An exposure apparatus including a plurality of column units to generate a plurality of charged particle beams arrayed in a first direction, a column control unit to separately control irradiation timings of the charged particle beams, a converting unit to convert design data describing an arrangement coordinate of device patterns as a base into exposure data including second data which is divided into belt-like regions having a width of one charged particle beam and extending in a second direction, and first data which specifies the second data based on a position of the first direction, a first storing unit to store the exposure data, and a distributing unit to distribute each of the column units by reconfiguring the exposure data in accordance with an exposure order, and a method of creating exposure data structure and beam control data for such an exposure apparatus are provided.

Systems and methods for the selective processing of a particular portion of a workpiece are disclosed. For example, the outer portion may be processed by directing an ion beam toward a first position on the workpiece, where the ion beam extends beyond the outer edge of the workpiece at two first locations. The workpiece is then rotated relative to the ion beam about its center so that certain regions of the outer portion are exposed to the ion beam. The workpiece is then moved relative to the ion beam to a second position and rotated in the opposite direction so that all regions of the outer portion are exposed to the ion beam. This process may be repeated a plurality of times. The ion beam may perform any process, such as ion implantation, etching or deposition.

A charged-particle beam exposure method includes providing a sample that has patterns having shot densities different from each other, using the sample to obtain pattern drift values correlated with the shot densities, and irradiating the sample with a charged-particle beam to perform an exposure process on the sample. The irradiating of the sample with the charged-particle beam is carried out while a deflection voltage, which is applied to the charged-particle beam to deflect the charged-particle beam, is corrected based on the pattern drift value corresponding to a shot density of a pattern to be formed on the sample.

The present application discloses a scanning electron microscopic direct-write lithography system based on a compliant nano servo motion system, which includes an electron chamber, an ion chamber, a specimen chamber and a control system, wherein the electron chamber includes an electron chamber housing, an electron gun, an anode, an electron beam blanker, an electromagnetic lens and an electron beam deflection coil, the ion chamber includes an ion chamber housing, an ion source, an ion beam-scanning deflection electrode and the like, the specimen chamber includes a specimen chamber housing, a secondary electron detector, a nanoscale-precision compliant servo motion stage system and the like; control system includes a computer, an electron beam scanning controller, an ion beam scanning controller and the like.

Complex and fine patterns may be formed by an exposure apparatus that decreases movement error of a stage including a beam generating section that generates a charged particle beam, a stage section that has a sample mounted thereon and moves the sample relative to the beam generating section, a detecting section that detects a position of the stage section, a predicting section that generates a predicted drive amount obtained by predicting a drive amount of the stage section based on a detected position of the stage section, and an irradiation control section that performs irradiation control for irradiating the sample with the charged particle beam, based on the predicted drive amount.

To form a complex and fine pattern by combining optical exposure technology and charged particle beam exposure technology, provided is an exposure apparatus that radiates a charged particle beam at a position corresponding to a line pattern on a sample, including a beam generating section that generates a plurality of the charged particle beams at different irradiation positions in a width direction of the line pattern; a scanning control section that performs scanning with the irradiation positions of the charged particle beams along a longitudinal direction of the line pattern; a selecting section that selects at least one charged particle beam to irradiate the sample from among the plurality of charged particle beams, at a designated irradiation position in the longitudinal direction of the line pattern; and an irradiation control section that controls the at least one selected charged particle beam to irradiate the sample.

One embodiment relates to an apparatus for electron beam lithography. The apparatus includes an array of cold cathode electron sources for generating an array of electron beams, and driver circuitry underlying the array of electron sources. The driver circuitry is configured to selectively blank individual electron beams so as to create a patterned array of electron beams. The apparatus further includes an imaging system configured to focus and demagnify the patterned array of electron beams and a movable stage for holding a target substrate. The movable stage is configured to translate the target substrate under the patterned array of electron beams. A computer may be configured to send drive signals to the driver circuitry to cause a pattern to be written onto the target substrate to roll across the array in synchronization with the translation of the target substrate. Other embodiments, aspects and feature are also disclosed.

A method for initializing a first operation in a first module at a first start time value in a first time base, the method comprising generating a clock signal, generating a second time base in the first module based on the clock signal, determining a second sync value in the second time base, determining a first sync value in the first time base corresponding to a second sync value in the second time base, determining a start trigger value in the second time base based on the first sync value and the start time value in the first time base, and initializing the first operation in the first module based on the start trigger value and a current value of the second time base in the first module.

A multi charged particle beam writing method includes calculating an offset dose to irradiate all the small regions by multiplying one beam dose equivalent to a maximum irradiation time of multi-beams of each pass in multiple writing by a maximum number of defective beams being always ON to irradiate one of the small regions; calculating an incident dose, in addition to the offset dose, for each of the small regions; and performing multiple writing, using multi-beams including a defective beam being always ON, such that a beam of a total dose, between the incident dose and the offset dose, irradiates a corresponding small region for each small region, while switching a beam for each pass of the multiple writing, and controlling an irradiation time equivalent to the offset dose by a common blanking mechanism collectively blanking-controlling the multi-beams.

The present disclosure provides methods of electron-beam (e-beam) lithography process. The method includes loading a substrate to an electron-beam (e-beam) system such that a first subset of fields defined on the substrate is arrayed on the substrate along a first direction. The method also includes positioning a plurality of e-beam columns having a first subset of e-beam columns arrayed along the first direction. The e-beam columns of the first subset of e-beam columns are directed to different ones of the first subset of fields. The method also includes performing a first exposing process in a scan mode such that the plurality of e-beam columns scans the substrate along the first direction.