Abstract: The present invention provides a beam monitoring sensor which can offer both high beam monitoring precision and high speed monitoring in a multi-electron beam writing system and a monitoring method using the same.

Abstract: The present invention provides a high-precision and high-speed electron beam exposure technique which corrects the position of each beam in a multi-beam exposure method without using a deflection array and a huge and high-precision driving circuit. In an electron beam exposure method for forming a desired pattern onto a specimen by independently controlling emission and scanning of a plurality of electron beams, a deviation between a pattern formed by each of the plurality of electron beams and the desired pattern is controlled by shifting the position of pattern data of the pattern formed by each of the plurality of electron beams.

Abstract: The present invention provides a high-precision and high-speed electron beam exposure technique which corrects the position of each beam in a multi-beam exposure method without using a deflection array and a huge and high-precision driving circuit. In an electron beam exposure method for forming a desired pattern onto a specimen by independently controlling emission and scanning of a plurality of electron beams, a deviation between a pattern formed by each of the plurality of electron beams and the desired pattern is controlled by shifting the position of pattern data of the pattern formed by each of the plurality of electron beams.

Abstract: An electron beam lithography apparatus and a semiconductor device pattern forming method for precisely writing patterns near the periphery of a cell mask so that large scale integrated circuits and fine structure devices are fabricated at high yield rates. Cell figures with lower aperture rates are located peripherally and cell figures with higher aperture rates are located closer to a central portion within each of aperture groups furnished on a second mask of the inventive apparatus adopting cell projection. Illustratively, on a mask for use in semiconductor device fabrication, cell figures for forming line patterns and gate patterns are located centrally and cell figures for forming hole patterns are positioned peripherally in each aperture group. This allows the peripherally located figures to be written precisely in each aperture group.

Abstract: In a semiconductor circuit device fabricating process in which a reduction image projection exposure apparatus and an electron beam exposure apparatus are in a mixed use in its exposure process, pattern position shift errors for each exposure apparatus are measured and corrected at the time of drawing by means of an electron beam drawing apparatus, thereby enhancing the alignment accuracy.First, a pattern for measuring position shifts is exposed using a stepper and the electron beam drawing apparatus. Then, the position shift errors are measured using an identical coordinate position measuring device. Accidental errors have been mixed in the measurement result at this time. On account of this, measurement data at a certain point are smoothed by taking a summation average with data on the periphery thereof, thus decreasing influences of the accidental errors. Moreover, by inverting positive or negative signs of the data on the position shift errors, the data are made into correction data.

Abstract: An electron beam writing apparatus comprises: an electron beam source for projecting an electron beam; a first mask provided with a first rectangular aperture for passing the electron beam projected by the electron beam source to shape the electron beam in a primary shaped beam having a rectangular cross section; a second mask provided with a second rectangular aperture for passing the primary shaped beam to shape the primary shaped beam in a secondary shaped beam having a rectangular cross section, and triangular apertures for passing the primary shaped beam to form a secondary shaped beam having a triangular cross section; a first electron beam deflecting system for moving the primary shaped beam on the surface of the second mask; and a second electron beam deflecting system for moving the secondary shaped beam on the surface of a workpiece on which a pattern is to be written.

Abstract: Selective pattern exposure with high reliability is made possible by a desired pattern of repeated pattern and a non-repeated pattern. Exposure technology is obtained to enable improvement of preparation efficiency of pattern data and to secure inspection of an aperture pattern. With the invention, an electron beam is used as focused beam, and a pattern exposure apparatus of a batch transfer system for transferring repeated pattern and non-repeated pattern of plural graphics of a semiconductor integrated circuit or the like comprises an EB drawing section for controlling the beam and irradiating beam onto a sample, a control I/O section, a drawing control section and a data storage section. In the EB drawing section, a semiconductor wafer is mounted on a platform, and in the path of the electron beam from the electron beam source to the stage, a first mask, a blanking electrode, an electron lens, a first deflector, a second deflector, a second mask and a third deflector are installed.

Abstract: A blanking array is used for controlling an electron beam in an electron beam writing system. Electrodes in the array are formed in parallel and two sets of the parallel electrodes, orthogonal to one another, are used for dividing the electron beam into a plurality of individual exposure areas. The sets of parallel electrodes can be formed in one array by a wire mesh or in two separate arrays spaced closely together or farther apart at different focal point positions. The electrodes are provided to extend across an aperture, such as a square or triangular aperture. For a triangular aperture, the electrodes are made parallel to the hypotenuse of the triangle. The writing patterns are formed by combining the exposure areas. Control of each exposure area is realized by applying opposite polarity voltage to adjacent electrodes in order to deflect the portion of the beam passing between the adjacent electrodes.

Abstract: Selective pattern exposure with high reliability is made possible by a desired pattern of repeated pattern and a non-repeated pattern. Exposure technology is obtained to enable improvement of preparation efficiency of pattern data and to secure inspection of an aperture pattern. With the invention, an electron beam is used as focused beam, and a pattern exposure apparatus of a batch transfer system for transferring repeated pattern and non-repeated pattern of plural graphics of a semiconductor integrated circuit or the like comprises an EB drawing section for controlling the beam and irradiating beam onto a sample, a control I/O section, a drawing control section and a data storage section. In the EB drawing section, a semiconductor wafer is mounted on a platform, and in the path of the electron beam from the electron beam source to the stage, a first mask, a blanking electrode, an electron lens, a first deflector, a second deflector, a second mask and a third deflector are installed.

