Abstract: An example method includes broadcasting periodically, from a computing system, control packets over a network to instrument modules, where a control packet includes data representing sequence numbers of last data packets received from the instrument modules and information based on the sequence numbers, and the control packet includes slots for all of the instrument modules, with each slot containing the data that is specific to one of the instrument modules. The example method also includes receiving, at the computing system and in response to the control packet, via unicast and over the network, an acknowledgement packet from each of the instrument modules, where the acknowledgement packet includes repair information that is based on a broadcast control packet received by the instrument module from the computing system.

Abstract: A process and system for developing control signals for an electron beam lithography tool uses Cartesian and modified Cartesian processing of data representing edges of a pattern to be formed. Non-Cartesian data is masked by the generation of least enclosing rectangles to contain it. A skew scan technique later applied to the data so masked allows high speed substantially Cartesian processing of the non-Cartesian data. Edge data is segregated by angles to eliminate virtually all searching to establish edge processing order and processing speed is thus increased by approximately an order of magnitude in comparison with prior techniques and arrangements.