A multiple electron beam writing apparatus includes an excitation light source to emit an excitation light, a multi-lens array to divide the excitation light into a plurality of lights, a photoemissive surface to receive the plurality of lights incident through its upper side, and emit multiple photoelectron beams from its back side, a blanking aperture array mechanism to provide, by deflecting each beam of the multiple photoelectron beams, an individual blanking control which individually switches each beam between ON and OFF, an electron optical system to include an electron lens, and to irradiate, using the electron lens, a target object with the multiple photoelectron beams having been controlled to be beam ON, and a control circuit to interconnect, for each shot of the multiple photoelectron beams, a timing of switching the excitation light between emission and non-emission with a timing of switching the each beam between ON and OFF.

A multi charged particle beam exposure method includes transmitting ON/OFF control signals each being an ON/OFF control signal for a corresponding beam of multi-beams of charged particle beams in a batch to a blanking apparatus in which there are mounted a substrate where a plurality of passage holes are formed to let a corresponding beam of the multi-beams individually pass therethrough, and a plurality of individual blanking mechanisms arranged in the substrate to individually perform blanking deflection of each beam of the multi-beams, and irradiating the substrate with the multi-beams in accordance with the ON/OFF control signals transmitted in a batch, while shifting an irradiation timing for each group obtained by grouping the multi-beams into a plurality of groups by a plurality of individual blanking mechanisms mounted in the blanking apparatus.

A charged particle beam writing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes an emission unit to emit a charged particle beam, an electron lens to converge the charged particle beam, a blanking deflector, arranged backward of the electron lens with respect to a direction of an optical axis, to deflect the charged particle beam in the case of performing a blanking control of switching between beam-on and beam-off, a blanking aperture member, arranged backward of the blanking deflector with respect to the direction of the optical axis, to block the charged particle beam having been deflected to be in a beam-off state, and a magnet coil, arranged in a center height position of the blanking deflector, to deflect the charged particle beam.

A phase plate capable of suppressing electrification and a method of fabricating the plate are provided. The phase plate is for use in an electron microscope and includes a phase control layer provided with a through-hole and at least one conductive layer covering and closing off the through-hole. The conductive layer is formed on at least one of a first surface and a second surface of the phase control layer, the second surface being on the opposite side of the first surface. The phase control layer produces a given phase difference between electron waves transmitted through the phase control layer and electron waves transmitted through the through-hole.

A phase plate capable of suppressing electrification and a method of fabricating the plate are provided. The phase plate is for use in an electron microscope and includes a phase control layer provided with a through-hole and at least one conductive layer covering and closing off the through-hole. The conductive layer is formed on at least one of a first surface and a second surface of the phase control layer, the second surface being on the opposite side of the first surface. The phase control layer produces a given phase difference between electron waves transmitted through the phase control layer and electron waves transmitted through the through-hole.

A non-contact angle measuring apparatus includes a matter-wave and energy (MWE) particle source and a detector. The MWE particle source is used for generating boson or fermion particles. The detector is used for detecting a plurality peaks or valleys of an interference pattern generated by 1) the boson or fermion particles corresponding to a slit, a bump, or a hole of a first plane and 2) matter waves' wavefront-split associated with the boson or fermion particles reflected by a second plane, wherein angular locations of the plurality peaks or valleys of the interference pattern, a first distance between a joint region of the first plane and the second plane, and a second distance between the detector and the slit are used for deciding an angle between the first plane and the second plane.

A non-contact angle measuring apparatus includes a matter-wave and energy (MWE) particle source and a detector. The MWE particle source is used for generating boson or fermion particles. The detector is used for detecting a plurality peaks or valleys of an interference pattern generated by 1) the boson or fermion particles corresponding to a slit, a bump, or a hole of a first plane and 2) matter waves' wavefront-split associated with the boson or fermion particles reflected by a second plane, wherein angular locations of the plurality peaks or valleys of the interference pattern, a first distance between a joint region of the first plane and the second plane, and a second distance between the detector and the slit are used for deciding an angle between the first plane and the second plane.

A method of using a Charged Particle Microscope, comprising: A specimen holder, for holding a specimen; A source, for producing an irradiating beam of charged particles; An illuminator, for directing said beam so as to irradiate the specimen; A detector, for detecting a flux of emergent radiation emanating from the specimen in response to said irradiation,
additionally comprising the following steps: In said illuminator, providing an aperture plate comprising an array of apertures; Using a deflecting device to scan said beam across said array, thereby alternatingly interrupting and transmitting the beam so as to produce a train of beam pulses; Irradiating said specimen with said train of pulses, and using said detector to perform positionally resolved (temporally discriminated) detection of the attendant emergent radiation.

A system for adaptive electron beam scanning may include an inspection sub-system configured to scan an electron beam across the surface of a sample. The inspection sub-system may include an electron beam source, a sample stage, a set of electron-optic elements, a detector assembly and a controller communicatively coupled to one or more portions of the inspection sub-system. The controller may assess one or more characteristics of one or more portions of an area of the sample for inspection and, responsive to the assessed one or more characteristics, adjust one or more scan parameters of the inspection sub-system.

A system for adaptive electron beam scanning may include an inspection sub-system configured to scan an electron beam across the surface of a sample. The inspection sub-system may include an electron beam source, a sample stage, a set of electron-optic elements, a detector assembly and a controller communicatively coupled to one or more portions of the inspection sub-system. The controller may assess one or more characteristics of one or more portions of an area of the sample for inspection and, responsive to the assessed one or more characteristics, adjust one or more scan parameters of the inspection sub-system.