Systems, devices, and methods for performing a non-contact electrical measurement (NCEM) on a NCEM-enabled cell included in a NCEM-enabled cell vehicle may be configured to perform NCEMs while the NCEM-enabled cell vehicle is moving. The movement may be due to vibrations in the system and/or movement of a movable stage on which the NCEM-enabled cell vehicle is positioned. Position information for an electron beam column producing the electron beam performing the NCEMs and/or for the moving stage may be used to align the electron beam with targets on the NCEM-enabled cell vehicle while it is moving.

A method for projecting a particle beam onto a substrate, the method includes a step of calculating a correction of the scattering effects of the beam by means of a point spread function modelling the forward scattering effects of the particles; a step of modifying a dose profile of the beam, implementing the correction thus calculated; and a step of projecting the beam, the dose profile of which has been modified, onto the substrate, and being wherein the point spread function is, or comprises by way of expression of a linear combination, a two-dimensional double sigmoid function. A method to e-beam lithography is also provided.

A method comprising contact-free positioning a template mask wafer having a template device pattern relative to a predetermined surface area section of a device pattern wafer. The template mask wafer includes a semitransparent layer. The method includes contact-free aligning one or more mask alignment marks of the template mask wafer with one or more alignment marks of the device pattern wafer and contacting the mask wafer on the device pattern wafer. The method includes transferring a template device pattern of the template mask wafer onto the predetermined surface area section of the device pattern wafer using an electron beam while heat conduction is distributed throughout the mask wafer to maintain a low temperature rise in the mask wafer during the transferring. A system is also provided.

A method comprising contact-free positioning a template mask wafer having a template device pattern relative to a predetermined surface area section of a device pattern wafer. The template mask wafer includes a semitransparent layer. The method includes contact-free aligning one or more mask alignment marks of the template mask wafer with one or more alignment marks of the device pattern wafer and contacting the mask wafer on the device pattern wafer. The method includes transferring a template device pattern of the template mask wafer onto the predetermined surface area section of the device pattern wafer using an electron beam while heat conduction is distributed throughout the mask wafer to maintain a low temperature rise in the mask wafer during the transferring. A system is also provided.

Systems and methods are described herein for electron-beam lithography. In some aspects, a photo electron emitter and channel array assembly (PEECAA) may include a photo-electron emitting cathode having a uniform planar surface and an array of beam channels proximate to the cathode. In some cases, at least one of the cathode or the array of beam channels is removable from the PEECAA. The array of beam channels may include a grid of apertures, a plurality of beam channels, and a shared lens array including a plurality of lenses proximate to an exit of the plurality of beam channels. Individual apertures of the grid of apertures align with individual beam channels to allow electrons from the cathode to pass through the array of beam channels and the shared lens array to form a pixelated pattern, such that, upon exposure to the target, the pixelated pattern is permanently formed on the target.

According to one embodiment, a pattern formation method includes placing an imprint resist film on a substrate, then imprinting a pattern in the imprint resist film. The pattern has a first loop section in a first end portion and a second loop section in a second end portion. After the imprint resist film has been patterned, it is selectively irradiated between the first loop section and the second loop section. The imprint resist film is then etched under conditions leaving the selectively irradiated portion of the imprint resist film and removing the unirradiated portion of the imprint resist film.

A method for electron beam lithography. The method may comprise fabricating a multi-layer mask and interposing the multi-layer mask between an electron beam and an energy-sensitive layer to thereby expose the energy-sensitive layer to the electron beam through the mask. Fabricating the multi-layer mask may comprises providing a first mask layer fabricated from a first mask material (e.g. silicon nitride) which defines one or more feature apertures corresponding to features of interest and coating an electron-energy-reducing material (e.g. gold) onto the first mask layer to thereby provide a second mask layer.

An e-beam apparatus is disclosed, the tool comprising an electron optics system configured to project an e-beam onto an object, an object table to hold the object, and a positioning device configured to move the object table relative to the electron optics system. The positioning device comprises a short stroke stage configured to move the object table relative to the electron optics system and a long stroke stage configured to move the short stroke stage relative to the electron optics system. The e-beam apparatus further comprises a magnetic shield to shield the electron optics system from a magnetic disturbance generated by the positioning device. The magnetic shield may be arranged between the positioning device and the electron optics system.

In one embodiment, a multi charged particle beam writing apparatus includes a plurality of reflective marks disposed on a stage, an inspection aperture member configured to allow one beam to pass therethrough, a first detector detecting a beam current of a beam passed through the inspection aperture member, a second detector detecting charged particles reflected from the reflective marks, a first beam shape calculator generating a beam image based on the beam currents detected by the first detector and calculating a reference beam shape, and a second beam shape calculator calculating a beam shape based on changes in intensity of the reflected charged particles and a position of the stage. The reference beam shape is calculated before writing. During writing, the beam shape based on reflected charged particles is calculated, and variation of the beam shape is added to the reference beam shape.

In a charged-particle lithography apparatus, during writing a desired pattern, the duration of exposure slots is adapted to compensate for fluctuations of the particle beam. In the writing process the aperture images are mutually overlapping on the target so each pixel is exposed through a number of aperture images overlapping at the respective pixel, which results in an exposure of the respective pixel through an effective pixel exposure time, i.e., the sum of durations of contributing exposure slots, and the exposure slot durations are adjusted by: (i) determining a desired duration of the effective pixel exposure time for the pixels, as a function of the time of exposure of the pixels, (ii) determining contributing exposure slots for the pixels, (iii) calculating durations for the contributing exposure slots thus determined such that the sum of the durations over said contributing exposure slots is an actual effective exposure time which approximates said desired duration of the effective pixel exposure time.

The durations in step (iii) are calculated in accordance with a predetermined set of allowed durations, wherein at least one of the durations thus calculated is different from the other durations selected for said set of exposure slots