Charged-particle-beam pattern-transfer apparatus and methods
US5973333A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 25, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 26, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 25, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J2237/31776
- WIPO fieldMicro-structural and nano-technology
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
Charged-particle-beam projection-microlithography apparatus and methods are disclosed for transferring a reticle pattern image to a substrate using a charged-particle beam. The apparatus comprises, along an optical axis in the trajectory direction of the charged-particle beam, a beam emitter for emitting the charged-particle beam toward the mask, a beam shaper for shaping the charged-particle beam so as to have a square or rectangular transverse profile and deflectors for directing the charged-particle beam onto the mask. If the beam shaper creates a charged-particle beam having a rectangular transverse profile, the deflectors of the pattern-transfer apparatus of the present invention operate so that the longer sides of the transverse profile of the charged-particle beam extend in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction. An axisymmetric projection-lens system converges, inverts and reduces the charged-particle beam which has passed through the mask, to form an image of the mask pattern on a substrate.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.