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 charged particle beam writing apparatus includes an area density calculation unit to calculate a pattern area density weighted using a dose modulation value, which has previously been input from an outside and in which an amount of correction of a dimension variation due to a proximity effect has been included, a fogging correction dose coefficient calculation unit to calculate a fogging correction dose coefficient for correcting a dimension variation due to a fogging effect by using the pattern area density weighted using the dose modulation value having been input from the outside, a dose calculation unit to calculates a dose of a charged particle beam by using the fogging correction dose coefficient and the dose modulation value, and a writing unit to write a pattern on a target object with the charged particle beam of the dose.

A method for irradiating a target with a beam of energetic electrically charged particles, wherein the target comprises an exposure region where an exposure by said beam is to be performed, and the exposure of a desired pattern is done employing a multitude of exposure positions on the target. Each exposure position represents the location of one of a multitude of exposure spots of uniform size and shape, with each exposure spot covering at least one pattern pixel of the desired pattern. The exposure positions are located within a number of mutually separate cluster areas which are defined at respective fixed locations on the target. In each cluster area the exposure position are within a given neighboring distance to a next neighboring exposure position, while the cluster areas are separated from each other by spaces free of exposure positions, which space has a width, which is at least the double of the neighboring distance.

In one embodiment, a multi-charged-particle-beam writing method includes dividing a data path into a plurality of first blocks based on at least either one of each of a plurality of input/output circuits and a plurality of wiring groups, and calculating a first shift amount for multiple beams for each of the plurality of first blocks. The data path is for inputting control data to a cell array on a blanking aperture array substrate. The control data is for controlling ON/OFF of each beam of the multiple beams. Each of the plurality of wiring groups includes a plurality of pieces of wiring connected to the plurality of input/output circuits and grouped together based on inter-wiring distance. The first shift amount is due to at least one of an electric field and a magnetic field for each of the plurality of first blocks. An irradiation position or a dose of the multiple beams is corrected based on the first shift amount, and irradiation is performed.

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.

In one embodiment, a charged particle beam drawing method includes calculating a resist film reduction amount caused by etching from data representing a relation between a resist area rate and a resist film reduction amount and from an area rate of a pattern to be drawn, calculating a remaining resist-film thickness distribution by employing both an initial thickness of the resist film and the resist film reduction amount, estimating a dimension distribution of the light-shielding film pattern from the remaining resist-film thickness distribution, creating a first dimension correction map by determining a dimension correction amount from the estimated dimension distribution, creating a third dimension correction map by synthesizing a second dimension correction map to correct a relatively macroscopic dimensional variation and the first dimension correction map, and calculating an irradiation dose of the charged particle beam by employing the third dimension correction map.

A charged particle beam writing apparatus includes an area density calculation unit to calculate a pattern area density weighted using a dose modulation value, which has previously been input from an outside and in which an amount of correction of a dimension variation due to a proximity effect has been included, a fogging correction dose coefficient calculation unit to calculate a fogging correction dose coefficient for correcting a dimension variation due to a fogging effect by using the pattern area density weighted using the dose modulation value having been input from the outside, a dose calculation unit to calculates a dose of a charged particle beam by using the fogging correction dose coefficient and the dose modulation value, and a writing unit to write a pattern on a target object with the charged particle beam of the dose.

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 parameter acquiring method for dose correction of a charged particle beam includes writing evaluation patterns on a substrate coated with resist; writing, while varying writing condition, a peripheral pattern on a periphery of any different one of the evaluation patterns, after an ignorable time as to influence of resist temperature increase due to writing of an evaluation pattern concerned has passed; and calculating a parameter for defining correlation among a width dimension change amount of the evaluation pattern concerned, a temperature increase amount of the evaluation pattern concerned, and a backscatter dose reaching the evaluation pattern concerned, by using, under each writing condition, a width dimension of the evaluation pattern concerned, the temperature increase amount of the evaluation pattern concerned at each shot time, and the backscatter dose reaching the evaluation pattern concerned from each shot.

The present disclosure provides one embodiment of an IC method. First pattern densities (PDs) of a plurality of templates of an IC design layout are received. Then a high PD outlier template and a low PD outlier template from the plurality of templates are identified. The high PD outlier template is split into multiple subsets of template and each subset of template carries a portion of PD of the high PD outlier template. A PD uniformity (PDU) optimization is performed to the low PD outlier template and multiple individual exposure processes are applied by using respective subset of templates.