Abstract:
A technique is described for the formation of nano and micro-scale patterns and optical wave-guides, by using Bipolar Electrochemistry. Atoms are deposited or removed from a surface by creating and moving ions into or out of a medium by the use of electric fields, currents, and induced surface charges. To improve the deposition process, lasers, electron, and ion lenses can be positioned over the surface being deposited to further define the pattern being created. This technique does not harm the surface or crystal lattice of the substrate being deposited on and is powerful enough to transport dopants completely through a substrate. The technique can be used to expose electron beam activated resist which can be used in traditional fabrication processes or to create wave-guides connecting separate optical or electro-optical devices together. As a result smaller and newer types of integrated circuits, electronic devices, and micro machines can be fabricated. The technique can also be used to improve current fabrication processes, the repair of faulty devices, and the imaging of surfaces and hidden dopants.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF INVENTION 
     This invention is directed toward a technique for improving the imaging and fabrication of new and traditional types of integrated electrical devices, electro-optical devices, optical devices, and micro machines. 
     BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
     Unbound atoms naturally attract or expel electrons forming ions. In general, metal atoms lose electrons most readily becoming positive ions, while nonmetals prefer to gain electrons becoming negative ions. Atoms joined together as molecules can also possess net positive or negative charges. These atoms are called dipoles. Atoms because they contain a positive nucleus and a negative electron cloud can become polarized in an electric field; the atoms in this state are also usually referred to as dipoles. In an electric field the atom can be thought of as possessing two superimposed positive and negative charged regions. Upon the application of the electric field the positive charge nucleus moves in the direction of the applied field and the negative charged electrons move in the opposite direction. If the electric field is strong enough, an electron may be stripped from the atom creating a positive ion, in which case the atom will migrate toward a negative charged electrode. Each element has a different ionization enthalpy, which is the energy required to remove an electron from one mole of gaseous atoms or ions. 
     Material sandwiched between a positive and negative charged plate can also become polarized. In this application the material between the plate is called a dielectric. Induced positive and negative surface charge densities form within the dielectric nearest to the plates, a positive region near the negative plate and a negative region near the positive plate. The distance between the plates is limited by the electric discharge that could occur through the dielectric medium. The maximum voltage that can be applied between the plates is dependent on the strength of the electric field or the dielectric strength of the dielectric. The dielectric by nature reduces the electric field potential between the charged plates or probes. If the field strength in the medium exceeds the dielectric strength the insulating properties break down and the medium begins to conduct. Every substance has its own unique dielectric strength. An electric field created between two oppositely charged very sharp tip probes, unlike the charged plates, is not uniform, but weakens along a radius perpendicular to a imaginary line connecting the centers of the probes tips. The maximum electric field potential lies at the tips of the probes. Therefore, the maximum surface charges created by the electric field are found on the dielectric underneath the probe tips. 
     The process of moving elements through a liquid medium from one charged inert electrode to a second oppositely charge inert electrode is called electrolysis. If the electrodes participate in the electrolysis process one electrode may dissolve and plate the other. This deposition of one electrode onto another is commonly called electroplating. The movement of ions in a solution can be used as a technique as shown by Dr. Jean-Claude Bradley in his published articles appearing in Nature (1997, vol. 389, p.268) and Advanced Materials in December 1997 (vol. 15, p. 1168) to create micro wires and micro wire connections between circuits. In his procedure two thin copper plates are placed between two inert highly charged electrodes. The electrodes induce opposite surface charges on the copper plates. The surface charges create copper ions that travel across a substrate from one plate to the other. Because of gravity and Brownian motion of the medium the ions slow down and deposit on a surface between the copper plates. The ions deposited between the plates form a non-conducting wire type pattern. To make the wire conductive the pattern is placed in a copper plating solution for a set time. 
     Dr. Bradley&#39;s technique is called Spatially Coupled Bipolar Electrochemistry (SCBE), because the method avoids physical contact with the devices three-dimensional circuitry can be created. His technique is also used to form functional catalysts in which the positioning of catalytic materials can be precisely placed on isolated particles a few microns wide allowing for the creation of designer catalyst that can be used in commercial and industrial applications. 
     Another technique to manipulate neutral atoms is by creating standing electromagnetic waves positioned on top of a substrate in a vacuum to focus neutral atoms into linear or dot patterns by dipole force interactions, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,764, issued to Celotta, et al. This process which also works for ions is designed to create evenly spaced groups of linear or spotted patterns for semiconductor devices. To create single lines or dots, a filter or mask is used to block the unwanted material. The process works since atoms of different elements will only absorb photons with a specific energy. Because of this a group of tunable lasers can be set to a frequency just below the atoms abortion frequency so that the atoms will not absorb the photons. Instead the photons will interact with the atom and change the atom&#39;s momentum slowing it down. This procedure is called laser cooling. The use of multiple lasers can actually trap atoms in a suspended state. The 1997 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded jointly to Steven Chu, Claude Cohen-Tannoundji and William D. Phillips for the development of methods to trap and cool atoms. 
     In current fabrication of integrated circuits at any scale, an opaque mask or reticle with a desired pattern is created to block light usually infrared, or an electron beam from exposing a photon or an electron beam sensitive resist placed on top of a substrate. In the fabrication of integrated circuits the substrate is a semiconductor. In the creation of micro machines the substrate can be any dissolvable material from which the part can later be freed. After exposure the exposed area of the resist is then removed, if a positive resist is used, a void will be created. In the creation of semiconductor devices the void is filled with a selected doping material. The dopants most readily used are phosphorous pentoxide or boron nitride. After the dopant has been placed on the silicon it is placed in a furnace with temperatures between 950 and 1000 degrees Celsius. The dopant, because of the high temperature, will diffuse into the substrate. The dopant concentrations, depth, and distribution in the substrate are mostly unpredictable. 
