacture comprising: depositing a first metal layer and a second metal layer on a source substrate with an additional step of breaking vacuum between the deposition of the second metal layer and the deposition of the first metal layer, having a selected thermal conductivity and a laser ablation deposition threshold; mounting the source substrate in a vacuum chamber; heating the source substrate with a heating element to a desired temperature range; mounting an optically transparent target substrate in close proximity to the source substrate with the target substrate and source substrate separated by a gap; scanning the first metal layer on the source substrate by a laser beam, of a selected energy and pulse duration passed through the target substrate to the first metal layer with a controlled fluence for transmitting a threshold laser fluence in order to ablate the first metal layer, transport metal across the gap and deposit the first metal layer onto the target substrate in a controlled manner; and scanning the second metal layer on the source substrate by a laser beam of a selected energy and pulse duration passed through the target substrate to the second metal layer with a controlled fluence for transmitting a threshold laser fluence in order to ablate and deposit the second metal layer on the first metal layer deposited on the target substrate in a layer by layer manner.

Claim 9

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 6 and wherein: the source substrate is heated to a temperature range of 250°-450° C.

Claim 10

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 7 and wherein: the metallic layer is an aluminum alloy.

Claim 11

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 6 and wherein: the metal layers are Ti and AlCu.

Claim 12

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 6 and wherein: the metal layers are TiW and AlSiCu.

Claim 13

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 10 and wherein: the metal layers further include another layer of TiW.

Claim 14

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 11 and wherein: the metal layers are TiW, AlSiCu, and Ti.

Claim 15

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 11 and wherein: the metal layers are TiN, AlSiCu, and TiW.

Claim 16

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 11 and wherein: the metal layers are W, AlSiCu, and TiW.

Claim 17

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 11 and wherein: the metal layers are Ti, AlSiCu, and TiN.

Claim 18

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 11 and wherein: the minimum laser fluence is in the range of 1.0 to 4.8 J/cm 2 .

Claim 19

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 6 and wherein: the source substrate is selected from the group consisting of BPSG and TEOS.

Claim 20

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 7 and wherein: the vacuum chamber is maintained at a pressure of 1×10 -3 to 1×10 -8 Torr.

Claim 21

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 7 and wherein: the laser beam scans the metal film in a programmed stage motion to write the metal features in a desired pattern.

Claim 22

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 7 and wherein: the laser beam is passed through a photomask to ablate and deposit the metal film in a desired pattern upon the target substrate.

Claim 23

A laser ablation deposition process for semiconductor manufacture comprising: initially depositing multiple layers of metal on a source substrate, of a selected thermal conductivity with an additional step of breaking vacuum between each successive metal layer deposition; mounting the source substrate in a vacuum chamber at a pressure of 1×10.sup.(-3) to 1×10.sup.(-8) Torr; mounting an optically transparent substrate in close proximity to but spaced from the source substrate; scanning a first metal layer by an excimer laser focused though a lens, through the target substrate and to the first metal layer, with the laser energy and thermal conductivity of the source substrate selected to transmit a threshold laser fluence to the first metal layer in order to ablate metal from the source substrate and transport the metal through the gap onto the target substrate and deposit the first metal layer onto the target substrate; and heating the source substrate with a heating element mounted adjacent to the source substrate to a desired temperature range in order to further control ablation and deposition of the metal layers.

Claim 24

A laser ablation deposition process for semiconductor manufacture comprising: initially depositing multiple layers of metal on a source substrate, of a selected thermal conductivity with an additional step of breaking vacuum between each successive metal layer deposition; mounting the source substrate in a vacuum chamber at a pressure of 1×10.sup.(-3) to 1×10.sup.(-8) Torr; mounting an optically transparent substrate in close proximity to but spaced from the source substrate; scanning a first metal layer by an excimer laser focused though a lens, through the target substrate and to the first metal layer, with the laser energy and thermal conductivity of the source substrate selected to transmit a threshold laser fluence to the first metal layer in order to ablate metal from the source substrate and transport the metal through the gap onto the target substrate and deposit the first metal layer onto the target substrate; and heating the source substrate with a heating element mounted adjacent to the source substrate to a desired temperature range in order to further control ablation and deposition of the metal layers.

Claim 25

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 21 and wherein: the laser beam is programmed in a stage motion to scan the metal layer to write desired metal features on the target substrate.

Claim 26

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 21 and wherein: the laser beam is passed through a photomask to scan the metal layer in a pattern to form a desired pattern on the target substrate.

Claim 27

The laser ablation deposition process as recited in claim 21 and wherein: the source substrate is selected from the group consisting of BPSG and TEOS.