A manufacturable miniature electron beam column

A new and manufacturable miniature electron beam column has been designed, fabricated and tested. The low-voltage, all electrostatic, microfabricated electron beam column includes lenses consisting of bonded stacks of micro-machined silicon and glass. The lenses are microfabricated on 150 mm diameter substrates using semiconductor and bulk micro-machining fabrication processes. These processes are capable of fabricating columns with precise aperture diameters, and repeatable alignment tolerances. They also enable new designs that significantly increase the voltages at which miniature columns can reliably operate. The lenses are assembled onto a ceramic package using pick-and-place production tools. The package is fabricated using technologies that allow interconnects to be strategically distributed and encapsulated using high-resolution pattern transfer and enable fabricating small packages with high density routing and easy integration of buried and external passive and active devices, ground planes, and controlled impedance lines. Beam characterization of the column has begun and optimization continues. Preliminary spot size and resolution are presented.