Sii Nanotechnology Inc.

Seiko Instruments Inc

Hitachi High-Tech Science Corporation

Shizuoka University

Osamu Takaoka

Masatoshi Yasutake

Naoya Watanabe

Shigeru Wakiyama

Kazuo Aita

Ryoji Hagiwara

Kazutoshi Watanabe

Atsushi Uemoto

Tomokazu Kozakai

Akira Yonezawa

Takuya Nakaue

Yoshiteru Shikakura

Mitsuyoshi Sato

Satoru Yabe

Toshio Doi

Futoshi Iwata

Syuichi Kikuchi

A photomask defect correction method and device correct an opaque or a clear defect of a photomask. An opaque or clear defect in a portion of a photomask to be corrected is observed and information of the observed defect for performing correction of the defect is acquired. The observed defect is corrected in accordance with the acquired defect information by irradiating the observed defect with a focused ion beam from an ion beam irradiation system having a gas field ion source that generates gas ions for forming the focused ion beam. The gas ions may be hydrogen ions, nitrogen ions, oxygen ions, fluorine ions or chlorine ions.

Photomask defect correcting method and device

A photomask defect correction method for correcting a defect of a photomask. A defect in a portion of a photomask to be corrected is observed and information of the observed defect for performing correction of the defect is acquired. The observed defect is corrected in accordance with the acquired defect information by irradiating the observed defect with a focused ion beam from an ion beam irradiation system having a gas field ion source that generates rare gas ions for forming the focused ion beam.

There is a micro-machining apparatus for removing the micro-machining dust generated at the time of machining while a workpiece M is machined within a liquid W using a probe tip. The apparatus includes a stage on which the workpiece is to be placed; a probe having the probe tip, a machining device having a moving means that moves the stage and the probe relative to each other to machine the workpiece by the probe tip, and a micro-machining dust removing device having a first electrode and a second electrode that are arranged in the liquid so as to sandwich the probe tip therebetween, and a voltage application means that applies a voltage to between both the electrodes to move the micro-machining dust in the liquid.

Micro-machining dust removing device, micro-machining apparatus, and micro-machining dust removing method

A method for fabricating an extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) mask. In an etching step, at least a part of an absorption layer of an EUVL mask is etched by allowing a charged particle to irradiate the absorption layer under feed of a halogenated xenon gas. In an oxidant feed step, an oxidant is fed to the absorption layer after the etching step to form an oxidized layer at a side surface of the absorption layer that is not etched during the etching step.

Method for fabricating EUVL mask

When a characterization of a tip of a diamond stylus for working is needed, the tip of the diamond stylus for working used is observed by a high resolution scanning electron microscope of a high acceleration voltage under a steam atmosphere. When the tip of the diamond stylus for working is worn or when a shape of the tip of the stylus needs to be changed, the tip of the diamond stylus for working is worked by selectively irradiating an electron beam only to a necessary region by increasing an amount of steam and an amount of a current of the electron beam. When a working chip is strongly adhered to the diamond stylus for working and needs to be removed, the electron beam is selectively irradiated only to the working chip adhered to the tip of the diamond stylus for working to be removed under a xenon fluoride atmosphere.

Method of observing and method of working diamond stylus for working of atomic force microscope

An opaque defect is processed by scanning with a high load or height fixed mode using a probe harder than a pattern material of a photomask at the time of going scanning, and is observed by scanning with a low load or intermittent contact mode at the time of returning scanning so as to detect an ending point of the opaque defect by the height information. When there is a portion reaching to a glass substrate as an ending point, this portion is not scanned by the high load or height fixed mode in the next processing, and only a portion not reaching to the ending point is scanned by the high load or height fixed mode.

Method of correcting opaque defect of photomask using atomic force microscope fine processing device

The present invention provides a working method using a scanning probe which can enhance a working speed and prolong a lifetime of the probe. The present invention provides the working method using a scanning probe which works a sample by performing the relative scanning of a probe supported on a cantilever on the sample at a predetermined scanning speed. The working method can work the object to be worked while forcibly and relatively vibrating the probe in the direction orthogonal to or parallel to a working surface of the sample at low frequency of 100 to 1000 Hz.

