Abstract: An acoustic-wave measuring device includes: a support table having a support surface configured to support an examination subject, and an opening portion provided in the support surface to measure a predetermined examination site of the examination subject; a container located vertically below the support surface and capable of containing an acoustic matching material in a liquid or gel form; and a receiving element located vertically below the support surface and configured to receive an acoustic wave generated from the examination site, wherein a matching-material bag containing an acoustic matching material in a liquid or gel form or a matching gel having limited flowability and an acoustic control effect, and a placement unit for placement of the matching-material bag or the matching gel thereon are installable between the acoustic matching material contained in the container and the examination site.

Abstract: A drawing apparatus includes: a detector configured to output a current in accordance with a pulse of a charged particle beam; and a processor including a capacitor and configured to detect a value of a voltage of the capacitor and to obtain an intensity of the pulse based on a value of a capacitance of the capacitor and the detected voltage value. The processor is configured to detect a current output from the detector in accordance with a charged particle beam incident thereon through a voltage drop, to supply a current having a value determined based on the detected current, to the capacitor to detect a value of a voltage of the capacitor, and to obtain the value of the capacitance based on the determined current value and the detected value of the voltage of the capacitor.

Abstract: The present invention provides a charged particle optical system which emits a charged particle beam, the system including an electrostatic lens, and a grid electrode opposed to the electrostatic lens along an optical axis of the electrostatic lens, and configured to form an electrostatic field in cooperation with the electrostatic lens, wherein the grid electrode is configured such that an electrode surface, opposed to the electrostatic lens, of the grid electrode has a distance, from the electrostatic lens in a direction of the optical axis, which varies with a position in the electrode surface.

Abstract: The present invention provides a charged particle optical system which emits a charged particle beam, the system including an electrostatic lens, and a grid electrode opposed to the electrostatic lens along an optical axis of the electrostatic lens, and configured to form an electrostatic field in cooperation with the electrostatic lens, wherein the grid electrode is configured such that an electrode surface, opposed to the electrostatic lens, of the grid electrode has a distance, from the electrostatic lens in a direction of the optical axis, which varies with a position in the electrode surface.

Abstract: In the present invention, vector data developing unit, ends separating unit, overlap removing unit and bitmapped data generating unit are sequentially connected in order to make pipeline processing. In addition, data of each raster is orderly arranged as a unit so that each processor can process data of each raster at a time. Each processor can make the pipeline processing to fast generate data. In addition, small-scale circuits can be used to realize the system because each raster can be processed as a unit of processing. Moreover, since data is orderly arranged before being processed, multi-valued bitmapped data can be generated in the order of drawing. Therefore, the drawing operation and data generating operation can be performed in parallel without use of any large-scale storage device.

Abstract: A multi-electron beam exposure method and apparatus, wherein electron beams are applied to a sample surface mounted on a traveling sample stage to perform repeated exposure of chip patterns. An exposure region of the sample surface is partitioned into multiple stripe regions having a width in an x-axis direction, and each of the multiple stripe regions is further partitioned into multiple main fields having a width in a y-axis direction. At least one of the widths of the main fields in the x- and y-axis directions is set to a value, and exposure pattern data for one chip based on the partitioned main fields is stored as a unit. The stored exposure pattern data is readout a number of times corresponding to the number of chips repeatedly, and each electron beam provides repeated exposure of same regions of the chips.

Abstract: The dimension of the main field as a unit region for exposure is set to an integral submultiple of the arrangement pitch of the LSI to be exposed, by the control computer 62, and the exposure data stored in the form associated with electron beams from a data generation circuit 64 is limited to one-chip data alone in units of a stripe. This data is repeatedly read out to write the stripe. Further, a storage circuit 66 is provided to store the exposure data by means of a double buffer memory unit for each electron beam. While LSI is written according to one of the buffers, the next exposure stripe data is prepared on the other buffer, thereby bringing about a substantial reduction in the required speed of the exposure data generation circuit.

Abstract: An electron gun is composed of a hemispherical cathode (1) and a second bias electrode (8) having apertures (9, 7, 11) along an optical axis of an electron beam fired from the electron gun, a first bias electrode (6) and an anode (10), arranged in that order, as well as a controller for variably controlling an electric potential applied to the first and second bias electrodes. The controller, for example, holds the sum of the electric potentials of the first and second bias electrodes relative to the cathode (1) substantially constant. Further, by adding one or more third bias electrode(s) (20) between the first and second bias electrodes (6, 8) as necessary, the intensity of the electron beam discharged from the high-intensity, high-emittance electron gun can be adjusted without affecting the current density angular distribution.

Abstract: A multi-electron beam exposure method and apparatus, wherein electron beams are applied to a sample surface mounted on a traveling sample stage to perform repeated exposure of chip patterns. An exposure region of the sample surface is partitioned into multiple stripe regions having a width in an x-axis direction, and each of the multiple stripe regions is further partitioned into multiple main fields having a width in a y-axis direction. At least one of the widths of the main fields in the x- and y-axis directions is set to a value, and exposure pattern data for one chip based on the partitioned main fields is stored as a unit. The stored exposure pattern data is readout a number of times corresponding to the number of chips repeatedly, and each electron beam provides repeated exposure of same regions of the chips.

