Hiroshi Miyaguchi

Development of ballistic hot electron emitter and its applications to parallel processing: active-matrix massive direct-write lithography in vacuum and thin-film deposition in solutions

Abstract. Making the best use of the characteristic features in nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si) ballistic hot electron source, an alternative lithographic technology is presented based on two approaches: physical excitation in vacuum and chemical reduction in solutions. The nc-Si cold cathode is composed of a thin metal film, an nc-Si layer, an n+-Si substrate, and an ohmic back contact. Under a biased condition, energetic electrons are uniformly and directionally emitted through the thin surface electrodes. In vacuum, this emitter is available for active-matrix drive massive parallel lithography. Arrayed 100×100 emitters (each emitting area: 10×10  μm2) are fabricated on a silicon substrate by a conventional planar process, and then every emitter is bonded with the integrated driver using through-silicon-via interconnect technology. Another application is the use of this emitter as an active electrode supplying highly reducing electrons into solutions. A very small amount of metal-salt solutions is dripped onto the nc-Si emitter surface, and the emitter is driven without using any counter electrodes. After the emitter operation, thin metal and elemental semiconductors (Si and Ge) films are uniformly deposited on the emitting surface. Spectroscopic surface and compositional analyses indicate that there are no significant contaminations in deposited thin films.

Development of maskless electron-beam lithography using nc-Si electron-emitter array

This study demonstrated our prototyped Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) electron emitter which is a nc-Si (nanocrystalline silicon) ballistic electron emitter array integrated with an active-matrix driving LSI for high-speed Massively Parallel Electron Beam Direct Writing (MPEBDW) system. The MPEBDW system consists of the multi-column, and each column provides multi-beam. Each column consists of emitter array, a MEMS condenser lens array, an MEMS anode array, a stigmator, three-stage deflectors to align and to scan the multi beams, and a reduction lens as an objective lens. The emitter array generates 100x100 electron beams with binary patterns. The pattern exposed on a target is stored in one of the duplicate memories in the active matrix LSI. After the emission, each electron beam is condensed into narrow beam in parallel to the axis of electron optics of the system with the condenser lens array. The electrons of the beams are accelerated and pass through the anode array. The stigmator and deflectors make fine adjustments to the position of the beams. The reduction lens in the final stage focuses all parallel beams on the surface of the target wafer. The lens reduces the electron image to 1%-10% in size. Electron source in this system is nc-Si ballistic surface electron emitter. The characteristics of the emitter of 1:1 projection of e-beam have been demonstrated in our previous work. We developed a Crestec Surface Electron emission Lithography (CSEL) for mass production of semiconductor devices. CSEL system is 1:1 electron projection lithography using surface electron emitter. In first report, we confirmed that a test bench of CSEL resolved below 30 nm pattern over 0.2 um square area. Practical resolution of the system is limited by the chromatic aberration. We also demonstrated the CSEL system exposed deep sub-micron pattern over full-field for practical use. As an interim report of our development of MPEBDW system, we evaluated characteristics of the emitter array integrated with an active-matrix driving LSI on the CSEL system in this study. The results of its performance as an electron source for massively parallel operation are described. The CSEL as an experimental set consisted of the emitter array and a stage as a collector electrode that is parallel to the surface of the emitters. An accelerating voltage of about -5 kV was applied to the surface of the emitter array with respect to the collector. The target wafer and the emitter array were set between two magnets. The two magnets generated vertical magnetic field of 0.5 T to the surface of the target wafer. A gap between the emitter array and the target wafer was adjusted to a focus length depending on electron trajectories in the electromagnetic field in the system. The emitter array projected 100x100 electron beams with binary patterns and a dots image of its original size on the target wafer. The certain array was examined in order to evaluate the property of the e-beam exposure.

Development of a MEMS electrostatic condenser lens array for nc-Si surface electron emitters of the Massive Parallel Electron Beam Direct-Write system

Developments of a Micro Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) electrostatic Condenser Lens Array (CLA) for a Massively Parallel Electron Beam Direct Write (MPEBDW) lithography system are described. The CLA converges parallel electron beams for fine patterning. The structure of the CLA was designed on a basis of analysis by a finite element method (FEM) simulation. The lens was fabricated with precise machining and assembled with a nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) electron emitter array as an electron source of MPEBDW. The nc-Si electron emitter has the advantage that a vertical-emitted surface electron beam can be obtained without any extractor electrodes. FEM simulation of electron optics characteristics showed that the size of the electron beam emitted from the electron emitter was reduced to 15% by a radial direction, and the divergence angle is reduced to 1/18.

Massively parallel electron beam direct writing (MPEBDW) system based on micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)/nanocrystalineSi emitter array

The characteristics of a prototype massively parallel electron beam direct writing (MPEBDW) system are demonstrated. The electron optics consist of an emitter array, a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) condenser lens array, auxiliary lenses, a stigmator, three-stage deflectors to align and scan the parallel beams, and an objective lens acting as a reduction lens. The emitter array produces 10000 programmable 10 μm square beams. The electron emitter is a nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) ballistic electron emitter array integrated with an active matrix driver LSI for high-speed emission current control. Because the LSI also has a field curvature correction function, the system can use a large electron emitter array. In this system, beams that are incident on the outside of the paraxial region of the reduction lens can also be used through use of the optical aberration correction functions. The exposure pattern is stored in the active matrix LSI’s memory. Alignment between the emitter array and the condenser lens array is performed by moving the emitter stage that slides along the x- and y-axes, and rotates around the z-theta axis. The electrons of all beams are accelerated, and pass through the anode array. The stigmator and the two-stage deflectors perform fine adjustments to the beam positions. The other deflector simultaneously scans all parallel beams to synchronize the moving target stage. Exposure is carried out by moving the target stage that holds the wafer. The reduction lens focuses all beams on the target wafer surface, and the electron optics of the column reduces the electron image to 0.1% of its original size.

