What Is Electron Beam Machinery?
Electron beam (EB) machinery is a process in which an electron beam is applied to a workpiece in a vacuum at a high heat (approximately 6,000°C).
When an electron beam accelerated to tens of thousands of volts or more is focused by an electron lens and irradiated onto a material, the kinetic energy of the electrons is converted into thermal energy, which generates high heat. The high heat can be used to process fine wiring in various high-melting point metals, jewelry, and semiconductors. In addition, because processing is performed in a vacuum, there is no risk of contamination or oxidation of the processed surface compared to processing in air, but the workability is lower.
The latest processing technology has developed a method in which the workpiece is processed outside of a vacuum, instead of in a vacuum.
Types of Electron Beam (EB) Machinery
Electron beam (EB) machinery mainly includes electron beam welding, electron beam machinery, electron beam deposition, and electron beam lithography.
1. Electron Beam Welding
In this method, electron beams generated from an electron gun are focused by a deflecting coil using a magnetic field and applied to a material. The surface of the material to which the electron beam (EB) machinery is applied is then melted by high heat, and the workpiece is processed.
Workpiece processing has conventionally been performed in a high vacuum, but a low-vacuum method with improved productivity has also been developed. It is used for sealing quartz crystal units, various aircraft parts, and electronic components that require welding in a vacuum.
2. Electron Beam (EB) Machinery
Electron beam (EB) machinery is a method of drilling and grooving minute holes or grooves by applying a focused electron beam to a localized spot on the workpiece surface and vaporizing the surface material instantaneously. This drilling process is capable of drilling holes with diameters of several tens of micrometers. It is used for drilling and grooving of difficult-to-process metals, such as stainless steel and molybdenum, as well as quartz and ceramics.
3. Electron Beam Deposition
The metal to be vapor-deposited is placed in a vacuum apparatus and irradiated with an electron beam to melt and evaporate it. Next, a workpiece to which the vapor-deposited metal is attached is placed on the side opposite the metal, and the vapor-deposited metal vapor is used to form a metal thin film on the surface of the workpiece. This method is used to produce thin films for semiconductors and ITO glass, and to prepare analysis samples for use in electron microscopes.
4. Electron Beam Lithography
This method is used in the formation of electronic circuits that require fine wiring patterns, such as semiconductor circuits. The wiring patterns of semiconductor integrated circuits are becoming finer and finer every year, requiring the formation of many component circuits and precision wiring processing on silicon wafers. Conventional semiconductor circuit processing used the photolithography method (photo-etching technology), which uses a photo mask.
The circuit pattern resolution formed by this photolithography is limited to 0.1 micrometer, and when finer wiring patterns are required, direct drawing with an electron beam is used. This method is used in the manufacture of semiconductor circuits that require state-of-the-art, fine pattern processing.