Charged particle beam writing apparatus and charged particle beam writing method

• US 10,074,516 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2017
• Issued: 09/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NuFlare Technology, Inc. (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NuFlare Technology, Inc. (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Hironobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Stoffa, Wyatt
• Application Number:
  US15/637,699
• Publication Number:
  US 20170309450A1
• Time in Patent Office: 439 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/31762 Computer and memory organisation
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/31764 Dividing into sub-patterns
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3174 Particle-beam lithography, e.g. electron beam lithography

Abstract

A charged particle beam writing apparatus includes a storage unit to store writing data of a region to be written in a target object, a first dividing unit to read the writing data and divide the region to be written into at least one first data processing region that overlaps with at least a first region where a pattern has been arranged, and at least one second data processing region that overlaps with a second region where no pattern is arranged without overlapping with the first region, a data processing unit to perform data processing of predetermined data processing contents for at least one first data processing region without performing the data processing for at least one second data processing region, and a writing unit to write a pattern on the target object, based on processed data.

Claims

1. A charged particle beam writing apparatus comprising:

a storage device configured to store writing data of a region to be written in a target object;

processing circuitry configured to perform as

a dividing section that reads the writing data and divide the region to be written into a plurality of stripe regions each being in a strip shape;

a pattern existence determination section that determines, for each of the plurality of stripe regions, whether a pattern is arranged in a stripe region concerned in the plurality of stripe regions;

a combining section that combines successive stripe regions which have been determined to be without any pattern, as one no-pattern stripe region in the plurality of stripe regions; and

a data processing section that performs data processing of predetermined data processing contents for stripe regions which have been determined by the pattern existence determination section to be with any pattern, without performing the data processing for the no-pattern stripe region; and

a writing mechanism including a stage on which the target object is placed, a charged particle beam source, and a deflector and configured to write a pattern on the target object, based on the processed data.

2. A charged particle beam writing method comprising:

reading writing data of a region to be written in a target object, and dividing the region to be written into a plurality of stripe regions each being in a strip shape;

determining, for each of the plurality of stripe regions, whether a pattern is arranged in a stripe region concerned in the plurality of stripe regions;

combining successive stripe regions which have been determined to be without any pattern, as one no-pattern stripe region in the plurality of stripe regions,

performing data processing of predetermined data processing contents for stripe regions which have been determined by the determining to be with any pattern, without performing the data processing for the no-pattern stripe region; and

writing a pattern on the target object, based on the processed data.