Abstract: A fine-adjustable charged particle lens comprises a magnetic circuit assembly including permanent magnets, a yoke body, and a shunting device comprising a shunting component, and this assembly surrounds a beam passage extending along the longitudinal axis (cx). The shunting device is placed in the yoke body besides the permanent magnets and may be composed of several sector components, comprising different high magnetically permeable materials. The permanent magnet and the yoke body form a magnetic circuit having at least two gaps, in order to generate a magnetic field reaching inwards into the beam passage, into which a sleeve insert having electrostatic electrodes can be inserted, which may also generate an electric field spatially overlapping said magnetic field. The shunting device partially bypasses the magnetic flux of said circuit assembly and thus reduces the magnetic field to a desired value.

Abstract: The invention relates to a multi-beam pattern definition device for use in a particle-beam processing or inspection apparatus, said device being adapted to be irradiated with a beam of electrically charged particles and allow passage of the beam through a plurality of apertures thus forming a corresponding number of beamlets, said device comprising an aperture array device in which at least two sets of apertures are realized, an opening array device located downstream of the aperture array device having a plurality of openings configured for the passage of beamlets, said opening array device comprises impact regions, wherein charged impinge upon said impact regions.

Abstract: A pattern writing method for charged-particle lithography apparatuses using an improved correction for thermal distortion of the substrate includes determining an exposure position where the beam impinges on the substrate and the power of the beam at the exposure position; calculating heating of the substrate at the exposure position, and calculating, for a plurality of locations over the substrate, and the thermal diffusion and radiative cooling; calculating, for the same or a reduced plurality of locations on the substrate, the positional change of the substrate due to thermal expansion; determining a displacement distance which compensates the positional change at the exposure position, updating the structure to be written by shifting the exposure position of the beam by said displacement distance, and writing the updated structures on the substrate with the beam. These steps are repeated as a function of time and/or varying exposure position of the beam substrate position.

Abstract: A multi-beam pattern definition device for use in a particle-beam processing or inspection apparatus, which is irradiated with a beam of electrically charged particles and allows passage of the beam through a plurality of apertures to form corresponding beamlets, comprises an aperture array device in which said apertures are realized according to several sets of apertures arranged in respective aperture arrangements, and an absorber array device having a plurality of openings configured for the passage of at least a subset of beamlets that are formed by the apertures.

Abstract: A method for irradiating a target with a beam of energetic electrically charged particles, wherein the target comprises an exposure region where an exposure by said beam is to be performed, and the exposure of a desired pattern is done employing a multitude of exposure positions on the target. Each exposure position represents the location of one of a multitude of exposure spots of uniform size and shape, with each exposure spot covering at least one pattern pixel of the desired pattern. The exposure positions are located within a number of mutually separate cluster areas which are defined at respective fixed locations on the target. In each cluster area the exposure position are within a given neighboring distance to a next neighboring exposure position, while the cluster areas are separated from each other by spaces free of exposure positions, which space has a width, which is at least the double of the neighboring distance.

Abstract: In a writing process in a charged-particle multi-beam apparatus, a desired pattern is written onto a target wherein said desired pattern is provided as input pattern data (INPDAT) in a vector format and processed through a pattern data processing flow. A data preprocessing system receives the input pattern data (INPDAT) and preprocesses the input pattern data independently of the writing process, preferably in advance to it, using writing parameter data provided to the data preprocessing system, and writes the intermediate pattern data (IMDAT) thus obtained to a data storage. When a writing process is carried out using the apparatus, its writing control system reads the intermediate pattern data from the data storage, converts them into pattern streaming data (SBUF), and streams the pattern streaming data to the apparatus for writing the pattern to the target.

Abstract: A charged-particle source for emission of electrons or other electrically charged particles comprises, located between the emitter electrode having an emitter surface and a counter electrode, at least two adjustment electrodes; a pressure regulator device is configured to control the gas pressure in the source space at a pre-defined pressure value. In a first cleaning mode of the particle source, applying a voltage between the emitter and counter electrodes directs gas particles towards the counter electrode, generating secondary electrons which ionize particles of the gas in the source space, and electrostatic potentials are applied to at least some of the adjustment electrodes, generating an electric field directing the ionized gas particles onto the emitter surface.

Abstract: A rasterized exposure method implementing a position correction for edge positions to correct for a non-linear relationship between the position of a feature edge (dCD) of a pattern element boundary and the nominal position of the boundary as expressed through the dose of exposure (d) of the edge pixel is provided. The position correction includes: determining a position value of the edge position, determining a corrected position value based on the position value using a predefined non linear function, and modifying the pattern to effectively shift the pattern element boundary in accordance with the corrected position value. The non linear function describes the inverse of the relationship between a nominal position value (d), which is used as input value during exposure of the pattern, and a resulting position (dCD) of the pattern element boundary generated when exposed with the nominal position value.

Abstract: A method for re-calculating a pattern to be exposed on a target by means of a charged-particle multi-beam writing apparatus is presented. The pattern elements of a pattern, initially associated with a respective assigned dose, are recalculated in view of obtaining reshaped pattern elements which have a nominal dose as assigned dose. The nominal dose represents a predefined standard value of exposure dose to be exposed for pixels during a scanning stripe exposure within the multi-beam apparatus.

Abstract: To irradiate a target with a beam of energetic electrically charged particles, the beam is formed and imaged onto a target, where it generates a pattern image composed of pixels. The pattern image is moved along a path on the target over a region of exposure, and this movement defines a number of stripes covering said region in sequential exposures and having respective widths. The number of stripes are written parallel to each other along a general direction, which is at a small angle to a principal pattern direction of structures to be written within the region of exposure.

