BEAM TECHNOLOGIES FOR INTEGRATED PROCESSING
Report of the Committee on Beam Technologies: Opportunities in Attaining Fully-Integrated Processing Systems
NATIONAL MATERIALS ADVISORY BOARD
COMMISSION ON ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL SYSTEMS
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
NMAB-461
National Academy Press
Washington, D.C.
1992
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
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The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsiblity for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
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The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
This study by the National Materials Advisory Board was conducted under Contracts No. MDA 903-89-K-0078 and MDA972-92-C-0028 with the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 92-60205.
International Standard Book Number 0-309-04635-1.
This report is available from the Defense Technical Information Center, Cameron Station, Alexandria, VA 22304-6145.
Printed in the United States of America
ABSTRACT
Beam technologies play an important role in microelectronic component fabrication and offer opportunities for application in other manufacturing schemes. Various beam technologies are reviewed, and applications to electronics and engineered materials are identified. Examples of existing manufacturing processes that employ beam technologies are described. Recommendations for research and development efforts are developed for enhancing the understanding of the operation and capabilities of beam technologies and their applications, which could lead to more widespread use in integrated systems in the industrial manufacturing sector.
PREFACE
Recent advances in beam technologies, sensors, control, and information processing have created new opportunities for integrated processing of materials and components. Technologies involving directional transfer of energy for deposition, removal, or modification of atomic and molecular species comprise many of the beam technologies included in this study. Integrated processes are characterized by their wide flexibility—that is, new designs are accommodated by software modifications rather than hardware modifications, continuous flow or transfer station operations, enclosed systems, on-line inspection, and on-line process control. They appear to offer the potential of shorter lead times, higher productivity leading to lower cost, elimination of many batch processing steps, and possible improved quality, reliability, and performance of the final product.
The committee set out to identify individual beam processes (in the broad definition) suitable for integrated processing and determined that the two important factors with respect to the suitability of beam processes are the environmental constraints and the interaction time. A variety of beam technologies are reviewed in the processsing of semiconductor, metallic, ceramic, polymeric, and composite materials along with several examples of existing process integration.
While the original objective of the study was to identify applications where fully integrated beam processing could lead to improvements in productivity, the committee came to realize that fully integrated systems are very product and materials specific, and therefore could not be addressed in a generic way. Detailed cost analyses could likewise not be developed for the same reason. Instead, the committee developed recommendations for research and development programs on common problems and deficiencies related to employing more effective, fully integrated beam processing technologies. The committee believes that an R&D program of this type would overcome current problem areas and result in industrial benefits that will enhance U.S. competitiveness in materials and manufacturing.
David Richman,
Chairman
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The committee is grateful to a number of individuals who provided extensive background materials for its use. A number of experts met with the committee to make informal presentations: Bernard H. Kear, of Rutgers University, discussed beam technologies as a fabrication tool; Gary G. Tibbetts, of General Motors Research Laboratories, discussed vapor-grown carbon fibers; Robert R. Doering, of Texas Instruments, and Sherry J. Gillespie, of IBM, discussed activities directed toward silicon integrated processing. Joseph L. Pentecost, of the Georgia Institute of Technology, is thanked for his input on the use of microwave beams for high-efficiency heating of materials.
The government liaison representatives are thanked for their participation in numerous committee discussions and for providing valuable support materials and data for committee use. They were most helpful in assisting the committee in defining the scope of the study and offering technical guidance during development of the committee's report drafts.
The chairman thanks the committee members for their dedication and patience during the numerous iterations and revisions of the report drafts. Committee member Anthony J. Perrotta is thanked for acting as report coordinator to assist the chairman in assembling the report for final review. Particular thanks go to committee members who served as chapter or section coordinators to assemble pertinent facts for various parts of the report and for presenting the data in a timely, open-minded, and professional manner.
On behalf of the committee, the chairman thanks George Economos, NMAB Program Officer, and his secretary, Aida Neel, for their assistance during the committee's deliberations and report writing.
COMMITTEE ON BEAM TECHNOLOGIES: OPPORTUNITIES IN ATTAINING FULLY-INTEGRATED PROCESSING SYSTEMS
Chairman
DAVID RICHMAN,
David Sarnoff Research Center, Princeton, New Jersey
Member and Report Coordinator
ANTHONY J. PERROTTA,
ALCOA Technical Center, Alcoa, Pennsylvania
Members
ROINTAN F. BUNSHAH,
University of California, Los Angeles
ALFRED Y. CHO,
AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey
STEPHEN M. COPLEY,
Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago
TERRY D. GULDEN,
General Atomics, San Diego, California
CONILEE G. KIRKPATRICK,
Science Applications International Corporation, Thousand Oaks, California
ROBERT D. MAURER,
Consultant, Painted Post, New York
JAMES M. MIKKELSON,
VITESSE Semiconductor Corporation, Camarillo, California
NORMAN E. SCHUMAKER,
EMCORE Corporation, Somerset, New Jersey
PIRAN SIOSHANSI,
Spire Corporation, Bedford, Massachusetts
Liaison Representatives
ROBERT J. CULBERTSON,
U.S. Army Materials Technology Laboratory, Watertown, Massachusetts
WALTER T. HAAS,
Wright Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH
WILLIAM V. LAMPERT,
Wright Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH
DAVID O. PATTERSON,
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia
MARTIN C. PECKERAR,
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.
DANIEL McCARTHY,
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.
JAMES B. STEPHENSON,
U.S. Bureau of Mines, Rolla, Missouri
NMAB Staff
GEORGE ECONOMOS, Senior Program Officer
AIDA NEEL, Administrative Secretary