A beam current density distribution adjustment device is provided. The device includes member pairs in a long side direction of a ribbon beam, the member pairs adjusting a beam current density distribution in the long side direction of the ribbon beam by using an electric field or a magnetic field, members of each of the member pairs being disposed with the ribbon beam in-between the members. Opposing surfaces of the member pairs adjacent to each other in the long side direction of the ribbon beam are partially not parallel to a traveling direction of the ribbon beam.

A multicolumn charged particle beam exposure apparatus includes a plurality of column cells which generate charged particle beams, and the column cell includes a yoke which is made of a magnetic material and generates a magnetic field of a predetermined intensity distribution around an optical axis of the column, and a coil which is wound around the yoke. The coil includes a plurality of divided windings, which are driven by different power sources.

A multi charged particle beam blanking apparatus includes a substrate, where a plurality of passage holes are formed, to let multi-beams of charged particle beams individually pass through a passage hole concerned; a plurality of reference electrodes, each arranged close to a corresponding passage hole, to be applied with a reference potential, not a ground potential, not via a transistor circuit, in an irradiation region of the whole multi-beams; and a plurality of switching electrodes, arranged at the substrate such that each of the plurality of switching electrodes and a corresponding paired one of the plurality of reference electrodes are opposite each other across a corresponding passage hole, to be applied with the reference potential and a control potential different from the reference potential in a switchable manner.

The present disclosure relates a multi-leaf collimator. The multi-leaf collimator may include a plurality of leaves. At least two leaves of the plurality of leaves may be movable parallel to each another. For each leaf of at least some of the plurality of leaves, at least one portion of the leaf may have thicknesses varying along a longitudinal direction of the each leaf. The each leaf may have a first end and a second end along the longitudinal direction of the each leaf.

The present invention relates to a charged particle beam system comprising a deflection subsystem configured to deflect a charged particle beam in a deflection direction based on a sum of analog signals generated by separate digital to analog conversion of a first digital signal and a second digital signal. The present invention further relates to a method of configuring the charged particle beam system so that each of a plurality of regions of interest can be scanned by varying only the first digital signal while the second digital signal is held constant at a value associated with the respective region of interest. The present invention further relates to a method of recording a plurality of images of the regions of interest at the premise of reduced interference due to charge accumulation.

In one embodiment, a waveform generating device includes a first DA converter converting input data, a controller outputting a first signal having a command value based on the input data, and a second signal having a command value differing by a constant value from the first signal, a second DA converter converting the first signal, a third DA converter converting the second signal, and a combiner combining the output of the first DA converter, the output of the second DA converter, and the output of the third DA converter. When a value of a predetermined first high-order bit of the input data is inverted, the controller changes the command value of the first signal such that a value of the first high-order bit or a second high-order bit different from the first high-order bit is inverted.

A method of influencing a charged particle beam (11) propagating along an optical axis (A) is described. The method includes: guiding the charged particle beam (11) through at least one opening (102) of a multipole device (100, 200) that comprises a first multipole (110, 210) with four or more first electrodes (111, 211) and a second multipole (120, 220) with four or more second electrodes (121, 221) arranged in the same sectional plane, the first electrodes and the second electrodes being arranged alternately around the at least one opening (102); and at least one of exciting the first multipole to provide a first field distribution for influencing the charged particle beam in a first manner, and exciting the second multipole to provide a second field distribution for influencing the charged particle beam in a second manner. Further, a multipole device (100, 200) with a first multipole (110, 210) and a second multipole (120, 220) provided on the same substrate as well as a charged particle beam apparatus (500) with a multipole device (100, 200) are provided.

A charged particle beam apparatus acquires an image that is not affected by movement of a stage at a high speed. The apparatus includes: a charged particle source for irradiating a sample with a charged particle beam; a stage on which the sample is placed; a measurement unit for measuring a movement amount of the stage; a deflector; a deflector offset control unit, which is a feedback control unit for adjusting a deflection amount of the deflector according to the movement amount of the stage; a plurality of detectors for detecting secondary charged particles emitted from the sample by irradiation of the charged particle beam; a composition ratio calculation unit that calculates composition ratios of signals output from the detectors based on the deflection amount adjusted by the feedback control unit; and an image generation unit for generating a composite image by compositing the signals using the composition ratio.

A blanking aperture array unit according to the present embodiment includes a chip configured to control a charged particle beam by blanking control of switching whether to irradiate a target with the charged particle beam; a substrate having the chip mounted thereon; a wire configured to electrically connect pads on the chip to the substrate and transmit a control signal for the blanking control from the substrate to the chip through the pads; and a conductive covering member having a first end connected to the substrate and a second end located on the chip, the covering member being provided from the first end to the second end to cover the wire while maintaining electrical insulation from the wire, and at least two end sides of the second end of the covering member are nearer a central portion of the chip than locations of the pads on the chip.

A multi-beam writing method includes acquiring a plurality of deflection coordinates for deflecting a beam to each of a plurality of pixels which are in each beam pitch region of a plurality of beam pitch regions, a number of pixels to be exposed by a beam in the each beam pitch region during each of tracking control period performed such that the multiple beams collectively follow a movement of a stage, and a deflection movement amount of the multiple beams at a time of tracking reset for resetting a tracking starting position after each of the tracking control period has passed; and generating a deflection sequence defined using the plurality of deflection coordinates, the number of pixels to be exposed during each of the tracking control period, and the deflection movement amount of the multiple beams at the time of tracking reset.