Nuflare Technology, Inc.

Rieko Nishimura

Takashi Kamikubo

Shuichi Tamamushi

Takashi Nakamura

Satoru Hirose

Shunsuke Isaji

Ryosuke Ueba

Hideki Matsui

Munehiro Ogasawara

Kiyoshi Hattori

Shusuke Yoshitake

Takahito Nakayama

Kenji Ohtoshi

Hitoshi Sunaoshi

Hidekazu Takekoshi

Kaoru Tsuruta

Satoshi Nakahashi

Michihiro Sakai

Takuya Uemura

Tatsuya Murofushi

Yoshiaki Hattori

In one embodiment, a multi-charged-particle-beam writing method includes performing a tracking operation such that, while a substrate placed on a stage moving continuously is being irradiated with multiple beams including a plurality of charged particle beams, deflection positions of the multiple beams follow movement of the stage, and applying the multiple beams to the substrate having a writing area including a plurality of rectangular regions arranged in a mesh during the tracking operation such that each of the plurality of rectangular regions is irradiated with the multiple beams. Each rectangular region includes a plurality of pixels each having a predetermined size and arranged in a mesh. At least one subset of the plurality of pixels is irradiated with the multiple beams in a first shot order and is then irradiated with the multiple beams in a second shot order different from the first shot order.

Multi-charged-particle-beam writing apparatus and multi-charged-particle-beam writing method

In one embodiment, a multi charged particle beam evaluation method includes writing a plurality of evaluation patterns on a substrate by using multi charged particle beams, with a design value of a line width changed by a predetermined change amount at a predetermined pitch, measuring the line widths of the plurality of evaluation patterns thus written, and extracting a variation in a specific period of a distribution of differences between results of a measurement value and the design value of each of the line widths of the plurality of evaluation patterns. The predetermined change amount is equal to or larger than data resolution and smaller than a size of each of pixels, each of which is a unit region to be irradiated with one of the multi charged particle beams.

Multi charged particle beam evaluation method and multi charged particle beam writing device

A charged particle beam writing method includes acquiring the deviation amount of the deflection position per unit tracking deflection amount with respect to each tracking coefficient of a plurality of tracking coefficients having been set for adjusting the tracking amount to shift the deflection position of a charged particle beam on the writing target substrate in order to follow movement of the stage on which the writing target substrate is placed, extracting a tracking coefficient based on which the deviation amount of the deflection position per the unit tracking deflection amount is closest to zero among the plurality of tracking coefficients, and writing a pattern on the writing target substrate with the charged particle beam while performing tracking control in which the tracking amount has been adjusted using the tracking coefficient extracted.

Charged particle beam writing method and charged particle beam writing apparatus

In one embodiment, a charged particle beam writing apparatus includes a deflector deflecting a charged particle beam, a first correcting lens and a second correcting lens correcting a focus position of the charged particle beam, a focus correction amount calculator calculating a first correction amount for the focus position according to a change in a height position of a sample surface, and calculating a second correction amount for the focus position according to a change in shot size of the charged particle beam, a first DAC (digital to analog converter) amplifier applying a voltage for a ground potential based on the first correction amount to the first correcting lens, and a second DAC amplifier applying a voltage for a ground potential based on the second correction amount to the second correcting lens, an output of the second DAC amplifier being smaller than an output of the first DAC amplifier.

Charged particle beam writing apparatus and charged particle beam writing method

In one embodiment, a method of obtaining a beam deflection shape includes using a plurality of beams to write a line pattern on a substrate by deflecting the plurality of beams, the plurality of beams being beams in the i-th row (i is an integer satisfying 1&#x2264;i&#x2264;m) among multiple charged-particle beams including beams of m rows and n columns (m and n are integers equal to or greater than two), the deflection being performed in such a manner that a writing area for a beam in the j-th column (j is an integer satisfying 1&#x2264;j&#x2264;n&#x2212;1) is continuously adjacent to a writing area for a beam in the (j+1)th column, measuring a degree of unevenness of an edge of the line pattern, and obtaining a deflection shape of the beam based on the degree of unevenness.

Method of obtaining beam deflection shape and method of obtaining arrangement angle of blanking aperture array plate

An evaluation method according to an embodiment is to evaluate a precision of an aperture formed with multiple openings, and includes steps of forming a first evaluation pattern based on evaluation data using multiple electron beams generated by electron beam that has passed through the aperture, dividing the aperture into multiple regions, each of the regions including the multiple openings and defining the multiple divided regions, forming a second evaluation pattern based on evaluation data using the electron beam that has passed through a first divided region among the multiple divided regions, comparing the first evaluation pattern with the second evaluation pattern, and evaluating the precision of the aperture based on the comparison result between the first evaluation pattern and the second evaluation pattern.