Working method using scanning probe

A processing probe for repairing a defective portion in a sample has a cantilever and a probe separate and independent from the cantilever and integrally connected to an end portion of the cantilever for scratch-processing a defective portion of a sample. The cantilever and the probe are conductive for preventing the generation of electrostatic charges by friction of the probe against the sample during scratch-processing of the defective portion of the sample.

Processing probe

In order to make it possible to improve throughput of AFM scratch processing, enable correction of small defects in clear defect correction with a high degree of precision, and enable correction in a shorter period of time in the event of overcutting by AFM scratch processing, throughput of AFM scratch processing is increased by maximizing high-resolution of the electron beam device and minimizing the time taken in observations using a device incorporating both an electro-optical system and an AFM head in a vacuum, correcting small clear defects with high precision by eliminating portions left over from AFM scratch processing after applying a clear defect correction film using an electron beam while providing light-blocking film raw material, and correction in a short time is made possible by eliminating portions remaining using AFM scratch processing after applying a clear defect correction film using an electron beam while providing light-blocking film raw material also in cases of overcutting in AFM scratch processing.

Photomask defect correction method employing a combined device of a focused electron beam device and an atomic force microscope

When scanning by an ion beam in advance an areaincluding a reference holeformed at a position other than the area to be processedof a light-shielding filmon a glass substrate, a secondary ion signal of the same atom as the incident ions injected into the substrate is detected instead of detecting the secondary ion signal of the atoms included in the base film, and the positionof the hole is stored. Then, the areaincluding the hole formed during the processing is scanned and the secondary ion signal of the same atom as the incident ions is detected to determine the current positionof the hole, the position of the hole obtained by the previous detection and the current position of the hole are compared, and the amount of shift of the position of the hole is determined. This shifted amount is regarded as the drift amount.

Ion beam processing method

A sample to be processed is disposed within a processing cell which contains a liquid. Scratch processing using a scanning probe microscope is performed within the liquid so that chips or shavings removed from the sample scatter within the liquid rather than collecting on the surface of the sample. The processing cell has a supply port and a discharge port so that new liquid can be supplied within the cell through the supply port after the termination of the scratch processing to clean the cell. In this manner, chips or shavings generated by scratch processing a defect portion of the sample can be removed completely without being collected at the surface of a sample despite the surface tension of adsorbed water existing on the sample surface and/or electrostatic charges caused by friction.

Scratch repairing processing method and scanning probe microscope (SPM) used therefor

An indentation is formed by thrusting a probe of a scanning probe microscope for processing, which has a vertical surface or a vertical ridge and is harder than sample material, into sample for measuring the indentation. A high-fidelity AFM observation is performed on the shape of the formed indentation with a thin probe with high aspect ratio, the direction of the vertical surface or the vertical ridge is inspected, and the angle error &#x3b8; is stored. By rotating a sample stage by an angle corresponding to the measured mounting angle error &#x3b8; of the probe, the mounting angle error of the probe is corrected in advance.

Method of processing vertical cross-section using atomic force microscope

A processing method uses a probe of a scanning probe microscope. A fine marker is formed in a processing material by thrusting the probe, which is made of a material harder than the processing material, into a portion of the processing material disposed in the vicinity of an area of the processing material to be processed by the probe during a processing operation. A position of the fine marker on the processing material is detected during the processing operation. A drift amount of the area of the processing material is calculated in accordance with the detected position of the fine marker. A position of the area of the processing material is corrected in accordance with the calculated drift amount.

Processing method using probe of scanning probe microscope

The kind of a particle is determined by pressing a hard atomic force microscope stylus having a spring constant equal to or larger than 300 N/m onto a particle to be removed and detecting bending quantity relative to a press force and a kind of a stylus used for removing the particle is changed in accordance with the kind of the particle.

Method of removing particle of photomask using atomic force microscope

By entering a low acceleration Si ion beam of 500 V or lower or a low acceleration Si ion beam of 500 V-2000 V having been slanted such that an injection depth becomes shallow, which has been mass-separated from a liquid alloy ion source containing Si by a mass separator and converged by an ion optical system, the amplitude defect near a surface of the Mo/Si multilayer film or the MoC/Si multilayer film is removed by a physical sputter or a gas assist etching such that an interlayer of the Mo/Si multilayer film or the MoC/Si multilayer film in a lower layer is not destroyed.

Growing community of inventors

Chiba, Japan

Osamu Takaoka