Abstract: In order to make it possible to improve throughput of AFM scratch processing, enable correction of small defects in clear defect correction with a high degree of precision, and enable correction in a shorter period of time in the event of overcutting by AFM scratch processing, throughput of AFM scratch processing is increased by maximizing high-resolution of the electron beam device and minimizing the time taken in observations using a device incorporating both an electro-optical system and an AFM head in a vacuum, correcting small clear defects with high precision by eliminating portions left over from AFM scratch processing after applying a clear defect correction film using an electron beam while providing light-blocking film raw material, and correction in a short time is made possible by eliminating portions remaining using AFM scratch processing after applying a clear defect correction film using an electron beam while providing light-blocking film raw material also in cases of overcutting in AFM scratc

Abstract: After making an electrical continuity in the isolated pattern by a metal deposition film by a CVD of the electron beam or the helium ion beam generating from the gas field ion source, the defect is corrected and, after the correction, the metal deposition film is physically removed by an AFM scratch working probe. A worked waste generated by the AFM scratch working is removed by a washing.

Abstract: By mechanically removing a boundary portion between an opaque defect and a normal pattern in an atomic force microscope fine working apparatus having a probe harder than a worked material, or removing it in a focused ion beam fine working apparatus or an electron beam fine working apparatus, the opaque defect is isolated, and the isolated opaque defect is removed by being peeled off by a dynamic force from a glass interface whose adhesion force is weak by pushing the probe from a lateral.

Abstract: When scanning by an ion beam in advance an area 24 including a reference hole 23 formed at a position other than the area to be processed 25 of a light-shielding film 21 on a glass substrate 22, a secondary ion signal of the same atom as the incident ions injected into the substrate is detected instead of detecting the secondary ion signal of the atoms included in the base film, and the position 23 of the hole is stored. Then, the area 24 including the hole formed during the processing is scanned and the secondary ion signal of the same atom as the incident ions is detected to determine the current position 26 of the hole, the position of the hole obtained by the previous detection and the current position of the hole are compared, and the amount of shift of the position of the hole is determined. This shifted amount is regarded as the drift amount.

Abstract: An opaque defect is processed by scanning with a high load or height fixed mode using a probe harder than a pattern material of a photomask at the time of going scanning, and is observed by scanning with a low load or intermittent contact mode at the time of returning scanning so as to detect an ending point of the opaque defect by the height information. When there is a portion reaching to a glass substrate as an ending point, this portion is not scanned by the high load or height fixed mode in the next processing, and only a portion not reaching to the ending point is scanned by the high load or height fixed mode.

Abstract: Under the condition that the height is fixed at a target height by turning off a feedback control system of a Z piezoelectric actuator of a cantilever of an atomic force microscope having a probe, which is harder than a processed material, flexure and twisting of the cantilever when carrying out mechanical processing while selectively repeating scanning only on the processed area (in the case of detecting flexure, parallel with the cantilever and in the case of detecting twisting, vertical with the cantilever) is monitored by a quadrant photodiode position sensing detector and the processing is repeated till a flexure amount or a twisting amount, namely, till an elastic deformation amount of the cantilever becomes not more than a determined threshold. It is not necessary to carry out scanning of the observation in obtaining the height information for detection of an end point, so that it is possible to improve a throughput of processing.

Abstract: A sample to be processed is disposed within a processing cell which contains a liquid. Scratch processing using a scanning probe microscope is performed within the liquid so that chips or shavings removed from the sample scatter within the liquid rather than collecting on the surface of the sample. The processing cell has a supply port and a discharge port so that new liquid can be supplied within the cell through the supply port after the termination of the scratch processing to clean the cell. In this manner, chips or shavings generated by scratch processing a defect portion of the sample can be removed completely without being collected at the surface of a sample despite the surface tension of adsorbed water existing on the sample surface and/or electrostatic charges caused by friction.

Abstract: An indentation is formed by thrusting a probe of a scanning probe microscope for processing, which has a vertical surface or a vertical ridge and is harder than sample material, into sample for measuring the indentation. A high-fidelity AFM observation is performed on the shape of the formed indentation with a thin probe with high aspect ratio, the direction of the vertical surface or the vertical ridge is inspected, and the angle error ? is stored. By rotating a sample stage by an angle corresponding to the measured mounting angle error ? of the probe, the mounting angle error of the probe is corrected in advance.

Abstract: A processing method uses a probe of a scanning probe microscope. A fine marker is formed in a processing material by thrusting the probe, which is made of a material harder than the processing material, into a portion of the processing material disposed in the vicinity of an area of the processing material to be processed by the probe during a processing operation. A position of the fine marker on the processing material is detected during the processing operation. A drift amount of the area of the processing material is calculated in accordance with the detected position of the fine marker. A position of the area of the processing material is corrected in accordance with the calculated drift amount.

Abstract: The kind of a particle is determined by pressing a hard atomic force microscope stylus having a spring constant equal to or larger than 300 N/m onto a particle to be removed and detecting bending quantity relative to a press force and a kind of a stylus used for removing the particle is changed in accordance with the kind of the particle.

Abstract: By entering a low acceleration Si ion beam of 500 V or lower or a low acceleration Si ion beam of 500 V-2000 V having been slanted such that an injection depth becomes shallow, which has been mass-separated from a liquid alloy ion source containing Si by a mass separator and converged by an ion optical system, the amplitude defect near a surface of the Mo/Si multilayer film or the Mo2C/Si multilayer film is removed by a physical sputter or a gas assist etching such that an interlayer of the Mo/Si multilayer film or the Mo2C/Si multilayer film in a lower layer is not destroyed.

