Methods and systems for exposing a desired shape in an area on a surface using a charged particle beam system include determining a local pattern density for the area, based on an original set of exposure information. A pre-proximity effect correction (PEC) maximum dose for the local pattern density is determined, based on a pre-determined target post-PEC maximum dose. The pre-PEC maximum dose may be calculated near an edge of the desired shape. Methods also include modifying the original set of exposure information with the pre-PEC maximum dose to create a modified set of exposure information.

To provide a three-dimensional printing device that irradiates approximately the same ranges on the surface of a powder layer simultaneously with a plurality of electron beams having different beam shapes. An electron beam column 200 of the three-dimensional printing device 100 includes a plurality of electron sources 20 including electron sources having anisotropically-shaped beam generating units, and beam shape deforming elements 30 that deform the beam shapes of electron beams output from the electron sources 20 on a surface 63 of a powder layer 62. A deflector 50 included in the electron beam column 200 deflects an electron beam output from each of the plurality of electron sources 20 by a distance larger than the beam space between electron beams before passing through the deflector 50.

In one embodiment, a charged particle beam writing method includes virtually dividing a writing region of the substrate into a plurality of first mesh regions in a first mesh size, calculating an area density of the pattern for each of the plurality of first mesh regions to generate first mesh data, converting a mesh size of the first mesh data into a second mesh size greater than the first mesh size to generate second mesh data, performing a convolution operation between the second mesh data and a proximity effect correction kernel to generate third mesh data, converting a mesh size of the third mesh data into the first mesh size to generate fourth mesh data, performing a convolution operation between the first mesh data and a middle range effect correction kernel to generate fifth mesh data, and adding the fourth mesh data and the fifth mesh data together to calculate an irradiation amount of the charged particle beam for each of the plurality of first mesh regions.

In one embodiment, a writing data generating method is for generating writing data used in a multi charged particle beam writing apparatus. The method includes calculating, for a figure containing a curve and a straight line included in design data, a plurality of control points representing the curve and a plurality of vertices of the curve and straight line, and expressing a position of each of the control points and vertices as a displacement from an adjacent control point or vertex to generate the writing data.

In one embodiment, a charged particle beam writing method is for writing a pattern in a writing area on a substrate by irradiating a charged particle beam onto the substrate while moving the substrate to write stripes sequentially, each of the stripes having a width W and shapes obtained by dividing the writing area by the width W. The method includes performing S times (S is an integer greater than or equal to two) strokes, each of the strokes which is a process writing the stripes in a multiplicity of 2n (n is an integer greater than or equal to one) while shifting a reference point of each of the stripes in the width direction by a preset stripe shift amount and changing a moving direction of the substrate for each of the stripes, and writing while the reference point of the stripes in the each of the strokes in the width direction of the stripes is shifted by a preset stroke shift amount in each of the strokes.

In one embodiment, a data generation method is for calculating a coverage of a polygon in each of a plurality of pixels obtained by dividing a target to be irradiated with a charged particle beam into predetermined sizes. The method includes dividing a parametric curve that defines a pattern shape into a plurality of parametric curves, calculating, for each of the plurality of parametric curves, an area of a region surrounded by a segment connecting end points among control points of the parametric curve and the parametric curve, calculating positions of vertexes of a figure having an area equivalent to the calculated area and having, as one side thereof, the segment connecting the end points, and generating the polygon by using the vertexes.

A multi-charged particle beam writing apparatus includes a movable stage to mount a substrate thereon, a shot data generation circuit to generate shot data of each shot of multiple charged particle beams, a shift amount calculation circuit to calculate a shift amount for collectively correcting positions of all of the multiple charged particle beams of the k-th shot, based on parameters related to at least the (k+1)th and subsequent shots (k being a natural number) of the multiple charged particle beams, and a writing mechanism including a deflector for deflecting the multiple charged particle beams, and to perform the k-th shot onto the substrate with the multiple charged particle beams while shifting the all of the multiple charged particle beams of the k-th shot by collective deflection according to the shift amount.

Methods for exposing a desired shape in an area on a surface using a charged particle beam system include determining a local pattern density for the area of the desired shape based on an original set of exposure information. A backscatter for a sub area is calculated, based on the original set of exposure information. Dosage for at least one pixel in a plurality of pixels in the sub area is increased, in a location where the backscatter of the sub area is below a pre-determined threshold, thereby increasing the backscatter of the sub area. A pre-PEC maximum dose is determined for the local pattern density, based on a pre-determined target post-PEC maximum dose. The original set of exposure information is modified with the pre-PEC maximum dose and the increased dosage of the at least one pixel in the sub area to create a modified set of exposure information.

Methods include inputting an array of pixels, where each pixel in the array of pixels has a pixel dose. The array of pixels represents dosage on a surface to be exposed with a plurality of patterns, each pattern of the plurality of patterns having an edge. A target bias is input. An edge of a pattern in the plurality of patterns is identified. For each pixel which is in a neighborhood of the identified edge, a calculated pixel dose is calculated such that the identified edge is relocated by the target bias. The array of pixels with the calculated pixel doses is output. Systems for performing the methods are also disclosed.

Position shifts caused by charging phenomena can be corrected with high accuracy. A charged particle beam writing apparatus includes an exposure-amount distribution calculator calculating an exposure amount distribution of a charged particle beam using a pattern density distribution and a dose distribution, a fogging charged particle amount distribution calculator calculating a plurality of fogging charged particle amount distributions by convoluting each of a plurality of distribution functions for fogging charged particles with the exposure amount distribution, a charge-amount distribution calculator calculating a charge amount distribution due to direct charge using the pattern density distribution, the dose distribution, and the exposure amount distribution, and calculating a plurality of charge amount distributions due to fogging charge using the plurality of fogging charged particle amount distributions, a position shift amount calculator calculating a position shift amount of a writing position based on the charge amount distribution due to direct charge and the plurality of charge amount distributions due to fogging charge, a corrector correcting an exposure position using the position shift amount, and a writer exposing the corrected exposure position to a charged particle beam.