According to example embodiments, there is provided a photoresist inspection method. The photoresist inspection method includes: providing a photoresist on a substrate; irradiating the photoresist with an electron beam and an excitation beam; detecting fluorescent light generated by the photoresist in response to the excitation beam; and evaluating the photoresist based on the fluorescent light.

A method for measuring a distance of diffusion of a curing catalyst for a thermosetting silicon-containing material includes the steps of: forming a silicon-containing film from a composition containing a thermosetting silicon-containing material, a curing catalyst and a solvent; coating the silicon-containing film with a photosensitive resin composition containing a resin whose solubility in alkaline developer is increased by the action of an acid, an acid generator and a solvent, and subsequently heating to prepare a substrate on which the silicon-containing film and a resin film are formed; irradiating the substrate with a high energy beam or an electron beam to generate an acid and heat-treating the substrate to increase the solubility of the resin in an alkaline developer by the action of the acid in the resin film; dissolving the resin film in an alkaline developer; and measuring a film thickness of the remaining resin.

A resist composition including: a compound including an anion moiety and a cation moiety and represented by the following Formula (bd1); and an organic solvent having a hydroxyl group in which Rx.sup.1 to Rx.sup.4 each represent a hydrocarbon group or a hydrogen atom, or may be bonded to each other to form a ring structure; Ry.sup.1 and Ry.sup.2 each independently represent a hydrocarbon group or a hydrogen atom, or may be bonded to each other to form a ring structure; Rz.sup.1 to Rz.sup.4 each represent a hydrocarbon group or a hydrogen atom, or may be bonded to each other to form a ring structure; at least one of Rx.sup.1 to Rx.sup.4, Ry.sup.1 and Ry.sup.2 and Rz.sup.1 to Rz.sup.4 has an anionic group; and M.sup.m+ represents an organic cation) ##STR00001##

A resist underlayer film for lithography does not cause intermixing with a resist layer, has high dry etching resistance and high heat resistance, and generates a low amount of sublimate. A resist underlayer film-forming composition containing a polymer having a unit structure of the following formula (1):

##STR00001##

wherein A is a divalent group having at least two amino groups, the group is derived from a compound having a condensed ring structure and an aromatic group for substituting a hydrogen atom on the condensed ring, and B.sup.1 and B.sup.2 are each independently a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, a benzene ring group, a condensed ring group, or a combination thereof, or B.sup.1 and B.sup.2 optionally form a ring with a carbon atom bonded to B.sup.1 and B.

A 3D nanoprinter electron beam lithography module for a lithography system, such as a scanning electron microscope (SEM) or an environmental SEM (ESEM) with a beam blanker and electron beam lithography attachment, but generally applicable to any electron beam lithography capable system. The module is comprised of an in-situ spin-coating stage that is compatible with a cooling-SEM stage, with a spin-coating motor, a spin-coating sample stub, a liquid waste collector cup, a liquid dispensing arm holding a tube bundle that is connected via tubing to micro-syringe pumps or a pressure driven flow controller or pumps connected to fluid reservoirs, an electron beam scan generator control box, electrical feedthroughs, control electronics, and a computing system responsible for controlling the entire module. The dispensing arm can be controlled by a servo motor.

A system and method (referred to as the system) fabricates controllable atomic assemblies in two and three dimensions. The systems identify by a non-invasive imager, a local atomic structure, distribution of vacancies, and dopant atoms and modify, by a microscopic modifier, the local atomic structure, via electron beam irradiation. The systems store, by a knowledge base, cause-and-effect relationships based on a non-invasive imaging and electron scans. The systems detect, by detectors, changes in the local atomic structure induced by the electron irradiation; and fabricate, a modified atomic structure by a beam control software and feedback.

A difference between a calculated amount of drift and an actual amount of drift is reduced. According to one aspect of the present invention, a charged particle beam writing apparatus includes a deflector adjusting an irradiation position of the charged particle beam with respect to a substrate placed on a stage, a shot data generator generating shot data from writing data, the shot data including a shot position and beam ON and OFF times for each shot, a drift corrector referring to a plurality of pieces of the generated shot data, calculating an amount of drift of the irradiation position of the charged particle beam with which the substrate is irradiated, and generating correction information for correcting an irradiation position deviation based on the amount of drift, a deflection controller controlling a deflection amount achieved by the deflector based on the shot data and the correction information, and a dummy irradiation instructor instructing execution of dummy irradiation in a writing process to irradiate with the charged particle beam in a predetermined irradiation amount at a position different from the substrate on the stage.

A resist composition including a compound (D0) represented by general formula (d0) and a resin component (A1) has a structural unit (a0) in which a compound represented by general formula (a0-1) has a polymerizable group within the W.sup.1 portion converted into a main chain (in formula (d0), Rd.sup.01 represents a fluorine atom or a fluorinated alkyl group; In formula (a0-1), W.sup.1 represents a polymerizable group-containing group; C.sup.t represents a tertiary carbon atom, and the α-position of C.sup.t is a carbon atom which constitutes a carbon-carbon unsaturated bond; R.sup.11 represents an aromatic hydrocarbon group; or a chain hydrocarbon group; R.sup.12 and R.sup.13 each independently represents a chain hydrocarbon group, or R.sup.12 and R.sup.13 are mutually bonded to form a cyclic group). ##STR00001##

The purpose of the present invention is to correct a beam irradiation position shift caused by charging phenomena with high accuracy. A charged particle beam writing method includes virtually dividing a writing region of the substrate so as to have a predetermined mesh size and calculating a pattern density distribution representing an arrangement ratio of the pattern for each mesh region, calculating a dose distribution using the pattern density distribution, calculating an irradiation amount distribution using the pattern density distribution and the dose distribution, calculating a fogging charged particle amount distribution, calculating a charge amount distribution due to direct charge and a charge amount distribution due to fogging charge, calculating a position shift of a writing position based on the charge amount distribution due to direct charge and the charge amount distribution due to fogging charge, correcting an irradiation position using the position shift, and irradiating the corrected irradiation position with the charged particle beam with which a potential of a surface of the substrate becomes higher than a potential of a bottom surface of ae potential regulation member.

The present invention relates to a resist composition, especially for use in the production of electronic components via electron beam lithography. In addition to the usual base polymeric component (resist polymer), a secondary electron generator is included in resist compositions of the invention in order to promote secondary electron generation. This unique combination of components increases the exposure sensitivity of resists in a controlled fashion which facilitates the effective production of high-resolution patterned substrates (and consequential electronic components), but at much higher write speeds.