Abstract: In the present invention, vector data developing unit, ends separating unit, overlap removing unit and bitmapped data generating unit are sequentially connected in order to make pipeline processing. In addition, data of each raster is orderly arranged as a unit so that each processor can process data of each raster at a time. Each processor can make the pipeline processing to fast generate data. In addition, small-scale circuits can be used to realize the system because each raster can be processed as a unit of processing. Moreover, since data is orderly arranged before being processed, multi-valued bitmapped data can be generated in the order of drawing. Therefore, the drawing operation and data generating operation can be performed in parallel without use of any large-scale storage device.

Abstract: A charged-particle beam exposure apparatus for exposing a member to be exposed to a charged particle beam with a pattern includes memories (902-905) for storing a plurality of control data for controlling reference dose data of the charged particle beam in accordance with the incident position of the charged particle beam on the member to be exposed, a selector (907) for selecting any one of the plurality of control data stored in the memories, and an exposure unit for controlling the reference dose data of the charged particle beam for each irradiation position on the basis of the control data selected by the selector, thereby exposing the member to be exposed with the pattern. The charged-particle beam exposure apparatus rapidly performs proper proximity effect correction to expose the member to be exposed with the pattern.

Abstract: An electron gun is composed of a hemispherical cathode (1) and a second bias electrode (8) having apertures (9, 7, 11) along an optical axis of an electron beam fired from the electron gun, a first bias electrode (6) and an anode (10), arranged in that order, as well as a controller for variably controlling an electric potential applied to the first and second bias electrodes. The controller, for example, holds the sum of the electric potentials of the first and second bias electrodes relative to the cathode (1) substantially constant. Further, by adding one or more third bias electrode(s) (20) between the first and second bias electrodes (6, 8) as necessary, the intensity of the electron beam discharged from the high-intensity, high-emittance electron gun can be adjusted without affecting the current density angular distribution.

Abstract: A charged particle beam exposure system which draws a pattern on an object to be exposed by a plurality of charged particle beams emitted from a plurality of element electron optical systems includes (a) a storage device storing (i) a standard dose data for controlling the irradiation of charged particle beams to an object to be exposed, (ii) plural pieces of proximity effect correction data for correcting the irradiation of the charged particle beams for each incidence position with respect to the object to be exposed, in order to reduce the influence of a proximity effect, and (iii) calibration data for correcting variations in the irradiation dose among the plurality of the charged particle beams emitted from the plurality of element electron optical systems, and (b) a controller for controlling the irradiation of each of the charged particle beams, based on the standard dose data, the proximity effect correction data, and the calibration data.

Abstract: An exposure apparatus for drawing a pattern on a wafer using an electron beam includes a plurality of driving elements for drawing the pattern on the wafer while scanning the wafer with a charged-particle beam, a plurality of driving data memories for storing a plurality of time-series driving data strings for driving the plurality of driving elements, each driving data memory sequentially supplying data forming the time-series driving data string from the first data to a corresponding driving element in accordance with an operation command, and a clock pattern memory for storing a plurality of operation command data strings obtained by aligning operation commands and non-operation commands in time-series, the operation commands and the non-operation commands constituting each operation command data string being sequentially supplied from the first operation command data to a corresponding driving data memory in accordance with a drawing sync clock supplied to the clock pattern memory.

Abstract: The dimension of the main field as a unit region for exposure is set to an integral submultiple of the arrangement pitch of the LSI to be exposed, by the control computer 62, and the exposure data stored in the form associated with electron beams from a data generation circuit 64 is limited to one-chip data alone in units of a stripe. This data is repeatedly read out to write the stripe. Further, a storage circuit 66 is provided to store the exposure data by means of a double buffer memory unit for each electron beam. While LSI is written according to one of the buffers, the next exposure stripe data is prepared on the other buffer, thereby bringing about a substantial reduction in the required speed of the exposure data generation circuit.

Abstract: In an exposure method of drawing and exposing a second pattern with a scanner so as to match a first pattern formed on a sample upon exposure with a reduction projection exposure apparatus, a matrix is set on the sample. A distortion correction map representing an offset of a point corresponding to each matrix point on the first pattern from an ideal position is formed. The blocks of the matrix, small for a large offset and large for a small offset, are set when drawing the second pattern while correcting drawing information of the second pattern on the basis of offset information represented by the correction map. The block size of the distortion correction map is not uniformly reduced. A small block size is set for a large distortion, and a large block size is set for a small distortion, thereby reducing the data amount.

Abstract: In an exposure method of drawing and exposing a second pattern with a scanner so as to match a first pattern formed on a sample upon exposure with a reduction projection exposure apparatus, a matrix is set on the sample. A distortion correction map representing an offset of a point corresponding to each matrix point on the first pattern from an ideal position is formed. The block of the matrix small for a large offset and large for a small offset are set when drawing the second pattern while correcting drawing information of the second pattern on the basis of offset information represented by the correction map. The block size of the distortion correction map is not uniformly reduced. A small block size is set for a large distortion, and a large block size is set for a small distortion, thereby reducing the data amount.

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 gun according to this invention includes a cathode having a hemispherical electron-emitting surface, an anode which is arranged to face the cathode, and has a first aperture on the optical axis, and a bias electrode which is arranged between the anode and the cathode, receives a potential lower than one applied to the cathode, and has a second aperture larger than the electron-emitting surface of the cathode on the optical axis. The distal end of the electron-emitting surface of the cathode is arranged in contact with or outside a sphere whose diameter is equal to the diameter of the second aperture of the bias electrode.