Evaluation method, correction method, recording medium and electron beam lithography system

A charged particle beam writing apparatus includes a writing data generation circuitry to input character information or information of an item selected, for specifying an apparatus quality check pattern used for evaluating apparatus quality of a charged particle beam writing apparatus, and to generate writing data of the apparatus quality check pattern based on the character information or the information of the item selected, and a combination circuitry to input writing data of an actual chip pattern to be written on a target object, and to combine the writing data of the actual chip pattern and the writing data of the apparatus quality check pattern such that the actual chip pattern and the apparatus quality check pattern do not overlap with each other.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method of correcting a position of a stage mechanism, includes generating a two-dimensional map of a distortion amount at a position of a stage by applying a distortion amount of a position in a first direction of the stage at each of measured positions in a second direction as a distortion amount of a position in the first direction of the stage at each position in the second direction at each position in the first direction and by applying a distortion amount of a position in the second direction of the stage at each of measured positions in the first direction as a distortion amount of a position in the second direction of the stage at each position in the first direction at each position in the second direction; and correcting position data by using the two-dimensional map.

Position correction method of stage mechanism and charged particle beam lithography apparatus

A charged particle beam writing apparatus includes a number of shots calculation circuit to calculate the number of shots in the case where a deflection region is irradiated with a shot of a charged particle beam, a deflection position correcting circuit to correct a deflection position of the charged particle beam to be shot in the deflection region, depending on the number of shots to be shot in the deflection region, and a deflector to deflect the charged particle beam to a corrected deflected position on the target object.

Charged particle beam writing apparatus, and charged particle beam writing method

According to one embodiment, a method of adjusting a charged particle beam drawing apparatus includes obtaining an offset amount in beam size to be set in the charged particle beam drawing apparatus. The method includes forming a linear evaluation pattern on a substrate by changing number of divisions of a beam with a predetermined size and performing drawing by using divided beams, obtaining a change amount in a line width of the evaluation pattern from a design dimension for each number of divisions, and calculating the offset amount by fitting a model function to the change amount for each number of divisions, the model function being obtained by modeling a pattern line width based on a distribution of energy given by charged particle beams.

Adjustment method for charged particle beam drawing apparatus and charged particle beam drawing method

A method for acquiring a settling time includes forming, using a deflector, a reference pattern so that a deflection movement amount of the beam may be smaller than an evaluation deflection movement amount; forming, while variably setting the settling time of the DAC amplifier, an evaluation pattern such that both ends of the width dimension of the evaluation pattern being the same design width dimension as that of the reference pattern, for each of times set variably, such that a deflection movement amount of a second beam shot of two beam shots successively shot is equivalent to the evaluation deflection movement amount; calculating a difference between the width dimension of the evaluation pattern concerned and that of the reference pattern, for each of the times set variably; and acquiring a settling time of the DAC amplifier necessary for the deflection movement amount, using the difference.

Method for acquiring settling time

A settling time acquisition method includes writing at least one reference pattern formed by at least one shot of a charged particle beam, writing an evaluation pattern, which has been formed by combination of the first and second shots of a charged particle beam shaped to first and second patterns of different sizes and whose width size is the same as that of the reference pattern, while changing, concerning beam shaping of the second shot, a settling time of a DAC amplifier, wherein writing is performed for each settling time, measuring the width size of the reference pattern, measuring the width size of the evaluation pattern for each settling time, calculating, for each settling time, a difference between the width sizes of the reference and evaluation patterns, and acquiring a settling time from each settling time of the DAC amplifier when the difference is not exceeding a threshold value.

Settling time acquisition method

A method for acquiring a settling time according to an embodiment, includes writing a plurality of first patterns, arranged in positions apart from each other by a deflection movement amount, by using a DAC amplifier in which a settling time of the DAC amplifier is set to a first time to be a sufficient settling time; writing a plurality of second patterns, in a manner where corresponding first and second patterns are in a position adjacent, for each second time of different second times containing the sufficient settling time set as variable; measuring a width dimension of each of a plurality of combined patterns after adjacent first and second patterns are combined for the each second time set as variable; and acquiring the settling time of the DAC amplifier needed for deflection by the deflection movement amount, using the width dimensions.

An acquisition method of a charged particle beam deflection shape error includes writing a plurality of figure patterns, each smaller than a deflection region of a plurality of deflection regions, with charged particle beams, at a pitch different from an arrangement pitch of the plurality of deflection regions to be deflected by a deflector that deflects the charged particle beams, synthesizing writing positions of the plurality of figure patterns into one virtual deflection region of the same size as the deflection region, based on a positional relationship between the deflection region including a position where a figure pattern concerned of the plurality of figure patterns has been written and the position where the figure pattern concerned has been written, and calculating, to output, a shape error in the case of writing a pattern in the deflection region, using a synthesized writing position of each of the plurality of figure patterns.

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Yokohama, Japan

Rieko Nishimura