A multi charged particle beam apparatus irradiates a substrate placed on a stage with a multi charged particle beam through an illumination optical system including a plurality of components, and an objective lens successively. In one embodiment, an optical system adjustment method for the multi charged particle beam apparatus includes measuring positional deviation amounts of a plurality of individual beams included in the multi charged particle beam at two or more different heights in an optical axis direction of a measurement surface or an imaging position of the multi charged particle beam, calculating a normalized position difference based on the two or more heights and the positional deviation amounts, the normalized position difference being an illumination system aberration equivalent amount of the illumination optical system, and adjusting a set value for at least one of the plurality of components using a value of the normalized position difference.

A multi-electron beam writing apparatus includes a light source array to include plural light sources and generate plural first lights, a multi-lens array to include plural first lenses, and to divide the plural first lights into plural second lights by that each of the plural first lights illuminates a corresponding lens set of plural lens sets each composed of plural second lenses being a portion of the plural first lenses and by that each of lenses, being at least a part of the plural second lenses, is irradiated with two or more first lights of the plural first lights, a photoemissive surface to receive the plural second lights through its upper surface, and emit multiple photoelectron beams from its back surface, and a blanking aperture array mechanism to perform an individual blanking control by individually switching between ON and OFF of each of the multiple photoelectron beams.

The invention relates to an exposure apparatus and a method for projecting a charged particle beam onto a target. The exposure apparatus comprises a charged particle optical arrangement comprising a charged particle source for generating a charged particle beam and a charged particle blocking element and/or a current limiting element for blocking at least a part of a charged particle beam from a charged particle source. The charged particle blocking element and the current limiting element comprise a substantially flat substrate provided with an absorbing layer comprising Boron, Carbon or Beryllium. The substrate further preferably comprises one or more apertures for transmitting charged particles. The absorbing layer is arranged spaced apart from the at least one aperture.

A semiconductor device according to an embodiment includes: a substrate including a plurality of through holes provided at predetermined intervals along a first direction in a substrate surface and along a second direction intersecting the first direction in the substrate surface; an insulating layer provided on the substrate, the insulating layer being penetrated by the through holes; a plurality of first electrodes provided on the insulating layer, the first electrodes being adjacent to the respective through holes in the first direction; a plurality of second electrodes provided on the insulating layer, the second electrodes being adjacent to the respective through holes in the first direction, the second electrodes being provided to face the first electrodes, the second electrodes being held at a predetermined potential; and a wiring layer provided on the insulating layer, the wiring layer electrically connecting the adjacent second electrodes.

A semiconductor device according to the embodiments includes: a first substrate having a plurality of first through-holes; a plurality of first electrodes provided on the first substrate to be adjacent to the respective first through-holes; a plurality of second electrodes provided on the first substrate to be adjacent to the respective first through-holes and to face the respective first electrodes; and a second substrate provided to face the first substrate, the second substrate having a plurality of second through-holes facing the respective first through-holes, at least a surface of the second substrate facing the first substrate having conductivity, the second substrate being electrically connected to the second electrodes.

A multi-beam writing method includes performing the k-th tracking control (k being a natural number) by beam deflection in order to follow movement of the stage while collecting each beam of multiple beams, performing a plurality of shots of the multiple beams by the each beam simultaneously shifting in a rectangular or square irradiation region, which is surrounded by the size of the beam pitch and corresponding to the each beam, while performing the k-th tracking control, and returning, after the period of the k-th tracking control has passed, the tracking position to a position which is obtained by adding an offset of an integer multiple of the size of the beam pitch to the tracking starting position of the k-th tracking control where the k-th tracking control started, to be as a starting position of the (k+1)th tracking control.

Lithographic apparatuses suitable for complementary e-beam lithography (CEBL) are described. In an example, a method of forming a pattern for a semiconductor structure includes forming a pattern of parallel lines above a substrate. The method also includes aligning the substrate in an e-beam tool to provide the pattern of parallel lines parallel with a scan direction of the e-beam tool. The e-beam tool includes a column having a blanker aperture array (BAA) with a staggered pair of columns of openings along an array direction orthogonal to the scan direction. The method also includes forming a pattern of cuts or vias in or above the pattern of parallel lines to provide line breaks for the pattern of parallel lines by scanning the substrate along the scan direction. A cumulative current through the column has a non-zero and substantially uniform cumulative current value throughout the scanning.

The invention relates to an exposure apparatus and a method for projecting a charged particle beam onto a target. The exposure apparatus comprises a charged particle optical arrangement comprising a charged particle source for generating a charged particle beam and a charged particle blocking element and/or a current limiting element for blocking at least a part of a charged particle beam from a charged particle source. The charged particle blocking element and the current limiting element comprise a substantially flat substrate provided with an absorbing layer comprising Boron, Carbon or Beryllium. The substrate further preferably comprises one or more apertures for transmitting charged particles. The absorbing layer is arranged spaced apart from the at least one aperture.

The invention relates to a multi-beam pattern definition device for use in a particle-beam processing or inspection apparatus, said device being adapted to be irradiated with a beam of electrically charged particles and allow passage of the beam through a plurality of apertures thus forming a corresponding number of beamlets, said device comprising an aperture array device in which at least two sets of apertures are realized, an opening array device located downstream of the aperture array device having a plurality of openings configured for the passage of beamlets, said opening array device comprises impact regions, wherein charged impinge upon said impact regions.

This disclosure relates to a surface processing apparatus for use in the surface processing of a substrate. The surface processing apparatus comprises a plasma source including a wall defining a plasma chamber and an excitation source adjacent the wall and a processing chamber in which a substrate having a predetermined maximum lateral dimension is mounted in use, the processing chamber being operatively connected to the plasma source. A transmission plate for the transmission of plasma in use is arranged between the plasma source and processing chamber, the transmission plate comprising a plurality of apertures. The apertures follow a non-rectilinear path through the transmission plate such that there is no line of sight in use between a substrate with the predetermined maximum lateral dimension mounted in the processing chamber and the most intense region of the plasma in the plasma chamber.