Charged particle beam exposure equipment and charged particle beam exposure method

• US 20060219951A1
• Filed: 02/13/2006
• Published: 10/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Advantest Corporation
• Original Assignee: Advantest Corporation
• Inventors: Komami, Hideaki
• Application Number:
  US11/352,692
• Publication Number:
  US 20060219951A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 250/492.300
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 10/00 Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 40/00 Manufacture or treatment of nanostructures
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/092 characterised by backside coating or layers, by lubricating-slip layers or means, by oxygen barrier layers or by stripping-release layers or means
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/093 characterised by antistatic means, e.g. for charge depletion
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/38 Treatment before imagewise removal, e.g. prebaking G03F7/265 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3174 Particle-beam lithography, e.g. electron beam lithography

Abstract

A charged particle beam exposure equipment includes an exposure module for exposing a resist film, to which an antistatic film is adhered, by means of irradiating a charged particle beam on the resist film, and a post-exposure wafer processing module for process a post-exposure wafer, which includes antistatic film removing means which detaches the antistatic film after exposure; baking means which causes the wafer to undergo a baking process; and post-exposure wafer process controlling means which transfers the post-exposure wafer to the antistatic film removing means, and which causes the antistatic film removing means to remove the antistatic film from the post-exposure wafer, thereafter transferring the resultant wafer to the baking means.

Claims

1. Charged particle beam exposure equipment including an exposure module for exposing a resist film, to which an antistatic film is adhered, by irradiating a charged particle beam on the resist film, and a post-exposure wafer processing module for processing a post-exposure wafer, wherein the post-exposure wafer processing module comprises:

antistatic film removing means which detaches the antistatic film after exposure;

baking means which causes the wafer to undergo a baking process; and

post-exposure wafer process controlling means which transfers the post-exposure wafer to the antistatic film removing means, and which causes the antistatic film removing means to remove the antistatic film from the post-exposure wafer, thereafter transferring the resultant wafer to the baking means.

2. The charged particle beam exposure equipment according to claim 1, wherein the antistatic film removing means comprises:

a holding platform for holding the post-exposure wafer on it; and

any one of dropping means which drops pure water onto the wafer and spraying means which sprays pure water onto the wafer.

3. The charged particle beam exposure equipment according to claim 1, wherein the post-exposure wafer processing module is connected with the exposure module with a load-lock interposed in between.

4. The charged particle beam exposure equipment according to claim 1, wherein the post-exposure wafer processing module further comprises cooling means which cools down the wafer which has been baked in the baking means.

5. The charged particle beam exposure equipment according to claim 1, wherein the post-exposure wafer processing module further comprises wafer storing means which stores the wafer which has been cooled down in the cooling means.

6. A post-exposure wafer processing module comprising:

antistatic film removing means which detaches an antistatic film which is adhered to a resist film;

baking means which causes a wafer to undergo a baking process; and

post-exposure wafer process controlling means which transfers the post-exposure wafer to the antistatic film removing means, and which causes the antistatic film removing means to remove the antistatic film from the post-exposure wafer, thereafter transferring the resultant wafer to the baking means.

7. The post-exposure wafer processing module according to claim 6, wherein the antistatic film removing means comprises:

a holding platform for holding the post-exposure wafer on it; and

any one of dropping means which drops pure water onto the wafer and spraying means which sprays pure water onto the wafer.

8. The post-exposure wafer processing module according to claim 6, further comprising cooling means which cools down the wafer which has been baked in the baking means.

9. The post-exposure wafer processing module according to claim 6, further comprising wafer storing means which stores the wafer which has been cooled down in the cooling means.

10. A charged particle beam exposure method, comprising the steps of:

exposing a resist film, on whose front surface an antistatic film has been formed, by means of irradiating a charged particle beam the resist film, and forming a desired pattern on the resist film;

removing the antistatic film; and

performing a baking process of heating the resist film after the antistatic film is removed.

11. The charged particle beam exposure method according to claim 10, wherein the antistatic film is formed through:

a step of applying a conductive material to the entire front surface of the resist film; and

a step of performing a pre-exposure baking process of heating the resist film to which the material has been applied.

12. The charged particle beam exposure method according to claim 10, wherein the conductive material is made of polyaniline-sulfonic acid and water.

13. The charged particle beam exposure method according to claim 10, wherein the resist film is a chemically-amplified resist film which produces an acid by means of irradiating a charged particle beam.