A multi-beam pattern definition device for use in a particle-beam processing or inspection apparatus, which is irradiated with a beam of electrically charged particles and allows passage of the beam through a plurality of apertures to form corresponding beamlets, comprises an aperture array device in which said apertures are realized according to several sets of apertures arranged in respective aperture arrangements, and an absorber array device having a plurality of openings configured for the passage of at least a subset of beamlets that are formed by the apertures. The absorber array device comprises a plurality of openings corresponding to one of the aperture arrangements of the aperture array device, whereas it includes a charged-particle absorbing structure comprising absorbing regions surrounded by elevated regions and configured to absorb charged particles impinging thereupon at locations corresponding to apertures of the other aperture arrangements of the aperture array device, effectively confining the effects of irradiated particles and electric charge therein.

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.

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 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.

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.

The disclosure relates to a photolithography method based on electronic beam. The method includes: providing an electronic beam; making the electron beam transmit a two dimensional nanomaterial to form a transmission electron beam and a number of diffraction electron beams; shielding the transmission electron beam; and radiating a surface of an object by the plurality of diffraction electron beams. The photolithography method is high efficiency and has low cost.

In the present invention, at the time of measuring, using a CD-SEM, a length of a resist that shrinks when irradiated with an electron beam, in order to highly accurately estimate a shape and dimensions of the resist before shrink, a shrink database with respect to various patterns is previously prepared, said shrink database containing cross-sectional shape data obtained prior to electron beam irradiation, a cross-sectional shape data group and a CD-SEM image data group, which are obtained under various electron beam irradiation conditions, and models based on such data and data groups, and a CD-SEM image of a resist pattern to be measured is obtained (S102), then, the CD-SEM image and data in the shrink database are compared with each other (S103), and the shape and dimensions of the pattern before the shrink are estimated and outputted (S104).

In one embodiment, a charged particle beam drawing apparatus deflects a charged particle beam with a deflector to draw a pattern. The apparatus includes a storage unit that stores an approximate formula indicating a correspondence relationship between a settling time for a DAC amplifier that controls the deflector, and a position shift amount, from a design position, of a drawn position of each evaluation pattern drawn on a first substrate while the settling time and an amount of deflection by the deflector are changed, a shot position correction unit that creates a correction formula indicating a relationship between an amount of deflection and a shot position shift amount at the settling time, from the approximate formula and the settling time for the DAC amplifier based on an amount of deflection of a shot, obtains a position correction amount by using the amount of deflection of the shot and the correction formula, and corrects a shot position defined by the shot data based on the position correction amount, and a drawing unit that performs drawing by using the shot data with a corrected shot position.

The invention relates to a method for producing a structure in a lithographic material, wherein the structure in the lithographic material is defined by means of a writing beam of an exposure device, in that a plurality of partial structures are written sequentially, wherein for writing the partial structures a write field of the exposure device is displaced and positioned sequentially and that a partial structure is written in the write field in each case, and wherein for positioning of the write field a reference structure is detected by means of an imaging measuring device. For calibration of the write field in the respectively positioned write field, before, during or after writing a partial structure, at least one reference structure element assigned to this partial structure is produced in the lithographic material with the writing beam, wherein the reference structure element after the displacement of the write field is detected by means of the imaging measuring device for writing a further partial structure.

A charged particle beam writing apparatus includes a circuitry to set, when a charged particle beam is deflected to move between plural small regions by a deflector, plural first mesh regions obtained by virtually dividing a chip region into regions by length and width sizes same as those of each of the plural small regions; determine whether a shot figure having been assigned exists in each of the plural first mesh regions; a circuitry to perform, for the plural first mesh regions, merging of two or more adjacent first mesh regions; a circuitry to measure, for each of plural second mesh regions each obtained by merging, the number of first mesh regions each having been determined that an assigned shot figure exists therein; and a circuitry to generate a map for each chip, where measured number of first mesh regions with the shot figure is defined as a map value.