     Silicon dioxide can also be formed on the substrate acting as insulation between a silicon substrate and the interconnecting wires. The silicon dioxide is formed at 1100 degree Celsius temperatures. During the formation of silicon dioxide the surface silicon is being consumed. The final stage is connecting the wires and annealing them at 475 degrees Celsius. These steps are usually repeated a few times to create integrated circuits or a micro machine. The size of the device is dependent on the wavelength of the resist exposing particles, the smaller the wavelength the greater the resolution. 
     In a semiconductor wafer the electrically active area is only 10 microns deep which is usually only 1% the thickness of a typical wafer used in commercial applications. If energetic short wave particles like x-rays or elections are used to expose the resist to achieve greater resolution, they can destroy the surface of the substrate. Furthermore, if the substrate is a semiconductor unknown defects in crystalline structure can form allowing for unwanted and unpredictable variations in the devices electrical properties through the thin shell in which the current flows. This can hamper the goal for current fabrication, which is to create micro devices as small and defined as possible. The more devices that can be fitted onto a single surface will reduce the cost, the delay in switching, and the power consumption of the device (up to a physical point). 
     In 1986 Gerd Benning and Heinrich Rohrer who shared the Nobel Prize in 1986 with Ruska created the scanning tunneling microscope, STM. STM works by placing a tungsten probe with a tip with a width of an atom held between 0.1 and 1 mm over a conducting surface. An electron tunneling current flows through a vacuum between the tip and the conducting surface of the substrate when a potential difference is applied. As the probe moves across the substrate and the tunneling current changes as the distance between the probe and surface changes, an image of the surface can be created with the required devices. In this imaging technique horizontal resolution is about 0.1 nm and vertical resolution is about 0.001 nm. 
     If the potential is increased between the probe and substrate, surface atoms can be vaporized from the surface. This is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,044 issued to Li, et al. The current can only last about 200 microseconds, if a longer duration is used the material and substrate may melt locally. This technique can only be used for conducting surface materials and like electron beam lithography could harm the substrates underlying atomic structure. 
     In another technique using an “Electrochemical STM”. A sharp probe and conductive surface are submerged in a highly concentrated electrolyte consisting of copper sulfate and sulfuric acid, as shown in Dr. Rolf Schuster&#39;s published article appearing in, Physical Review Letters, 80,5599 (1998). A 60-nanosecond pulse of voltage is further applied between the needle and substrate, creating a pit in the surface of the substrate 5 nm in diameter and with a 0.3 to 1 nm depth. By reversing the voltage copper ions in the electrolyte can be deposited on the substrate, creating 1 nm high by 8 nm diameter formations. In this set up ultra-short pulses must be used, if not micrometer size modifications are created. This is due to the spreading of the electric fields from the probe&#39;s tip along the charged substrate&#39;s surface to its ends. With a short pulse, the electric field created interacts with the area underneath the probe&#39;s tip quickly enough so that the areas surface charge is not weakened locally. Because of this the electric field does not have the time to widen creating a larger formation or pit. 
     Another technique is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,698 issued to Rostoker, et al., in which the electrons emanating between the probe and surface exposes an electron beam resist. Nano-patterns can also be formed on an insulating material, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,649 issued to Hodgson, et al. Currently various forms of STM&#39;s are being used to create nano-sized patterns on electron beam sensitive resists to be used in traditional lithography processes. 
     There are some problems in current integrated circuit fabrication that are not a major issues currently, but are going to become more relevant as devices get smaller. The first problem is to make smaller devices. In the traditional lithography process the transparent resist used in the traditional mask can not be exposed using extreme ultraviolet light, which is light with a wavelength below 150 nm. Currently lithography manufacturers are starting to use 193 nm ArF lasers. As illustrated above, using the STM may solve this problem, but unlike lithography techniques, STM&#39;s can only create the patterns on a chip one at a time, making STM resist exposing very slow and expensive. 
     The second problem is that as the interconnect wires between transistors get smaller the resistance and capacitance of the circuit increases which creates delays in data transfer. 
     Finally, another major problem is the heat generated from the formed chips, as they get smaller their power consumption increases as well as the operating electrical currents which can be as high as 50-amps, therefore increasing the device&#39;s operating temperature. As the temperature of the device increases, errors and possible diffusion among the material patterned on the device increases. Currently, copper interconnects are begging to be used instead of traditional aluminum interconnects, since copper has a better resistance than aluminum. Copper, like aluminum, will eventually reach its limit. For this reason new and novel devices must be created. 
     Gallium arsenide (GaAs), and a few other semiconductor materials are traditionally used in the formation of light emitting diodes (LED&#39;s) and detectors in conjunction with optical fiber interconnects to transfer data between two devices and between individual computer chips, eliminating the need for traditional copper wire data transfer interconnects. The advantages of GaAs and fiber optic devices is that data transfer between two computer chips is less restrictive and faster, eliminating most of the problems associated with current and future integrated device designs. A fiber optic line (or wave-guide as sometimes called) is made from glass, crystalline, polymeric, or plastic materials. Each optical material has its own degree of transparency and refractive index. Plastic and polymeric fibers are the cheapest to manufacture but are traditionally the worst optically. Haze and birefringence are inherent to plastics. Plastics also have large variations in their refractive index with changes in temperature. 