Abstract: A charged-particle source for emission of electrons or other electrically charged particles comprises, located between the emitter electrode having an emitter surface and a counter electrode, at least two adjustment electrodes; a pressure regulator device is configured to control the gas pressure in the source space at a pre-defined pressure value. In a first cleaning mode of the particle source, applying a voltage between the emitter and counter electrodes directs gas particles towards the counter electrode, generating secondary electrons which ionize particles of the gas in the source space, and electrostatic potentials are applied to at least some of the adjustment electrodes, generating an electric field directing the ionized gas particles onto the emitter surface.

Abstract: In a rasterized exposure method, in order to correct for a non-linear relationship between the position of a feature edge (dCD) of a pattern element boundary and the nominal position of the boundary as expressed through the dose of exposure (d) of the edge pixel, a position correction for edge positions is employed. The position correction includes: determining a position value describing said edge position, determining a corrected position value based on the position value using a predefined non-linear function, and modifying the pattern to effectively shift the pattern element boundary in accordance with the corrected position value. The non-linear function describes the inverse of the relationship between a nominal position value (d), which is used as input value during exposure of the pattern, and a resulting position (dCD) of the pattern element boundary generated when exposed with said nominal position value.

Abstract: A method for compensating pattern placement errors during writing a pattern on a target in a charged-particle multi-beam exposure apparatus including a layout generated by exposing a plurality of beam field frames using a beam of electrically charged particles, wherein each beam field frame has a respective local pattern density, corresponding to exposure doses imparted to the target when exposing the respective beam field frames. During writing the beam field frames, the positions deviate from respective nominal positions because of build-up effects within said exposure apparatus, depending on the local pattern density evolution during writing the beam field frames.

Abstract: In a charged-particle multi-beam writing method a desired pattern is written on a target using a beam of energetic electrically charged particles, by imaging apertures of a pattern definition device onto the target, as a pattern image which is moved over the target. Thus, exposure stripes are formed which cover the region to be exposed in sequential exposures, and the exposure stripes are mutually overlapping, such that each area of said region is exposed by at least two different areas of the pattern image at different transversal offsets (Y1). For each pixel, a corrected dose amount is calculated by dividing the value of the nominal dose amount by a correction factor (q), wherein the same correction factor (q) is used with pixels located at positions which differ only by said transversal offsets (Y1) of overlapping stripes.

Abstract: A method for irradiating a target with a beam of energetic electrically charged particles, wherein the target comprises an exposure region where an exposure by said beam is to be performed, and the exposure of a desired pattern is done employing a multitude of exposure positions on the target. Each exposure position represents the location of one of a multitude of exposure spots of uniform size and shape, with each exposure spot covering at least one pattern pixel of the desired pattern. The exposure positions are located within a number of mutually separate cluster areas which are defined at respective fixed locations on the target. In each cluster area the exposure position are within a given neighboring distance to a next neighboring exposure position, while the cluster areas are separated from each other by spaces free of exposure positions, which space has a width, which is at least the double of the neighboring distance.

Abstract: A method for re-calculating a pattern to be exposed on a target by means of a charged-particle multi-beam writing apparatus is presented. The pattern elements of a pattern, initially associated with a respective assigned dose, are recalculated in view of obtaining reshaped pattern elements which have a nominal dose as assigned dose. The nominal dose represents a predefined standard value of exposure dose to be exposed for pixels during a scanning stripe exposure within the multi-beam apparatus.

Abstract: In a charged-particle multi-beam writing method a desired pattern is written on a target using a beam of energetic electrically charged particles, by imaging apertures of a pattern definition device onto the target, as a pattern image which is moved over the target. Thus, exposure stripes are formed which cover the region to be exposed in sequential exposures, and the exposure stripes are mutually overlapping, such that each area of said region is exposed by at least two different areas of the pattern image at different transversal offsets (Y1). For each pixel, a corrected dose amount is calculated by dividing the value of the nominal dose amount by a correction factor (q), wherein the same correction factor (q) is used with pixels located at positions which differ only by said transversal offsets (Y1) of overlapping stripes.

Abstract: A method for compensating pattern placement errors during writing a pattern on a target in a charged-particle multi-beam exposure apparatus including a layout generated by exposing a plurality of beam field frames using a beam of electrically charged particles, wherein each beam field frame has a respective local pattern density, corresponding to exposure doses imparted to the target when exposing the respective beam field frames. During writing the beam field frames, the positions deviate from respective nominal positions because of build-up effects within said exposure apparatus, depending on the local pattern density evolution during writing the beam field frames.

Abstract: To irradiate a target with a beam of energetic electrically charged particles, the beam is formed and imaged onto a target, where it generates a pattern image composed of pixels. The pattern image is moved along a path on the target over a region to be exposed, and this movement defines a number of stripes covering said region in sequential exposures and having respective widths. The number of stripes is written in at least two sweeps which each have a respective general direction, but the general direction is different for different sweeps, e.g. perpendicular to each other. Each stripe belongs to exactly one sweep and runs substantially parallel to the other stripes of the same sweep, namely, along the respective general direction. For each sweep the widths, as measured across said main direction, of the stripes of one sweep combine into a cover of the total width of the region.

Abstract: To irradiate a target with a beam of energetic electrically charged particles, the beam is formed and imaged onto a target, where it generates a pattern image composed of pixels. For a pattern which comprises a primary pattern region to be written with a predetermined primary feature size and a secondary pattern region which is composed of structure features capable of being written with a secondary feature size, larger than the primary feature size. The structure features of the primary pattern region are written by exposing a plurality of exposure spots on grid positions of a first exposure grid; the structure features in the secondary pattern region are written by exposing a plurality of exposure spots on grid positions of a second exposure grid according to a second arrangement which is coarser that the regular arrangement of the first exposure grid.