Simulation analysis of a miniaturized electron optics of the massively parallel electron-beam direct-write (MPEBDW) for multi-column system

In this study, a simulation analysis of a miniaturized electron optics for the Multi-Column Massively Parallel Electron Beam Writing system is demonstrated. Analytical evaluation of space charge effect with prototype Massively Parallel Electron Beam Writing (MPEBW) system showed 2.86 nm blur in radius occurs on each beam with a convergence half angle of 3 mrad. The angle of each beam was increased to 10 mrad to reduce the space charge effect, the coulomb blur amount can be kept to less than 1 nm in radius. However, there was limitation to increasing the angle due to a spherical aberration. Since the beam current density from the electron emitter array in the prototype MPEBW system was 100 μA/cm2 and the total beam current was 1μA with 100×100 array of 10μm square emitter, the influence of coulomb blur was small. By contrast, considerably increasing the number of beams and the beam current are planned in near future in MPEBW. The coulomb blur and other aberrations will not be controlled by merely adjusting the beam convergence angle. In order to increase total beam current, miniaturized electron optics have been designed for Multi-beam+Multi-column system. Reduction lens in the designed miniaturized electron optics with crossover free to reduce the influence of coulomb repulsion with narrow convergence half angle. Unlike conventional methods, the electron beams as principal rays do not intersect at one point, so even if the beam becomes extremely narrow, the coulomb repulsion effect does not increase at the crossover area. The reduction of the entire size of parallel beams in the designed electron optics was confirmed by simulation software. The simulation results showed that least confusion disk of 6.5 nm size was obtained at the beam convergence half angles of 3 mrad corresponding to the incident beam of ±0.1 mrad divergence angle. It showed that the miniaturized electron optics was suitable for 10 nm order EB writing. The crossover free electron optics of the miniaturized electron optics is possible due to dispersing the intersection points of the principal rays by a combination of a concentric electron optics and a tapered lens electrode of the reduction lens.

Fabrication of through silicon via with highly phosphorus-doped polycrystalline Si plugs for driving an active-matrix nanocrystalline Si electron emitter array

Present advanced-process for the fabrication of through silicon via (TSV) with highly phosphorus-doped n++-polycrystalline Si plugs for driving an active-matrix nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si) electron emitter array was described. The resistance per one TSV was measured to be 150 Ω, and voltage drop at the TSV plug in a normal driving operation was sufficiently small to apply the diode current to the nc-Si layer. Electrons could be effectively injected into the nc-Si layer from the back-side n++-poly-Si through the TSV plugs, and were quasi-ballistically emitted through the surface Ti/Au electrode.

Feasibility study of ingestible sensor platform powered by gastric acid battery for daily health care

In this study, we have proposed an ingestible sensor platform utilizing gastric acid battery for daily healthcare. This platform has a fundamental application to precisely measure core body temperature as one of the most useful vital signs for health check. It also has the expandability to add various biosensors such as pH, pressure sensors etc.. The architecture without a conventional battery is essential to human body safety and environmental load reduction. In addition, the size and cost are expected to be reduced. This paper reports on the feasibility study of the proposed system and key technical elements.

Development of ballistic hot electron emitter and its applications to parallel processing: active-matrix massive direct-write lithography in vacuum and thin films deposition in solutions

Making the best use of the characteristic features in nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si) ballistic hot electron source, the alternative lithographic technology is presented based on the two approaches: physical excitation in vacuum and chemical reduction in solutions. The nc-Si cold cathode is a kind of metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) diode, composed of a thin metal film, an nc-Si layer, an n+-Si substrate, and an ohmic back contact. Under a biased condition, energetic electrons are uniformly and directionally emitted through the thin surface electrodes. In vacuum, this emitter is available for active-matrix drive massive parallel lithography. Arrayed 100×100 emitters (each size: 10×10 μm2, pitch: 100 μm) are fabricated on silicon substrate by conventional planar process, and then every emitter is bonded with integrated complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) driver using through-silicon-via (TSV) interconnect technology. Electron multi-beams emitted from selected devices are focused by a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) condenser lens array and introduced into an accelerating system with a demagnification factor of 100. The electron accelerating voltage is 5 kV. The designed size of each beam landing on the target is 10×10 nm2 in square. Here we discuss the fabrication process of the emitter array with TSV holes, implementation of integrated ctive-matrix driver circuit, the bonding of these components, the construction of electron optics, and the overall operation in the exposure system including the correction of possible aberrations. The experimental results of this mask-less parallel pattern transfer are shown in terms of simple 1:1 projection and parallel lithography under an active-matrix drive scheme. Another application is the use of this emitter as an active electrode supplying highly reducing electrons into solutions. A very small amount of metal-salt solutions is dripped onto the nc-Si emitter surface, and the emitter is driven without using any counter electrodes. After the emitter operation, thin metal (Cu, Ni, Co, and so on) and elemental semiconductors (Si and Ge) films are uniformly deposited on the emitting surface. Spectroscopic surface and compositional analyses indicate that there are no significant contaminations in deposited thin films. The implication is that ballistic hot electrons injected into solutions with appropriate kinetic energies induce preferential reduction of positive ions in solutions with no by-products followed by atom migration, nuclei formation, and the subsequent thin film growth. The availability of this technique for depositing thin SiGe films is also demonstrated by using a mixture solution. When patterned fine emission windows are formed on the emitter surface, metal and semiconductor wires array are directly deposited in parallel.