     A fiber optic wire is usually made of one dielectric material called the core surrounded by a second dielectric material with a smaller refractive index called the cladding. Electromagnetic energy entering the fiber is then confined by the phenomenon of total reflection caused by the differences in the refractive index of the two dielectrics. In integrated optics the core is created by ion implantation or diffusion, creating a region with a higher index of refraction within the original material. 
     The problem associated with the formation of optical interconnects or any optical device is that the creation of optical interconnects is an expensive and fragile process. As an example, the above GaAs interconnect is formed by cutting the GaAs LED&#39;s into small squares and using precession machinery placing the cut squares on a silicon chip. The LED&#39;s are then bonded to the pre-fabricated silicon circuit, the technique being very time consuming. Optical fibers are then bonded to the LED&#39;s and to photodiodes on the associated chip. The optical interconnects, because of their data transfer speed, create the illusion that the devices at the ends of the fiber optic line are located next to each other. This is important in the transfer of data between the processor, the registers, and memory. The farther away a memory source is, the longer the data transport time to the registers. 
     A simple fix which is currently being used is to place as much memory (L1 cache) on the same chip as the processor. However, by doing this, the cost of the manufacturing of a chip increases since the possibility of fab errors and the die size increase. Therefore, processor manufacturers usually opt to put as much memory as they can afford on the processor chip, and place the extra memory called secondary memory (L 2  cache) off the main processor. Having two chips decreases the fabrication cost by using two smaller dies therefore reducing fab errors, but it also decreases the speed of data transfer, called memory latency. By using optical interconnects instead of standard copper wires, the delay time is significantly reduced, but as with adding more L 1  cache the process increases the total cost of the chip. 
     Wave-guides can also be used to perform logic operations, switching, and modulation. This is accomplished by bringing two parallel wave-guides in close proximity and applying a stress to the area. The refractive index of the wave-guides, surrounding, or the connecting material are altered allowing signals to cross over between two parallel wave-guides or to change the phase of the light wave along one of the wave-guides, to create logic devices as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,242 to Fellows. It is also used in Mach-Zehnder interferometers and directional couplers as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,781 to Li, et al. The disadvantages of using wave-guides are that for operations to be performed the wave-guides may be a few centimeters long. This takes up valuable space on a two dimensional chip. An another disadvantage is the lossiness of each operation or cross over. Lossiness is the leaking of light out of the wave-guide into the surrounding medium, which weakens the signal. The lossiness can be lessened by many techniques. One example is using optical amplifiers as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,698 by Sasaki, et al. Logic operations can also be accomplished without wave-guides as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,473 to Feldman in which spatial light modulators and computer generated holograms create logic operations using free waves, where constructive or destructive interfering beams are formed on top of properly positioned detectors. The use of free wave optical computers have advantages over wave-guide driven computers, but free wave optical computers require precise aliment of the components unlike wave-guide driven optical computers, which are coupled, directly from a light source to a detector. 
     In 1990 it was discovered that porous silicon had photoluminescence properties. In 1992 it was further discovered that if a current is applied to porous silicon it emits light. Because of this, less expensive silicon based computers and devices can be created using light as an information carrier. Currently, formation of porous silicon is done by stain etching or local anodization. The goal in the formation of porous silicon is creating pores that are uniform in size, shape, and distance apart, to better control its light producing and detection properties. The advantage of porous silicon is that it is much cheaper to form than the traditional optical semiconductors like GaAs. 
     To keep Moore&#39;s Law true, the computer industry must eventually switch from traditional design techniques to new manufacturing processes. A need is then not only to find and implement these new techniques to develop smaller and faster IC&#39;s, but also more importantly to create techniques to form newer, smaller, and less expensive electro-optical and pure optical devices. 
     DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION 
     It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a technique to control the placement or removal of groups or individual atoms between designated locations. 
     It is a further object of this invention to overcome the current problems associated with the fabrication of nanoscale devices by the use of an electric field to form high-resolution two and three dimensional patterns and devices. 
     It is a further object of this invention to provide a more substrate friendly way to create traditional micro and nano size devices. 
     It is a further object of this invention to keep the temperature used for the majority of the fabrication process of integrated circuits below 500 degrees Celsius. 
     It is a further object of this invention to form wave-guides with multiple cores surrounded by a common cladding. 
     It is a further object of this invention to form optical interconnects between individual devices so to be packaged as one functional component. 
     It is a further object of this invention to create optical wave-guides to form two or three-dimensional electro-optical or pure optical devices. 
     It is a further object of this invention to provide a technique for the deposition, doping, and the creation of dopant tunnels on or through a substrate without the use of a patterned mask. 
     It is a further object of this invention to provide a technique to connect individual layers of material. 
     It is a further object of this invention to provide a technique for the production of patterned masks for a conventional lithography process for nano and micro patterns. 
     It is a further object of this invention to provide a technique to mill micro machines and micro parts. 
     It is a further object of this invention to provide a technique to produce porous silicon and porous silicon devices. 
     It is a further object of this invention to create various types of Scanning Probe Microscopes to create images and maps of various substrate surfaces and hidden dopant formations underneath a substrate&#39;s surface and to calculate the capacitance of the substrate and its dopants. 
