Integrated Lamellae Extraction Station

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2015114193-A1
Application number	US-201314066782-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 30, 2013
Priority date	Oct 30, 2013
Publication date	Apr 30, 2015
Grant date	—

Abstract

An integrated station for extracting specimens suitable for viewing by a transmission electron microscope from a patterned semiconductor wafer, including a wafer cassette holder; a wafer transfer device; a nanomachining device, including a scanning electron microscope and a focused ion beam, a vacuum load lock and an operator control device, and wherein the operator control device notes locations of created lamellae; a plucker device; a control computer, adapted to control the wafer transfer device and the plucker device, commanding the plucker device to remover lamellae at the locations noted by the operator control device; and a user monitor and data input device, communicatively coupled to the computer. The wafer transfer device can transfer wafers from the wafer cassette holder to the vacuum load lock; from the vacuum load lock to the plucker device and from the plucker device to the wafer cassette holder.

First claim

We claim as follows:

1 . A method of creating and removing a lamella from a semiconductor wafer, comprising:
a. providing an integrated lamellae extraction station, including:
i. one or more wafer cassette holder, bearing a semiconductor wafer;
ii. a wafer transfer device;
iii. a nanomachining device, including a focused ion beam, and a nanomachining chamber, maintained in a vacuum state during nanomachining device use and a vacuum load lock for accessing said chamber;
iv…

Assignees

• Fei Co

Inventors

• Bruland Kelly

Classifications

• B26D7/18 Primary

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• Y10T83/0467

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• G01N1/286

  Physics · mapped topic

• H01J2237/31745

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01J2237/204

  Electricity · mapped topic