Aspects of the disclosure relate to apparatus for the fabrication of waveguides. In one example, an angled ion source is utilized to project ions toward a substrate to form a waveguide which includes angled gratings. In another example, an angled electron beam source is utilized to project electrons toward a substrate to form a waveguide which includes angled gratings. Further aspects of the disclosure provide for methods of forming angled gratings on waveguides utilizing an angled ion beam source and an angled electron beam source.

The invention provides an exposure apparatus (100) including a formation module (122) which forms charged particle beams with different irradiation positions on a specimen. The formation module (122) includes: a particle source (20) which emits the charged particle beams from an emission region (21) in which a width in a longitudinal direction is different from and a width in a lateral direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction; an aperture array device (60) provided with openings (62) arranged in an illuminated region (61) in which a width in a longitudinal direction is different from a width in a lateral direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction; illumination lenses (30, 50) provided between the particle source (20) and the aperture array device (60); and a beam cross-section deformation device (40) which is provided between the particle source (20) and the aperture array device (60), and deforms a cross-sectional shape of the charged particle beams into an anisotropic shape by an action of a magnetic field or an electric field.

In one embodiment, a method for evaluating a shaping aperture array includes forming a plurality of evaluation patterns on a substrate, the evaluation patterns each including a first line portion along a first direction and a second line portion along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction by performing writing using a plurality of beams formed by passage of a charged particle beam through a shaping aperture array having a plurality of holes, measuring, for each of the plurality of evaluation patterns, a position of the first line portion in the second direction, a position of the second line portion in the first direction, and a line width of the first line portion or the second line portion, and evaluating accuracy of the plurality of holes based on a result of measurement. Each evaluation pattern is written using one beam that has passed through a corresponding one of the holes in the shaping aperture array.

A method of producing a corrected beam of charged particles for use in a charged-particle microscope, comprising the following steps: Providing a non-monoenergetic input beam of charged particles; Passing said input beam through an optical module comprising a series arrangement of: A stigmator, thereby producing an astigmatism-compensated, energy-dispersed intermediate beam with a particular monoenergetic line focus direction; A beam selector, comprising a slit that is rotationally oriented so as to match a direction of the slit to said line focus direction, thereby producing an output beam comprising an energy-discriminated portion of said intermediate beam.

The present invention relates to a multi-stage vacuum equipment, preferably a two-stage equipment, whose normal operation requires different pressures to be set, wherein the pressure variation may be achieved by a Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) wire movement of a suitable element. The invention further discloses a method for operating said multi-stage vacuum equipment controlled by a SMA actuator.

Charged particle beam systems and methods, such as a multi beam charged particle beam system and related methods, can compensate sample charging.

Lithographic apparatuses suitable for, and methodologies involving, complementary e-beam lithography (CEBL) are described. In an example, a blanker aperture array (BAA) for an e-beam tool includes a first column of openings along a first direction, each of the openings of the first column of openings having dog-eared corners. The BAA also includes a second column of openings along the first direction and staggered from the first column of openings, each of the openings of the second column of openings having dog-eared corners. The first and second columns of openings together form an array having a pitch in the first direction. A scan direction of the BAA is along a second direction, orthogonal to the first direction. The pitch of the array corresponds to half of a minimal pitch layout of a target pattern of lines for orientation parallel with the second direction.

Lithographic apparatuses suitable for, and methodologies involving, complementary e-beam lithography (CEBL) are described. In an example, a column for an e-beam direct write lithography tool includes a first blanker aperture array (BAA) including a staggered array of openings having a pitch along an array direction. The array direction is orthogonal to a scan direction. Each opening has a first dimension in the array direction. The column also includes a second BAA including a staggered array of openings having the pitch along the array direction. Each opening has a second dimension in the array direction, the second dimension greater than the first dimension.

Provided is a charged particle beam apparatus capable of stably obtaining a spherical aberration correction effect. The charged particle beam apparatus includes: a charged particle beam aperture stop 121 and an electrode 122 that are arranged on an optical axis between the charged particle beam source 101 and the objective lens 105; and a power supply 108 that applies a voltage between the charged particle beam aperture stop 121 and the electrode 122, in which the voltage that is applied from the electrode to the charged particle beam aperture stop by the power supply is a voltage having a polarity opposite to a charge of the charged particle beam, the electrode 122 includes an annular aperture 205, and the charged particle beam aperture stop 121 includes a plurality of apertures 201 that are arranged at positions overlapping the annular aperture 205 of the electrode 122 when viewed in a direction Z along the optical axis.

A secondary projection imaging system in a multi-beam apparatus is proposed, which makes the secondary electron detection with high collection efficiency and low cross-talk. The system employs one zoom lens, one projection lens and one anti-scanning deflection unit. The zoom lens and the projection lens respectively perform the zoom function and the anti-rotating function to remain the total imaging magnification and the total image rotation with respect to the landing energies and/or the currents of the plural primary beamlets. The anti-scanning deflection unit performs the anti-scanning function to eliminate the dynamic image displacement due to the deflection scanning of the plural primary beamlets.