     It is a further object of this invention to create an economical way to correct fabrication errors. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will further be defined in the attached drawings and the advantages of the invention will be shown in non-limiting examples only, in which: 
     FIGS.  1 ( a ) through ( d ) are schematic representation of prior art and one embodiment of the patterning components of the invention. 
     FIGS.  2 ( a ) through  2 ( f ) show examples of probe types. 
     FIG. 3 shows a diagram of one of the embodiments of one of the possible fabrication processes of the invention. 
     FIGS.  4 ( a ) and  4 ( b ) are schematic representations of embodiments of two possible deposition techniques according to this invention. 
     FIGS.  5 ( a ) and  5 ( b ) are schematic diagrams of two possible embodiments according to this invention for the milling technique for micro parts or the patterning of a pre-deposited and annealed material. 
     FIGS.  6 ( a ) to  6 ( f ) are cut away views of schematic diagrams of the dopant tunneling between, the connecting of two substrates, and the doping of material into a substrate according to one embodiment of this invention. 
     FIGS.  7 ( a ) through  7 ( c ) shows one embodiment of the formation of porous silicon light emitters, detectors, and photocells. 
     FIGS.  8 ( a ) through  8 ( g ) are cut away views of embodiments of this invention in forming optical interconnects between two individual devices or two fully formed chips, and also the exposing of resists on a substrate&#39;s surface. 
     FIGS.  9 ( a ) through  9 ( k ) are some of the embodiments of the invention to connect photo diodes, phototransistors, photocells and traditional transistors to create programmable integrated logic circuits using resist wave-guides. 
     FIGS.  10 ( a ) through  10 ( f ) are other embodiments of the invention to form programmable optical interconnects, switches, and Mach-Zehnder interferometers, using layers of resist, varying materials, and formed IC devices. 
     FIG. 11 is an embodiment of the invention in which the electric field and induced surface charges between the probes are used to create images of a substrate&#39;s surface and of dopants under the surface of a substrate. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG.  1 ( a ) is prior art, in which probe  100  and substrate  101  are submerged in a electrolyte solution  102 . A voltage is applied to wires  104 , which creates opposite surface charges  105  on probe  100  and substrate  101 . The voltage is supplied in a very short pulse. Dependent on the direction of the applied voltage either pits can be created in substrate  101  or material can be deposited on substrate  101 , formed by the reduction of ions from solution  102 . In this process substrate  101  can not be an insulator, can use cantilever type probes, and can operate within or out of a medium, if used to etch materials. 
     As used herein, a “substrate” can be any form of soluble or insoluble insulator, semiconductor, polymer, dielectric, or any form of resist; it is the object that is being patterned, patterned on, or existing between the patterned objects. “Material” can be any single or group of elements, molecules, polymers, colloids, or resists that can be transformed, ionized or made into a dipole and be manipulated by an electric field or current; it is the object that is usually being patterned, formed or doped on or between the “substrate”. A “medium” can be any form of solid, liquid, gel, vapor, gas, polymer, electrolyte, or vacuum; usually it is the substance that the “material” travels through to get onto or off of the “substrate” or the environment in which the electric field is located. Furthermore, a resist is not limited to a traditional lithographic resist used in the fabrication of integrated, but may also be any material that can have various of its physical or chemical properties altered within or by an electrical field. 
     FIG.  1 ( b ) is also a diagram representing prior art in which, probes  100  and  106  are place through or on either side of non-conductive substrate  101  in liquid medium  102 . The high voltage applied to probes  100  and  106  create induced surface charges  108  on materials  107  and  109 . Ions will be created and travel through medium  102  from one of the materials to the other depositing stray material onto substrate  101  and eventually linking materials  107  and  109  together. In this process substrate  101  can not be a conductor and must always be in a medium. 
     FIG.  1 ( c ) represents a simplified schematic diagram of the patterning components of the invention, and FIG.  1 ( d ) is a close up of the probe, material, substrate, medium, and created surface charges. Piezoelectric positioners  110  and  111  control the movements of two probes  100  and  106  which are aligned facing each other tip to tip. The probes  100  and  106  can be made from or covered with any material that will emanate an electric field. The tips can be any shape or size, but for the creation of fine nano-patterns they must posses a tip less than 10 angstroms. For rough patterning a wider tip can be used. The probes used can also be the cantilever types used in traditional STM&#39;s. The probes could be covered in an electric field blocking or damping jacket. An electric field, which is not shown, is produced between the tips of the oppositely charged probes  100  and  106 . The charges on the probes do not have to be equal. A substrate  101  also lies between the two probes, it can be held in place by some insulated holder  112  or suspended by some force. The surface of the substrate  101  can be covered with a medium and a material. Material  109  can be imbedded, mixed, or deposited on the medium. Material  109 , as shown in FIG.  1 ( d ), can also be place directly onto the substrate  101  and removed into the medium  102 . The electric field changes the material into ions that are accelerated towards the substrate  101 . The electric field is set to the ionization energy required to remove a valance electron in the material. The electric field could also be set lower, in which case the electron can be removed by the tunneling effect. At higher field strength, the material itself may be completely vaporized off the substrate  101 . 
     A computer  113  controls the path, polarity, and distance from the surface of the probes  101  and  106 . Meters  115  connected to the computer  113  monitor the voltage and current between the probes  100  and  106 . The computer  113  can also be branched out through line  114  to control a multiple array of patterning devices. 
