Pulsed Spot Milling and Deposition to Enable Next Generation Circuit Edit Via Development

Pulsed spot milling (PSM) and deposition (PSD) extends gallium ion beam technology for circuit edit. Similar to continuous spot mill, a single-point ion beam defines the basic milling profile, however, PSM utilizes a high-speed beam blanker to “pulse” the ion beam. This beam modulation replaces beam rastering by introducing a delay time which is fundamentally equivalent to refresh time during a typical scan pattern to enable and manage chemistry adsorption. Vias with a base diameter <50nm have been enabled by PSM in combination with advanced ion column designs, beam control parameters and endpointing techniques.