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.

A beam irradiation device that irradiates a plurality of electron beams includes a multibeam optical system that emits the plurality of beams to be irradiated on a target; and a controller that controls an irradiation state of each of the plurality of beams in accordance with change in a relative position between the target and the multibeam optical system, and based on the irradiation state of a first beam of the plurality of beams, controls the irradiation state of a second beam of the plurality of beams.

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.

A method for exposing a pattern in an area on a surface using a charged particle beam lithography is disclosed and includes inputting an original set of exposure information for the area. A backscatter is calculated for the area of the pattern based on the exposure information. An artificial background dose is determined for the area. The artificial background dose comprises additional exposure information and is combined with the original set of exposure information creating a modified set of exposure information. A system for exposing a pattern in an area on a surface using a charged particle beam lithography is also disclosed.

An exposure apparatus scans a substrate in a Y-axis direction and also adjusts irradiation position of a plurality of beams, based on correction information obtained from the same number of distortion tables as the beams, the distortion tables including information concerning change of irradiation position of the plurality of beams of a multibeam optical system. Especially, the irradiation position of the plurality of beams in the Y-axis direction is adjusted by individually controlling irradiation timing of the plurality of beams irradiated on the substrate from the multibeam optical system.

A rasterized exposure method implementing a position correction for edge positions to correct for a non-linear relationship between the position of a feature edge (dCD) of a pattern element boundary and the nominal position of the boundary as expressed through the dose of exposure (d) of the edge pixel is provided. The position correction includes: determining a position value of the edge position, determining a corrected position value based on the position value using a predefined non linear function, and modifying the pattern to effectively shift the pattern element boundary in accordance with the corrected position value. The non linear function describes the inverse of the relationship between a nominal position value (d), which is used as input value during exposure of the pattern, and a resulting position (dCD) of the pattern element boundary generated when exposed with the nominal position value.

A multi-charged particle beam writing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a region setting unit configured to set, as an irradiation region for a beam array to be used, the region of the central portion of an irradiation region for all of multiple beams of charged particle beams implemented to be emittable by a multiple beam irradiation mechanism, and a writing mechanism, including the multiple beam irradiation mechanism, configured to write a pattern on a target object with the beam array in the region of the central portion having been set in the multiple beams implemented.

A method of generating a layout pattern includes determining a first energy density indirectly exposed to a first feature of one or more features of a layout pattern on an energy-sensitive material when the one or more features of the layout pattern on the energy-sensitive material are directly exposed by a charged particle beam. The method also includes adjusting a second energy density exposed the first feature when the first feature is directly exposed by the charged particle beam. A total energy density of the first feature that comprises a sum of the first energy density from the indirect exposure and the second energy density from the direct exposure is maintained at about a threshold energy level to fully expose the first feature in the energy-sensitive material.

A method of pattern data preparation includes the following steps. A desired pattern to be formed on a surface of a layer is inputted. A first set of beam shots are determined, and a first calculated pattern on the surface is calculated from the first set of beam shots. The first calculated pattern is rotated, so that a boundary of the desired pattern corresponding to a non-smooth boundary of the first calculated pattern is parallel to a boundary constituted by beam shots. A second set of beam shots are determined to revise the non-smooth boundary of the first calculated pattern, thereby calculating a second calculated pattern being close to the desired pattern on the surface. The present invention also provides a method of forming a pattern in a layer.

A method for calibrating elementary patterns in variable-shaped-beam electron-beam lithography, includes the following steps: producing, by variable-shaped-beam electron-beam lithography, a calibration pattern comprising geometric figures each having a nominal critical dimension, the figures being divided into elementary patterns of smaller dimensions than each the nominal critical dimension; measuring the actual critical dimension of each the geometric figure; and applying a regression method on the basis of the actual critical dimensions thus determined to construct a mathematical model expressing either a variation in dimensions of the elementary patterns, or an error in the exposure dose of the elementary patterns producing an equivalent effect to the variation in dimensions, as a function of the dimensions of the elementary patterns. Application to the preparation of data with a view to transferring a pattern to a substrate by variable-shaped-beam electron-beam lithography.