     The invention can also be used as a SPM, by measuring the tunneling current between one probe and the induced surface charge  108  created on substrate  101 &#39;s surface. This technique can be used to form a picture of the substrate  101 &#39;s surface. Unlike a traditional SPM in which the substrate  101  must be a conductor, the substrate can be any material that possesses an induced surface charge. A cantilever type probe can replace probe  100  allowing the invention to act like a standard atomic force microscope (AFM) to also allow the measurement of the variations of the induced surface charge  108  across the surface of substrate  101 . Probe  100  is connected to a tunneling current amplifier  116  connected to the computer  113  and to a visual display  117 . Using this technique, a variety of tunneling currents or electron beams can be produced to image or manipulate and object or surface. The currents produced are from probe  100  to substrates  101 &#39;s induced surface charge, the tunneling capacitance current between the two oppositely charged surface charges on substrate  101 , the current from probe  106  to its induced surface charge  108  on substrate  101 , and the current produced from probe  100  to probe  106  through substrate  101  and material  109 . 
     Diagrams of a few types of charged probes that may be used are shown in FIGS.  2 ( a ) to  2 ( f ). Probe  200  in FIG.  2 ( a ) is a fine patterning probe where the tip  202  is an atom thick. Probe  200  is covered in an electric field dampening jacket  201 , where only a few atoms of the probe&#39;s tip  202  are not covered. Jacket  201  prevents the electric fields maximum potential of ionization to widen in area if the potential is increased. Covering the tip  202  of the probe in a resist and removing it after the jacket  201  is applied forms the formation of the jacket  201 . 
     A jacket  204  can also surround the tip  205  shown in FIG.  2 ( b ). This is done by covering the tip in a resist and coating the resist and probe with the jacket. The tip of the probe is cleaved exposing the resist. The resist is then removed leaving probe  203  with a walled tip. Probes  200  and  203  can also have a flat tip used for rough patterning, in which the tip can be the size of the area being removed or patterned. Probe  206  is a razor probe shown in FIG.  2 ( c ) where the edge  207  is made as fine or as wide as is required. Probe  206  must be a few times longer in length than the diameter of the substrate  208  so that the electric fields at the ends of the probe do not interfere with the patterning process, and a jacket can also cover probe  206  if required. The probes can also be coated with other materials in addition to the jacket to alter the probe&#39;s electrical properties, or left bare without a jacket. 
     FIGS.  2 ( d ) through  2 ( f ) show another type of probe. A very thin film at least an atom thick of conductive material  209  is deposited on a nonconductive substrate  210 . The film can have any width but must be applied as thin as possible while still remaining conductive through out. A second layer of nonconductive substrate  211  is placed on top of thin film  209  and substrate  210  as shown in FIG.  2 ( e ). The layers can be cleaved in a variety of ways creating points as shown in FIG.  2 ( f ) or thin lines shown in FIG.  2 ( c ). All said probes will be connected to a power supply to produce the required electronic fields and current required by this invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a simplified diagram of an embodiment for the fabrication components of the invention. Container  300  holds a medium  301 , container  302  contains a material  303  which are mixed in container  304 . The material  303  and medium  301  can be mixed as liquids or as a vapor. The material  303  and medium  301  are transferred to area  306  by pump  305 , which is applied onto the substrate  307 . The material  303  and medium  301  can also be placed directly onto the substrate  307  individually. The substrate  307  is held and moved by arm  308  in area  306 . If just a medium is placed onto the substrate like a resist it can be hardened and moved to area  306  where a layer of material can be deposited onto the substrate from container  304 . The material  303  and medium  301  can be deposited on the substrate  307  by any variety of deposition techniques. The arm  308  can rotate and spin to evenly distribute the deposited coatings. After deposition the substrate  307  is then moved to area  309  where a second liquid medium  310  from container  311 , circulated by pump  312 , exists. Area  309  is where the patterns are rough-cut by probes  313  and  314 ; rough cutting removes large areas at a time. The substrate  307  can be returned to area  306  where the substrate  307  can be cleaned and re-coated with a new material and medium. The substrate  307  can then be transferred to area  315  where the rough patterns are further etched to the final patterns using probes  316  and  317 . From container  318  liquid medium  319  is circulated with pump  320  through area  315 . Finally the substrate is moved to area  321  where excess medium and materials are removed. 
     The above steps can be repeated until the desired device is created. The device is then moved to where it will be packaged. Unlike traditional fabrication each device is created individually and not on a single large wafer with a group of other similar devices which will later be cut into smaller individual units. The substrate  307  is cut or formed in the shape or size required by the end product. Because of this, smaller, less expensive, better quality substrates can be used. 
     Since each device is created individually, the whole probe mechanism can be part of a revolving arm  322  connected to arm  308 , in which different probes can be interchanged to pattern different objects onto or off the substrate. In multi device patterning the areas are broken up into cells  323  that have electric field dampening walls. A top view of the cells in area  309  is shown. The number of cells allowed is not limited. This is ideal since creating a working marketable computer processor, for example, would take a few days to a week. However, since one computer can be connected to a group of individually powered arms which are each connected to a group of probes, a very large amount of devices can be fabricated. The cost of a slow production time for each individual device can be offset by the quantity produced at one time. The probes do not have to exist in the areas but they can also exist out of the areas so to be easily interchanged with other probe types. Therefore less patterning areas will be required. A conventional laser trap and cooling set up  324  and  325  can also be used to help with the patterning. The laser light  326  and  327  is reflected off mirrors  328 ,  329 ,  330 , and  331  and directed into patterning areas  309  and  315  creating a standing wave over substrate  307 . 
