1. An automatic microscope for examining a specimen, the automatic microscope defining an optical axis and comprising:
an optical system including an illuminating field for illuminating the specimen;
said optical system further including a condenser mounted along said optical axis downstream of said illuminating field;
said condenser defining an aperture diaphragm plane;
said illuminating field being disposed at least approximately in said diaphragm plane;
said optical system further including an imaging optic mounted downstream of said condenser and defining an image plane;
an image-providing sensor mounted in said image plane;
an evaluation and control computer;
a light-source control unit for controlling at least one of the brightness and color temperature of said illuminating field;
said light-source control unit being connected to said evaluation and control computer;
said illuminating field comprising a plurality of individual semiconductor components emitting at respectively different wavelengths;
said light-source control unit functioning to drive said semiconductors individually or in groups of the same type thereby adjusting at least one of the brightness and color temperature of said illuminating field; and,
a microlens array for adapting said illumination field to the specimen to be illuminated.
2. The automatic microscope of claim 1, said imaging optic having a field size and a magnification; and, said field size and said magnification being matched to said image-providing sensor to cause each image point to be resolved to be imaged via said imaging optic onto 2\xd72 sensor pixels of said image-providing sensor.
3. The automatic microscope of claim 1, further comprising a monitor for image display and an evaluating electronic unit; and, said image-providing sensor being connected via said evaluating electronic unit to said monitor for said image display.
4. The automatic microscope of claim 1, wherein said optical system defines an object plane and said specimen has a structure to be resolved and said image-providing sensor has an object-side aperture and said object-side aperture is determined by said structure of said specimen.
5. The automatic microscope of claim 1, wherein said microlens array is disposed in the region of said aperture diaphragm plane.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of selectively and epitaxially forming a silicon-containing material on a substrate surface comprising:
a) placing a substrate comprising a monocrystalline surface and at least a dielectric surface into a process chamber, the process chamber including a first zone and a second zone;
b) exposing the substrate to a silicon-containing deposition gas and maintaining the pressure in the process chamber below about 50 Torr to form an epitaxial layer on the monocrystalline surface and a second material on the dielectric surface; and
c) subsequently stopping the flow of deposition gas to the process chamber, increasing the pressure in the process chamber and exposing the substrate to an etchant gas to maintain a relatively high etchant gas partial pressure and to etch the second material;
d) subsequently stopping the flow of etchant gas to the process chamber and flowing a purge gas into the process chamber; and
e) sequentially repeating steps b), c) and d) at least once.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling the gas flow to the first zone to the second zone to provide a ratio of first zone gas flow to second zone gas flow and changing the ratio of first zone gas flow to second zone gas flow so that the ratio is different during step b) and step c).
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first zone includes an inner radial zone and the second zone includes an outer radial zone and the gas is flowed in a manner to provide a ratio of inner zone gas flow to outer zone gas flow (IO) into the process chamber, and maintaining the IO below about one during exposure of the substrate to the deposition gas and maintaining IO above about one during exposure of the substrate to the etchant gas.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein substantially no etchant gas is flowed into the process chamber while the deposition gas is flowing into the process chamber.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein the IO is between about 0.2 and 1.0 during exposure of the substrate to the deposition gas and the IO is greater than about 1.0 and less than about 6.0 during exposure of the substrate to the etchant gas.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the increase in pressure in the process chamber during exposure to the etchant gas increases the substrate temperature and during exposure to the purge gas, the chamber pressure is decreased thereby decreasing the substrate temperature.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the pressure in the process chamber during exposure to the etchant gas is at between about two to about ten times the pressure in the process chamber during exposure of the substrate to the deposition gas.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein the temperature in the process is maintained below about 800\xb0 C. during the entire process.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the temperature in the process is maintained below about 750\xb0 C. during the entire process.
10. A method of selectively and epitaxially forming a silicon-containing material on a substrate surface comprising:
placing a substrate comprising a monocrystalline surface and at least a dielectric surface into a process chamber, the process chamber including a first gas flow zone and second gas flow zone;
flowing a silicon-containing deposition gas into the process chamber at a first pressure and into the first zone and second zone to provide deposition gas flow ratio of the first zone to the second zone of less than one; and
subsequently stopping the flow of deposition gas to the process chamber, increasing the pressure in the process chamber to a second pressure and flowing an etchant gas into the inner radial zone and outer radial zone of process chamber at an etchant gas flow ratio of the first zone gas flow to second zone gas flow of greater than one;
subsequently stopping the flow of etchant gas to the process chamber and flowing a purge gas into the process chamber; and
repeating at least once the sequential steps of flowing the deposition gas, flowing the etchant gas and flowing the purge gas until a silicon-containing material with a desired thickness is formed.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the increase in pressure in the process chamber during exposure to the etchant gas increases the substrate temperature, and during exposure to the purge gas, the chamber pressure is decreased thereby decreasing the substrate temperature.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second pressure is between about 2 and 10 times the first pressure.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the ratio of the gas flow of the first zone to the second zone during flow of the deposition gas is between about 0.2 and 1.0.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein the ratio of gas flow of the first zone to the second zone during the flow of etchant gas is greater than about 1.0 and less than about 6.0.
15. A method of selectively and epitaxially forming a silicon-containing material on a substrate surface comprising:
placing a substrate comprising a monocrystalline surface and at least a dielectric surface into a process chamber, the process chamber including a first gas flow zone and second gas flow zone;
performing a deposition step comprising flowing a silicon-containing gas into the process chamber during which no etchant gas is flowed into the process chamber;
performing an etching step comprising flowing an etchant gas into the process chamber during which no silicon-containing gas is flowed into the process chamber; and
performing a purging step during which a purging gas is flowed, wherein a single process cycle comprises a deposition step, an etching step and a purging step and the process cycle is repeated at least once, and gas is flowed to the first zone and second zone to provide a pressure in the process chamber and a gas flow ratio between the first zone and second zone during each of the deposition step, etching step and purging step and at least one of the pressure in the process chamber or the gas flow ratio is different during the deposition step and the etching step.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the pressure in the process chamber is lower during the deposition than during etching, resulting in a lower substrate temperature during deposition than during etching.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the ratio of gas flow of the first zone to the second zone is less during the deposition step than during the etching step.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first zone comprises an inner radial zone of the process chamber and the second zone comprises an outer radial zone of the chamber.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein the pressure during etching is at least twice the pressure during deposition.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the process is performed at a temperature of less than about 800\xb0 C.