Fujitsu Corporation

Satoru Yamazaki

Kiichi Sakamoto

Hiroshi Yasuda

Akio Yamada

Katsuhiko Kobayashi

Takayuki Sakakibara

Satoru Sagoh

Yoshihisa Oae

Kenichi Kawakami

Hitoshi Watanabe

Manabu Ohno

Satoru Sagou

Tomohiko Abe

Masaaki Miyajima

Junko Hatta

A method of detecting deficiency of an aperture used in a charged-particle-beam exposure process employing at least two exposure columns is disclosed, where each of the two exposure columns passes a charged-particle beam through the aperture formed through a mask to shape a cross section of the charged-particle beam before exposing the charged-particle beam onto an object. The method includes the steps of mounting masks having the same aperture to the at least two exposure columns; scanning, in each of the at least two exposure columns, the charged-particle beam over an area containing a mark on a surface substantially at the same height as the object after passing the charged-particle beam through the same aperture; obtaining, in each of the at least two exposure columns, a signal waveform corresponding to the scan by detecting charged particles scattered by the mark; and comparing the signal waveform between the at least two exposure columns.

Charged-particle-beam exposure device and charged-particle-beam exposure method

Charged particle-beam exposure device and charged-particle-beam exposure

In an exposure mask of the present invention, a plurality of opening regions are disposed via crossbeams, each having a size not to be resolved, along peripheral edges of island-like patterns and peninsula-like patterns for shielding transmission of charged particles.

Electron beam exposure mask and method of manufacturing the same and

A device exposing an object to an electron beam employs a mask formed of a plate of material which blocks the electron beam and which has plural pattern exposure blocks defined therein, each having one or more aperture defining regions therein and, when selected, determining the shaping of the electron beam passing therethrough so as to expose a respective pattern on an object. Each aperture-defining region has a respective single aperture or respective plural, spaced apertures formed therein and having a total area size selected to be smaller than the area size of the aperture defining region, in accordance with controlling the current level of an electron beam passing therethrough, while reducing Coulomb interaction of the electron beam passing through the aperture or apertures of each aperture defining portion of the pattern exposure block.

Mask and method of creating mask as well as electron-beam exposure

Method of detecting a deficiency in a charged-particle-beam exposure mask

A mask for exposure of an object by an electron beam is formed of a plate of material which blocks the electron beam and which has plural pattern exposure blocks defined therein, each having one or more aperture defining regions therein and, when selected, determining the shaping of the electron beam passing therethrough so as to expose a respective pattern on an object. Each aperture-defining region has one aperture or plural, spaced apertures formed respectively therein, having a total area size, selected to be smaller than the area size of the aperture defining region in accordance with controlling the current level of an electron beam passing therethrough, while reducing Coulomb interaction of the electron beam passing through the aperture or apertures of each aperture defining portion of the pattern exposure block.

A method of dividing a block pattern for use in a block exposure, to be implemented on a computer, divides an arbitrary block which is to be formed in a block mask that is used for the block exposure when the arbitrary block is judged as including a prohibiting pattern which is undesirable from a point of view of the block exposure. This method comprises the steps of (a) dividing the arbitrary block in a first direction to obtain a first block having a first dividing width along a second direction which is perpendicular to the first direction, (b) dividing a remaining block portion of the arbitrary block excluding the first block in the first direction to obtain a first divided portion having a second dividing width along the second direction, and merging the first dividing portion to the first block if the second dividing width is less than a predetermined width, and (c) searching the first block in the first direction after the step (b) and merging one of two adjacent first patterns within the first block to a second block if a pattern interval which is less than a predetermined value extends along the first direction between the first patterns.

Pattern judging method, mask producing method, and method of dividing

A transparent mask plate used in a charged particle beam exposure apparatus includes a base plate, an exposure pattern area, and a calibration area. The exposure pattern area is formed in the base plate and has a plurality of transparent patterns for shaping a cross section of a charged particle beam into a block pattern. The calibration area is formed in the base plate, and has a plurality of transparent patterns used for obtaining a condition for deflecting the charged particle beam. The plurality of transparent patterns formed in the calibration area are arranged at the same pitch as the plurality of transparent patterns formed in the exposure pattern area. Each of the plurality of transparent patterns formed in the calibration area corresponds to one of the plurality of transparent patterns formed in the exposure pattern area.

Transparent mask plate for charged particle beam exposure apparatus and

A method of exposing a pattern on a substrate by a charged particle beam includes the steps of energizing first and second mask deflectors provided at an upstream side of a stencil mask simultaneously to obtain a first relativistic relationship of energization between the first and second mask deflectors, energizing the first mask deflector and simultaneously the second mask deflector according to the first relativistic relationship so as to hit a selected aperture on the stencil mask, to obtain an absolute deflection of the charged particle beam as a function of the energization of the first mask deflector, energizing third and fourth mask deflectors provided at a downstream side of the stencil mask simultaneously to obtain a second relativistic relationship of energization between the third and fourth mask deflectors, and energizing the first through fourth mask deflectors according to the first and second relativistic relationship and further to the absolute relationship, such that the charged particle beam is deflected away from an optical axis and hit a selected aperture on the stencil mask while traveling parallel to the optical axis, and such that the charged particle beam passed through the stencil mask is deflected toward the optical axis and deflected again such that the charged particle beam travels toward the substrate in alignment with the optical axis.

Charged particle beam exposure system and method of exposing a pattern

A pattern judging method which is to be implemented on a computer automatically determines whether or not a pattern should be prohibited from being formed in a mask. The pattern judging method includes the steps of (a) dividing an area of the mask where a desired pattern is to be formed into a plurality of regions, (b) calculating a predetermined physical quantity for each of the regions for a case where one or a plurality of openings corresponding to the desired pattern are formed in the mask, and (c) prohibiting the desired pattern from being formed in the mask if the predetermined quantity calculated in the step (b) exceeds a threshold value for at least one of the regions.

Pattern judging method and mask producing method using the pattern

A lithography system and a method of using the same, wherein a charged-particle beam is deflected to pass through a selected block of stencil pattern on a stencil mask and thereafter the beam forms an image of the stencil pattern on an objective, the lithography system comprising astigmatism and focus compensation coils disposed on both the upstream and downstream sides of the stencil mask, thereby aberration of the incident beam onto the stencil mask being corrected by the astigmatism and focus compensation coils disposed on the upstream side forming a sharp image on the mask, and further aberration of the mask-penetrated beam on the downstream side being corrected by the astigmatism and focus compensation coils disposed on the downstream side forming a sharp image of the stencil pattern on the objective.

Lithography system using charged-particle beam and method of using the

A transmission mask is used when exposing patterns by a charged particle beam which passes therethrough. The transmission mask includes a plate, and a plurality of rectangular blocks formed on a surface of the plate and having an area approximately equal to a cross sectional area of the charged particle beam irradiated thereon, where the blocks include a first block in which at least one transmission hole is provided and a second block in which no transmission hole is provided. The transmission of the first block is partly irradiated by the charged particle beam when varying the size of the exposing pattern. A single second block is provided immediately adjacent to at least two first blocks, so that an irradiating position of the charged particle beam can be varied with respect to both the two first blocks from the single second block.

Growing community of inventors

Kawasaki, Japan

Satoru Yamazaki