     Formation of deposited patterns 
     In one formation of the embodiment of the pattering of a substrate  400 , as shown in FIG.  4 ( a ), a material  401  is placed on a solid medium  402 . In this embodiment the medium  402  can be a gel, solid, or porous solid. The medium  402  is heated to a temperature just below that needed to make the material  401  diffuse into the medium  402  naturally. By heating the medium  402  below the required temperature for diffusion, the ions  403  can be pulled and deposited at a predictable rate. The probes  404  and  405  are positioned, and an electric field, not shown, is created between the probes  404  and  405 . The field creates opposite induced surface charges  406  and  407  in the substrate. The field pulls electrons  408  from the material  401  into a second liquid medium  409 . The probes can be in or out of the second medium  409 . The liquid medium  409  may be an electrolyte or a substance that can be made into a dipole in the presence of an electric field. The newly created ions  403  are pulled through the medium  402  and collect on the surface of the substrate  400 . The ions become neutral by accepting an election from the substrate  400  surface. A conventional laser trap device, not shown, can be used to keep the ions in tight formations as they move through the medium. Traditional cooling laser devices can also be used to keep the probe tips  404  and  405 , liquid medium  409  and substrate  400  cool. The technique shown in FIG.  4 ( a ) is also valid if the material  401  was imbedded or mixed into the medium  402 . When the pattern has been formed, the substrate  400  can then be removed from the liquid medium  409 , and heated to anneal the deposited material  401 , if required in the process. The excess medium  402 , material  401 , and ions  403  are removed using a chemical process. The above steps can be repeated if needed with the same or different materials. The substrate is shown spherical since on a flat surface the created patterns will block the laser light if used. On a spherical surface the substrate can be turned and the deposition area is not shadowed by existing deposited structures. 
     FIG.  4 ( b ) is another embodiment of this invention. Probe  410  is covered in the material  411  that is to be deposited on substrate  412 . When the field is applied between probes  410  and  413 , material  411  is pulled off of probe  410  and travels through medium  414  to be deposited on substrate&#39;s  412  surface. In this embodiment probe  413  possesses a higher charge than probe  410 . This allows the material on probe  410  to be removed. Material can also be deposited on substrate  400  or  412  by pulling the material out of the medium itself. 
     Removal of previously deposited material 
     In another embodiment, an existing material  500  can be removed from a substrate  501 , as shown in FIG.  5 ( a ). The existing material  500  can be placed on the substrate  501  by any means required to create a layer of uniform and desired thickness. The set up is the same as FIG. 4, except that the polarities of the probes have been reversed, creating a positive induced surface charge  502  under the material  500 . Electrons  503  are transferred to the substrate  501 , creating ions  504  that are carried away in a swift flowing medium  505  controlled by a pump. The substrate can be a commercially used resist that can later be dissolved freeing milled micro parts. The procedure can also be used to create patterns on a substrate. This technique and the one above are very gentle to the substrate and its surface unlike the prior art in which using high temperatures or using a high-energy fabrication process can damage the substrate and its surface. 
     In still another embodiment of this invention a thin film  506  is used as a medium, as shown in FIG.  5 ( b ). As material  507  is removed by the electric field between probes  508  and  509  it moves into the thin film  506 . Since both probes are located out of the medium the removed material  510  will not foul the probes tips. The thin film  506  is removed when the desired region is patterned or saturated with the removed material  507 . The surface of substrate  511  is cleaned and thin film  506  can be reapplied and removed again as required to form the desired pattern or device. 
     Formation of dopant tunnels 
     FIGS.  6 ( a ) through  6 ( c ) are embodiments of this invention in which this technique can be used to dope substrates and form dopant tunnels and the doping of materials into a substrate. FIG.  6 ( a ) shows a material  600  already patterned onto substrate  601 . A second substrate  602  is grown or deposited on top of the first substrate  601 . The substrates  601  and  602  are heated just below the diffusion temperature of the material  600 . In a set up similar to FIGS. 3 and 4, an electric field is produced between the probes  603  and  604 . Ions are created as electrons are moved to the substrate surface and removed into a liquid medium. The ions move to the surface of the negatively induced charged substrate surface. If the ions do not emerge to the surface, another substrate can be added to relocate the induced surface charge and later removed. The substrates  601  and  602  can also be mechanically cleaved or chemically etched to expose the dopant or the polarity of the probes  604  and  605  can be oscillated until a desired dopant level is reached. Tunnels through only one substrate or tunnels through both substrates can be created. The tunnels may also be interconnected. 
     FIG.  6 ( b ) shows the dopant tunnel  605  formed inside another dopant tunnel  606 . These formations allow the passage of a current through the inner tunnel  605  without having the current leak out into the surrounding doped substrate  607 . This creates dopant wires within the substrate. In this set up  607  is p-type substrate, dopant  605  is a n-type, and  606  is also a p-type. 