Abstract: There is provided a device in which a probe can be used for both of observation and correction, and which can, even if a next generation photomask of ultra minute structure is made an object, perform a desired processing without injuring a normal portion in a process of obtaining information of a position and a shape of a defect part, and without impairing the probe also at a processing time. It has been adapted such that, at an observation time, a contact pressure between a probe and a mask is reduced to 0.1 nN by applying a vibration of 1 kHz to 1 MHz to the probe. It has been adapted such that a cantilever used in the present invention is formed by a silicon material of 100-600 ?m in length and 5-50 ?m in thickness and, at the observation time, the probe contacts with the mask at the contact pressure of 0.1 nN and, at the processing time, a defect correction can be performed by causing the probe to contact with the mask at the contact pressure of 10 nN to 1 mN.

Abstract: There is provided a device in which a probe can be used for both of observation and correction, and which can, even if a next generation photomask of ultra minute structure is made an object, perform a desired processing without injuring a normal portion in a process of obtaining information of a position and a shape of a defect part, and without impairing the probe also at a processing time. It has been adapted such that, at an observation time, a contact pressure between a probe and a mask is reduced to 0.1 nN by applying a vibration of 1 kHz to 1 MHz to the probe. It has been adapted such that a cantilever used in the present invention is formed by a silicon material of 100-600 ?m in length and 5-50 ?m in thickness and, at the observation time, the probe contacts with the mask at the contact pressure of 0.1 nN and, at the processing time, a defect correction can be performed by causing the probe to contact with the mask at the contact pressure of 10 nN to 1 mN.

Abstract: The present invention provides a working method using a scanning probe which can enhance a working speed and prolong a lifetime of the probe. The present invention provides the working method using a scanning probe which works a sample by performing the relative scanning of a probe supported on a cantilever on the sample at a predetermined scanning speed. The working method can work the object to be worked while forcibly and relatively vibrating the probe in the direction orthogonal to or parallel to a working surface of the sample at low frequency of 100 to 1000 Hz.

Abstract: There is provided a device in which a probe can be used for both of observation and correction, and which can, even if a next generation photomask of ultra minute structure is made an object, perform a desired processing without injuring a normal portion in a process of obtaining information of a position and a shape of a defect part, and without impairing the probe also at a processing time. It has been adapted such that, at an observation time, a contact pressure between a probe and a mask is reduced to 0.1 nN by applying a vibration of 1 kHz to 1 MHz to the probe. It has been adapted such that a cantilever used in the present invention is formed by a silicon material of 100–600 ?m in length and 5–50 ?m in thickness and, at the observation time, the probe contacts with the mask at the contact pressure of 0.1 nN and, at the processing time, a defect correction can be performed by causing the probe to contact with the mask at the contact pressure of 10 nN to 1 mN.

Abstract: When scanning by an ion beam in advance an area 24 including a reference hole 23 formed at a position other than the area to be processed 25 of a light-shielding film 21 on a glass substrate 22, a secondary ion signal of the same atom as the incident ions injected into the substrate is detected instead of detecting the secondary ion signal of the atoms included in the base film, and the position 23 of the hole is stored. Then, the area 24 including the hole formed during the processing is scanned and the secondary ion signal of the same atom as the incident ions is detected to determine the current position 26 of the hole, the position of the hole obtained by the previous detection and the current position of the hole are compared, and the amount of shift of the position of the hole is determined. This shifte amount is regarded as the drift amount.

Abstract: A microscopic projection or a characteristic pattern are formed in the vicinity of a region to be processed before processing using electron beam CVD, during processing an image of a region containing the projection or pattern formed by electron beam CVD is captured to obtain a current position of the projection or pattern, a difference between the position before staring and the current position is treated as a drift amount and processing is restarted at a region that has been subjected to microscopic adjustment of the electron irradiation region.

Abstract: By entering a low acceleration Si ion beam of 500 V or lower or a low acceleration Si ion beam of 500 V-2000 V having been slanted such that an injection depth becomes shallow, which has been mass-separated from a liquid alloy ion source containing Si by a mass separator and converged by an ion optical system, the amplitude defect near a surface of the Mo/Si multilayer film or the Mo2C/Si multilayer film is removed by a physical sputter or a gas assist etching such that an interlayer of the Mo/Si multilayer film or the Mo2C/Si multilayer film in a lower layer is not destroyed.

Abstract: The kind of a particle is determined by pressing a hard atomic force microscope stylus having a spring constant equal to or larger than 300 N/m onto a particle to be removed and detecting bending quantity relative to a press force and a kind of a stylus used for removing the particle is changed in accordance with the kind of the particle.

Abstract: In order to make it possible to improve throughput of AFM scratch processing, enable correction of small defects in clear defect correction with a high degree of precision, and enable correction in a shorter period of time in the event of overcutting by AFM scratch processing, throughput of AFM scratch processing is increased by maximizing high-resolution of the electron beam device and minimizing the time taken in observations using a device incorporating both an electro-optical system and an AFM head in a vacuum, correcting small clear defects with high precision by eliminating portions left over from AFM scratch processing after applying a clear defect correction film using an electron beam while providing light-blocking film raw material, and correction in a short time is made possible by eliminating portions remaining using AFM scratch processing after applying a clear defect correction film using an electron beam while providing light-blocking film raw material also in cases of overcutting in AFM scratc