Abstract:
Disclosed is equipment for charged-particle beam lithography capable of executing exposure even when an electron beam with a bad property is produced due to a failure in some multibeam forming element, without replacing the failing multibeam forming element and without reducing the exposure accuracy. The equipment includes means for forming a plurality of charged-particle beams arranged at predetermined intervals; a plurality of blankers which act on the plurality of charged-particle beams individually; a common blanker which acts on all of the plurality of charged-particle beams; and a blanking restriction for causing those charged-particle beams which are given predetermined deflection by the plurality of blankers to reach onto a sample, with a signal applied to the common blanker, and blocking those charged-particle beams which are not given the predetermined deflection by the plurality of blankers to the sample. The equipment blocks beams with bad properties to the sample and executes exposure using only those beams which have bad properties.
Abstract:
A microcolumn including an assembly substrate and a plurality of beam modification components. The assembly substrate includes a plurality of sockets, and the beam modification components each include a connector coupled to a corresponding one of the sockets. Assembly of the beam modification components to the assembly substrate may employ automation and/or automated calibration, including automated motion of robotic stages in a substantially automated manner.
Abstract:
The present invention provides an improved column for a charged particle beam device. The column comprises an aperture plate having multiple apertures to produce multiple beams of charged particles and a deflector to influence the beams of charged particles so that each beam appears to come from a different source. Furthermore, an objective lens is used in order to focus the charged-particle beams onto the specimen. Due to the deflector, multiple images of the source are created on the surface of the specimen whereby all the images can be used for parallel data acquisition. Accordingly, the speed of data acquisition is increased. With regard to the focusing properties of the objective lens, the beams of charged particles can basically be treated as independent particle beams which do not negatively affect each other. Accordingly, each beam basically provides the same resolution as the beam of a conventional charged particle beam device.
Abstract:
Variable space charge effects in the imaging portion of a particle beam projection system due to variations in transmitted beam current are compensated with an additional lens appropriately positioned within the imaging system and having a focal length which varies in response to the transmitted beam current.
Abstract:
The invention relates to a particle beam apparatus, in which very low target energies of the particles focused on the object can be set, with good imaging conditions. For this purpose, the beam guiding tube (5), from the anode (4) to behind the objective (6, 7) is at a high potential, which insures that the particles within the beam guiding tube have a high kinetic energy which is independent of the target energy. A braking electrode (9) arranged after the beam guiding tube, together with the object holder (10) and the object arranged thereon, is at a specimen potential UP which deviates from the ground potential and which has the same sign as the cathode potential UK. The specimen potential UP acts as the decelerating potential, by means of which the particles are braked to energies which can be below the energy value determined by the cathode potential UK. Thus even at the lowest target energies the object does not need to be brought to a high, high-voltage potential, so that object damage and high voltage flashovers are excluded. At the same time, the kinetic energy of the electrons within the beam guiding tube is largely independent of the target energy, so that the imaging relationships within the beam guiding tube are largely independent of the target energy.
Abstract:
A charged particle beam expander increases a diameter of a charged particle beam while increasing uniformity of an area energy distribution thereof. The charged particle beam expander has a first linear optics section receiving the charged particle beam from a particle accelerator and for forming the charged particle beam to have a generally circular cross-section and a non-linear optics section receiving the charged particle beam from the first linear optics section and for redistributing charged particles from a periphery of the charged particle beam toward a core thereof. The charged particle beam expander also has a second linear optics section receiving the charged particle beam from the non-linear optics section, the second linear optics section for increasing the diameter of the charged particle beam and for imaging the charged particle beam onto the target.
Abstract:
A charged particle beam line is formed with magnetic optics that manipulate the charged particle beam to form the beam having a generally rectangular configuration to a circular beam cross-section having a uniform particle distribution at a predetermined location. First magnetic optics form a charged particle beam to a generally uniform particle distribution over a square planar area at a known first location. Second magnetic optics receive the charged particle beam with the generally square configuration and affect the charged particle beam to output the charged particle beam with a phase-space distribution effective to fold corner portions of the beam toward the core region of the beam. The beam forms a circular configuration having a generally uniform spatial particle distribution over a target area at a predetermined second location.
Abstract:
An emitter produces a beam of electrons or ions accelerated at a relatively high accelerating voltage. The beam is sharply focused by a condenser lens at the final stage. An electrostatic field for retarding the beam is produced between the lens at the final stage and a target on which the beam impinges. The retarding field lowers the landing energy of the beam. An auxiliary electrode which is maintained at substantially the same potential as the target is disposed between the lens and the target. A secondary electron detector is mounted between the auxiliary electrode and the target.
Abstract:
Quadruple lenses 30, 31 and 32 and sextupole lenses 40, 41, 42, and 43 are interposed between a energy-dispersing device 17 and an electron imaging device 50 in an energy-selected electron imaging filter. The energy-dispersing device produces a focussed spectrum 21 of electron energies in the plane of an energy-selecting slit 20, and the quadrupole and sextupole lenses transform the spectrum into an energy-selecting slit may also be either removed or opened wide, and the quadrupole lenses may be refocussed, so that the electron imaging device directly observes a magnified spectrum of the electron energies.
Abstract:
An electron beam tester for fault detection and isolation in large and very large scale integrated circuits. An electron optical column focuses a primary beam of electrons on the surface of a circuit chip. An immersion extractor provides an electrical field to attract secondary electrons emitted from the irradiated surface. Secondary electrons are detected in an integral spectrometer. A wide bore final lens and integral high resolution double defection scan coils enable large area voltage contrast imaging as well as quantitative waveform measurement from internal nodes of the circuit chip.