     The technique as shown in FIG.  6 ( c ) is used to pull material  608  under the surface of a doped substrate  609  creating small dopant areas  610  which may form connections to more traditional integrated devices. Using this technique the amount of material  608  pulled into substrates  609  and the size of the diffusion area can be predicted. In this set up  609  is a n-type substrate,  612  is a n-type dopant, and  611  is a p-type dopant forming a traditional n-p-n transistor. FIGS.  6 ( d ) and  6 ( e ) show the connecting of two substrates. In a technique as shown before in FIG. 5 a hole is created in material  613  existing on top of substrate  614 . A second material, that can be same as substrate  614 , is placed on top of material  613  filling in the created hole and bonding to substrate  614  forming one whole substrate separated by material  613 . FIGS.  6 ( f ) and  6 ( g ) are also representations of a technique to connect two substrates. Substrates  614  can have pre-pattered or formed devices on them. A tunnel is formed between the substrates and a third substrate  615  is deposited connecting substrates  614  together. This process can be used to connect substrates  614  and  615  or other various substrates electrically. 
     Formation of patterned pores, spikes, and oxide on a silicon substrate. 
     FIGS.  7 ( a ) through  7 ( c ) represents the formation of one embodiment of this invention for the formation of a porous silicon cell. The cell can be used as a light emitting or detecting diode. The probes  700  and  701  are placed facing each other on either side of a clean and polished silicon substrate  702  that has been treated so that all the dangling silicon surface bonds have been attached to hydrogen atoms. In this procedure the created electric filed will break the hydrogen bonds and the exposed the silicon surface. The exposed areas will oxidize, creating a layer of silicon dioxide  703 . The thickness and width of the oxide layer is dependent on the strength of the electric field and time between the probes. 
     After the desired patterns are made the newly formed silicon dioxide  703  can be removed using a chemical process creating a hole  704  in the substrate  702 . This creates a laser diode. The whole cell, a group of holes, or each individual hole can then be linked to a power or detection device. The cells or holes can be connected to one another or to other integrated circuits to form new computer components. The created oxide layer can also be used in the formation of traditional integrated circuits. Placing silicon substrate  702  and probes  700  and  701  in a liquid medium containing hydrofluoric acid can also form silicon formations. The electric field will produce spike like objects  705  on the silicon surface. This will form a photocell. The cell can then be hooked up to an appropriate device. 
     Formation of optical interconnects 
     In another embodiment of this invention shown in FIG.  8 ( a ), a baked transparent e-beam resists  800  lies between two semiconductor substrates  801  and  802 . The semiconductors  801  and  802  are lined up so that desired light sources  803  and detectors  804  are face to face. The two probes  805  and  806  are placed on either side of the light source and detector. As the field increases between the probes, surface charges form on the substrate and material. Increasing the field, while cooling the devices to prevent diffusion into the resist, will eventually create a tunneling current between probes  805  and  806  and the two greater surface charges  807  and  808  located on the formed devices exposing the resist in between. 
     In still another embodiment as shown in FIG.  8 ( b ), this process can be used between many individual devices on functional chips. An example would be to form optical interconnects  809  between CPU  810  and memory chip  811 . The chips can be placed face to face, connected, and packaged into one unit  812 , taking up less space than prior art CPU-L2 cache interconnect configurations. 
     In another embodiment of this invention shown in FIG.  8 ( c ) a layer on material  813  with a higher index of refraction than resist  800  are connected to each other. Any lossiness created within the working device can leak into material  813  and be trapped, reducing the signal to noise ratio through cores  109 . FIG.  8 ( d ) is another embodiment of this invention in which the outer layer of material composes of wave-guide  814 , which possesses a lower index of refraction than resist  800 . Resist  800  can then be pumped using wave-guide  814  and laser light  815 , strengthening the signals exchanged between the devices traveling along formed cores  809 , so to allow the original emanating signal to be weaker. The laser light along wave-guide  814  can also pulse creating a clock signal. FIG.  8 ( e ) is another embodiment of this invention in which a LED or laser device  816  is located within cladding  817 . Device  816  or a group of devices can be turned on or pulsed, to amplify signals or to create signals through cores  809 . The light created will be confined within cladding  817  by total reflection. 
     In another embodiment of this invention shown in FIG.  8 ( f ), a resist  818  is exposed by an e-beam that is formed between the two probes  819  and  820  or between probe  819  and the induced surface charge  821 . 
     The technique can also be used with a mask  822  in FIG.  8 ( g ). If mask  822  is used the surface charge  823  can be used to better direct an e-beam emanating from probe  824  or some other e-beam source. Mask  822  can be connected to arm  825  that move the mask  822  over substrate  826  and resist  827 . Probe  824  can also move with mask  822  or a larger e-beam source can used covering the whole surface to be patterned as used in traditional e-beam lithography techniques. Other types of resist can also be used in which the electric field changes the resist properties, such as its color, level of transparency, shape or chemical structure. 
     Formation of logic circuits 
     In another embodiment of this invention porous silicon devices or any other light-producing devices can be used in conjunction with other integrated circuits forming logic circuits, as shown in FIGS.  9 ( a ) through  9 ( k ). The logic path is formed by facing an operational laser cell  900  or diode toward the base of an operational phototransistor  901  or a photocell  902 , which are connected to a traditional transistor  904 . A baked transparent resist  903  lies between the two semiconductor substrates as shown before in FIGS.  8 ( a ) and  8 ( b ). Charged probes are then positioned over the cells that are going to be connected exposing an area of resist between or around the cells forming a wave-guide  905  between the devices. The cells can be stacked and linked in a variety of positions to create different logic formations. FIGS.  9 ( a ) though  9 ( k ) are two-dimensional representations of logic circuits. In a three dimensional perspective, objects with the shown interconnects  905  are over each other, and objects separated by the resist  903  lie on the same plain. A plurality of signal inputs can be easily added to the logic gates. For example, a second transistor  906  or phototransistor-laser cell  907  set can be added to the basic AND gate to allow for a third signal input, FIGS.  9 ( i ) and  9 ( j ). Increase the area of the phototransistors base and add a third laser cell over it expands an OR gate, FIG.  9 ( k ). This expansion can be done for all the shown logic gates. 