Abstract: A technique and exposure apparatus measures, with a high degree of accuracy, figure and placement errors of individual optical elements constituting optics embedded inside of an exposure apparatus or the like, with the optics kept in an embedded state as they are. The system measures the distribution of wavefront distortions in the optics while changing the positions of a light source and an image point inside an exposure field of the optics being observed. Optimal displacements of reflective surfaces constituting the optics are then found by calculation based on the measured distribution of wave-front distortions. Finally, the positions of the reflective surfaces are corrected in accordance with the calculated optimal displacements. The positions of the reflective surfaces are corrected by individually controlling displacements output by a plurality of actuators attached to each reflective surface and by mechanically modifying appropriate portions of the reflective surfaces.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system for drawing patterns on a wafer by using a charged particle beam such as an electron beam, in which a complicated prealigning mechanism used for mounting the wafer on a stage is omitted. Instead, according to the present system, rotation of the wafer is detected and a shaped beam is rotated by an amount corresponding to the value detected. Subsequently, a predetermined pattern is drawn on the substrate. The system includes a detecting device for detecting the rotation of the wafer by using an orientation flat or adjusting marks; a computer for storing a value corresponding to the rotation thus detected; a rotating lens control circuit for receiving data from the computer; and a rotating lens.

Abstract: An electron beam writing system is used in variable shaping and cell projection methods to produce LSI and reticles. In the cell projection method, the beam is deflected to define a writing position. In the time it takes to define the writing position, an operation of forming the beam is concluded, which operation includes the deflection of the beam to select a cell graphic, re-deflection for correcting the origin position of the written graphic, astigmatism correction of the written graphic, and focus correction for reducing the Coulomb effect. An electrostatic deflector is used as the deflector for the cell graphic selection. The arrangement of graphics includes a square aperture centrally located with a group of cell projection apertures positioned adjacent two sides of the square aperture.

Abstract: A thick and thin film hybrid multilayer wiring substrate includes an adjustment layer provided between a thick film circuit and a thin film circuit in order to adjust positions of the thick film circuit and the thin film circuit with high integration and large area of the thick and thin film hybrid substrate. The adjustment layer is formed using a direct printing process in accordance with dispersion of the shape of the thick film circuit substrate to absorb the dispersion of the substrate. Further, in order to absorb dispersion of contraction of the thick film substrate due to sintering, a position of a mark provided on the substrate is detected by an electron beam and thereafter a connection pattern is formed to be connected to a regular pattern.

Abstract: An electron beam lithography system having a contour resolving circuit for resolving original pattern data which is transferred from a host computer into contour portion pattern data and inner portion pattern data in accordance with the designated dimension, for adding flag data to enable the contour portion pattern data and the inner portion pattern data to be discriminated to the resolved pattern data, and for outputting the resolved pattern data with the flag data. By adding the flag data, the contour portion pattern data and inner portion pattern data can be easily discriminated. The operation to change the electron beam irradiation dose in accordance with the contour portion pattern and inner portion pattern can be fairly easily executed. A pattern can be drawn at a high accuracy while preventing a deformation of the drawn figure due to the proximity effect. A data processing amount in the computer can be reduced. A data transfer amount from the host computer can be also reduced.

Abstract: A charged particle beam lithography system has a high-throughput and inexpensive system configuration. The system configuration is constituted by a plurality of charged particle optical systems each adapted to focus and deflect a beam of charged particles and irradiate the beam onto a specimen so that the beam draws a desired pattern on the specimen, a plurality of deflection distortion correcting circuits each associated with each of the charged particle optical systems for correcting a deflection distortion of each charged particle optical system, and a common pattern data control circuit for supplying data of a pattern to be drawn to each of the plurality of deflection distortion correcting circuits.

Abstract: A lithography apparatus in which a charged particle ray such as an electron beam or an ion beam is controlled to scan a desired region of a sample and thereby draw a pattern, including a framing pattern memory for storing therein closed framing lines of a pattern to be drawn in the form of dot images, a framing pattern generator for writing the framing lines of the pattern to be drawn into said framing pattern memory in the form of dot images, and a raster scanning circuit for scanning the framing pattern memory having stored therein closed framing lines of the pattern to be drawn and for generating a beam deflection address for drawing the pattern and a beam blanking control signal.

Abstract: A hybrid charged particle apparatus includes a charged particle source which is made up of a field-emission electron source for emitting an electron beam, a liquid-metal ion source for emitting an ion beam, and changeover means for replacing one of the electron and ion sources by the other at a predetermined place without varying a vacuum state, hybrid focusing/deflecting means for focusing and deflecting each of the electron beam and the ion beam electrostatically and electromagnetically to irradiate a specimen with each of the electron beam and the ion beam, and image observing means for detecting secondary charged particles emitted from the specimen and for observing an image of a specimen surface formed by the secondary charged particles.

Abstract: Disclosed is an electron beam exposure apparatus which includes an objective lens focusing an electron beam, and a dynamic focus correction lens dynamically correcting the focusing by the objective lens. The apparatus comprises a control circuit which, in order to prevent a current variation induced in the objective lens by the dynamic focus correction lens, controls current supplied to the objective lens so as to cancel the current variation induced in the objective lens due to the coil current of the dynamic focus correction lens.

Abstract: An electron beam lithography apparatus comprises: a spot electron beam generator; device for exposing a desired pattern onto a wafer using the spot beam; device for dividing the pattern into small regions; and device for designating an origin of the small region and also digitally scanning the portion inside the small region by a fixed correction amount by use of the spot beam, and thereby to reduce the settling time of the D/A converter in association with the digital scanning.

Abstract: An apparatus for electron beam lithography comprises at least one mask equipped with a polygonal aperture to be subjected to an electron beam from an electron beam generator, an electron lens system for demagnifying and imaging the polygonal aperture of the mask, and a solenoid coil for electron beam rotation adjustment placed between the mask and the final-stage electron lens.