Abstract: A device for influencing an electron beam, especially a deflector unit for an electron beam lithography machine, comprises a plurality of coil formers (12b) each with a bore (16) defining a passage for the beam and each carrying coils (18, 19) operable to generate magnetic fields for deflecting the path of the beam when passing through the passage. Each former is made of a high-strength ceramic material having a high thermal conductivity and low coefficient of thermal expansion so that, with respect to a given output of heat by the associated coils during quasi-continuous operation for repeated beam deflection during pattern writing, the heat is dissipated at such a rate as to preclude thermal expansion of the coils and thus avoid distortion of the magnetic fields generated by the coils.

Abstract: The invention refers to an arrangement for positioning substrates, in particular for positioning wafers, within a device that is provided for exposure of the substrates and/or for measurement on the substrates by means of radiation under high-vacuum conditions. The following are provided according to the present invention: a retention system (4), displaceable on a linear guidance system (3), for receiving the substrate, the guidance direction of the linear guidance system (3) being oriented parallel or substantially parallel to the Y coordinate of an X, Y, Z spatial coordinate system; drives for limited modification of the inclination of the guidance direction relative to the Y coordinate; drives for limited rotation of the linear guidance system (3), including the retention system (4), about the guidance direction; and drives for parallel displacement of the linear guidance system (3), including the retention system (4), in the direction of the X coordinate, the Y coordinate, and/or the Z coordinate.

Abstract: The invention refers to a method for exposing a layout comprising multiple layers on a wafer, in which at least one layer is exposed photolithographically and subsequently at least one further layer is exposed with an electron beam, and the wafer is to be aligned in defined fashion with respect to the electron beam exposure system in terms of the previously photolithographically exposed layer. It is provided according to the present invention that before electron beam exposure begins, an alignment of the wafer (global alignment) is performed on the basis of structural features that were previously generated on the wafer by photolithographic exposure. For example, the wafer is first positioned coarsely in such a way that a surface area having selected structural features is located in the deflection region of the electron beam.

Abstract: The invention refers to the field of electron beam lithography, in particular to a method for directing an electron beam (6) onto a target position (Z) on the surface of a substrate, the substrate first being placed onto a movable stage (2) and the stage (2) then being displaced stepwise, in the X and/or Y coordinates of a Cartesian grid, until the target position (Z) is located at a spacing from the impact point (P) of the undeflected electron beam (6) which is smaller than the smallest step distance of the stage displacement system, and then the electron beam (6) is directed onto the target position (Z) by deflection. This results in a considerable increase in positioning accuracy in electron beam lithography. Positioning accuracies on the order of 0.1 nm to 0.05 are achievable. The method is suitable in particular for writing grating patterns in which the spacing between the individual grating lines must be maintained with high accuracy.

Abstract: The invention concerns a method for exposing a substrate (1) equipped with an n-layer photoresist system (2), an electrically conductive connection being created between a ground potential and the substrate (1) and/or at least one of the layers S1 through Sn of the photoresist system (2). The invention furthermore concerns an arrangement for carrying out said method. According to the present invention, what is achieved in a single process step is that by way of spring elements E1 through E4, a contact tip K1 is advanced as far as the layer S1, a contact tip K2 is advanced through the layer S1 as far as the layer S2, a contact tip K3 is advanced through the layer S1 and S2 as far as the layer S3, and so forth. The electrical charges from the layer S1 are dissipated to the ground potential via the contact tip K1, the charges from the layer S2 via the contact tip K2, etc., and/or and from the substrate (1) via a contact tip K4.

Abstract: The invention refers to a device for electrostatic deflection of a particle beam out of a primary beam direction for the purpose of scanning a plane spanned by two coordinates X, Y, in which multiple electrodes configured as deflection wires are connected to an activation circuit and are acted upon, depending on the activation, by modifiable deflection voltages; the primary beam direction intersects the origin of coordinates X and Y, and the respective applied deflection voltage is an equivalent for the deflection of the particle beam out of the primary beam direction in the direction of coordinate X or coordinate Y. In such a device, the deflection wires are linked into deflection grids and are joined to one another and to the activation circuit in such a way that an equivalent deflection voltage is always applied to all deflection wires belonging to one and the same deflection grid.

Abstract: The present invention provides for a device for holding a substrate in an exposure system. In the exposure system, the substrate is positioned on a table movable in the X and Y coordinates of an X, Y plane, and the exposure system provides a metering assembly between a table surface and the substrate to adjust the distance and to align the substrate in relation to an exposure optics, from where a corpuscular radiation is directed right-angled onto a substrate surface, corresponding to the Z coordinate. The device for holding the substrate includes two mounting plates aligned parallel to the X, Y plane, adjusted upon the table in a direction to the exposure optics and with different distances to the table surface, the first mounting plate of which being directly connected to the table.

Abstract: An electron beam aperture element (10) comprises a body (11) provided with a passage (12) for an electron beam (E) and with a blocking surface (15) for blocking travel of part or all of the beam otherwise than through the passage. The blocking surface (15) is angled to cause departing electrons derived from the blocked beam or part thereof to be directed away from the axis (13) of the passage and, in particular, into an electron trap cavity (21) bounded by the surface (15) and a wall of a screening member (17). The wall returns electrons to the blocking surface (15) for redirection back into the cavity (21), thus preventing escape of scattered electrons or delaying their escape until sufficient absorption has taken place to render them largely harmless to the interior environment of an electron beam column equipped with the element.

Abstract: The invention refers to a method for exposing a layout comprising multiple layers on a wafer, in which at least one layer is exposed photolithographically and subsequently at least one further layer is exposed with an electron beam, and the wafer is to be aligned in defined fashion with respect to the electron beam exposure system in terms of the previously photolithographically exposed layer.

Abstract: The description relates to high-transmission condenser-monochromator arrangements providing quasi-monochromatic object illumination and incoherent imaging in X-ray microscopes (5) and are particularly suitable for well-collimated beams from undulators on electron storage rings. As the deflecting optical component, the condenser-monochromator arrangements comprise an off-axis zone plate in transmission (7) or reflection. There is a monochromator diaphragm (11) in the object plane. The exposure aperture of the condenser-monochromator arrangement may be variably set by means of simple plane mirrors (2). The off-axis zone plate (7) and at least one plane mirror (2) are rotated about the optical axis 6 of the X-ray microscope (5) during exposure. In addition, there are fixed elements containing a focusing device with a focusing ring and a downstream system on one or two hollow conical mirrors.

Abstract: An electron beam pattern-writing column comprises an emitter and an extractor (14, 15) for generating a low-energy electron beam (13), a series of three electrostatic triple element lenses (17, 18, 21) for focussing the beam, and an electrostatic double deflector (20), which is disposed ahead of the final lens (21), for deflecting the beam to scan a substrate (11) on which a pattern is to be written. After focussing and deflection of the beam have been carried out by the electrostatic components, which are low power and thus have no significant heat output, the beam electrons are accelerated by the final element (21c) of the final lens (21) into a high-energy beam with the required strength for high-quality pattern writing.

Abstract: A method of writing a pattern on a substrate by a deflectable electron beam, in particular a pattern containing very fine features such as nanostructures, is carried out by dividing the pattern into at least two fields of differing size (15, 17) which are arranged one inside the other and have a common center (18) arranged at the central axis of the beam at which the beam has an undeflected setting, with the finer or finest pattern features contained in the inner field (15). The pattern is written by keeping the substrate stationary and writing the two fields in succession with a change in writing resolution of the beam on transition from one field to the next such that a finer step size is used for an inner field than for an outer field.