     In another embodiment of the invention the constant on input signal labeled as  1  does not have to be an electrical current, but can be a steady incoming light ray. The input signals A, B, C . . . can activate a photovoltic, piezoelectric, or other interface that in turn changes the optical properties of a non-linear organic polymer. The orientation of the polymer will then determine what the final output signal is at F. 
     Formation of layered optical and electro-optical devices 
     FIGS.  10 ( a ) through  10 ( b ), show an embodiment of this invention, in which a Mack-Zehnder interferometer is made. Resist  1000  is baked between two optical substrates  1001  and  1002 , such as gallium aluminum arsenide, indium gallium arsenide phosphide, or lithium niobate. Window or light source  1003  and windows  1004  and  1005  are then created through the substrate by diffusion of certain materials. In the creation of windows in lithium nobate, titanium is used as a dopant. Using the probes the resist is exposed linking the windows  1003  to windows  1004  and  1005 . The unexposed resist can be removed, leaving behind the wave-guide plus any needed supports  1006 . Around window  1004  or  1005  exists an integrated device that will change the phase of the light traveling through wave-guide  1000 . The second layer is formed using the same technique as the bottom layer. The light traveling along wave-guide  1007  going to window or detection device  1008  will be dependent on the lights phase along the two slit paths. If the light&#39;s phase is changed along one of the paths, it will create destructive interference at window  1008  and the light will not be detected. If it remains unchanged along both paths, the light will recombine constructively and the light will be detected. 
     FIG.  10 ( c ) is an embodiment of an optical switch. It is formed the same way as the Mack-Zehnder interferometer. But integrated devices lie around windows  1010  and  1011  that, if on, change the refractive index of the wave-guides  1012  or  1013  or a redeposit lower refractive index resist or other material  1016  around the wave-guides  1012  and  1013 . If light enters wave-guide  1012  and its refractive index changes, light can switch from wave-guide  1012  to  1013  and visa versa. 
     FIG.  10 ( d ) is an embodiment of another optical switch in which the wave-guides  1017  split and pass through a computer generated thin film hologram  1018 . Light passing through the computer generated thin film hologram  1018  possesses the property to change the phase of light as it passes through it. The light passing through the wave-guides  1017  originates from a common source so that the light is coherent. If the hologram changes the phase of one of the paths the light will interfere with itself, as it does in the Mack-Zehnder device. Dependent on hologram  1018 , it is possible to change the phase of the light along one of the paths. Therefore, when the light splits a second time along wave-guides  1019 ,  1020  and  1021 ,  1022  it can interfere with itself, creating destructive or constructive interference along certain paths leading to windows or detection devices  1023  and  1024 . By using both a fixed hologram  1018  and varying spatial light modulators  1025  and  1026  located on substrate  1027 , a programmable interconnect can be formed. 
     In another embodiment of this invention exposed resist wave-guide rings  1027  can be created around wave-guides  1028  to trap unexposed resist  1029  forming a cladding around a linear wave-guide as shown in FIG.  10 ( e ). The wave-guide ring  1028  can also encircle more than one linear wave-guide as shown in FIG.  10 ( f ). Light signals from the linear wave-guides can pass to the ring wave-guide or visa-versa crating multi line switches, controlled by refractive index modulating devices  1030  and  1031  located on either side of the ring wave-guides. 
     The devices in FIGS.  10 ( b ) through  10 ( d ) could be formed using layers of resist with decrease sensitivity to exposure. The bottom layer of the formation is the least sensitive and the top layer is the most sensitive. This is to allow the creation of intricate paths without exposing already formed lower layers. To optimize the system, the path of the light through the layers of resist will be from the resist with the lowest index of refraction to the resist layer with the greatest index of refraction. The above optical devices take up less space and are less expensive to form than prior art using traditional wave-guides or free waves. 
     Formation of surface or buried dopant level imaging and detection device 
     FIG. 11 is an embodiment of this invention in which probes  1100  and  1101  are placed on either side of a substrate  1102  to form a scanning tunneling microscope. The tip  1100  is connected to a tunneling current amplifier  1103  connected to computer  1104  and to a visual display  1105 . If the substrate  1102  consists of one material, the image produced will be the representation of the surface of substrate  1102 . If probe  1100  was a cantilever probe and an AC current applied to probe  1101 , the invention could also be used as an electrostatic force microscope. The main difference to prior art being, unlike a traditional electrostatic force microscope, there are no electrical contacts made on the substrate and substrate  1102  can be a semiconductor or an insulator. The electron tunneling current created between probes  1100  and  1101  travels through the entire substrate  1102 . Any buried dopants  1108 , surface dopants  107 , or other materials  106  will change the dielectric strength of substrate  1102  and therefore its induced surface charge. The size of the dopant pocket  1108  using this technique can also be calculated. The area where the dopant  1108  lies will create a valley or a peak on the display dependent on the dopants dielectric properties. Using this technique the capacitance of the dopant can be found if the tunneling current between probes  1100  and  1101  and the dielectric strength of the dopant and substrate are known.