Maskless photon-electron spot-grid array printer
First Claim
1. Maskless lithography apparatus for exposing a substrate with an image formed by an array of electron beams, the system comprising:
- a programmable optical radiation source for providing an array of optical beams modulated in response to an input data signal and forming a sequence of optical patterns;
a photon-electron converter, for converting the optical beams to electron beams and forming a sequence of electron beam patterns;
electron optics for focusing the electron beams onto the substrate; and
a translator for introducing relative movement between the substrate and the electron beams such that the substrate is exposed with a sequence of electron beam patterns forming the image.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A high resolution and high data rate spot grid array printer system is provided, wherein an image representative of patterns to be recorded on a reticle or on a layer of a semiconductor die is formed by scanning a substrate with electron beams. Embodiments include a printer comprising an optical radiation source for irradiating a photon-electron converter with a plurality of substantially parallel optical beams, the optical beams being individually modulated to correspond to an image to be recorded on the substrate. The photon-electron converter produces an intermediate image composed of an array of electron beams corresponding to the modulated optical beams. A de-magnifier is interposed between the photon-electron converter and the substrate, for reducing the size of the intermediate image. A movable stage introduces a relative movement between the substrate and the photon-electron converter, such that the substrate is scanned by the electron beams.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. Maskless lithography apparatus for exposing a substrate with an image formed by an array of electron beams, the system comprising:
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a programmable optical radiation source for providing an array of optical beams modulated in response to an input data signal and forming a sequence of optical patterns;
a photon-electron converter, for converting the optical beams to electron beams and forming a sequence of electron beam patterns;
electron optics for focusing the electron beams onto the substrate; and
a translator for introducing relative movement between the substrate and the electron beams such that the substrate is exposed with a sequence of electron beam patterns forming the image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 35)
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19. A method for exposing a substrate with an image, the method comprising the steps of:
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generating an array of optical beams;
modulating the array of light beams individually in response to an input data signal;
converting the optical beams to electron beams to provide an intermediate electron beam array;
focusing the electron beams onto the substrate to expose a the substrate to a pattern of electron beams; and
moving the substrate relative to the electron beams while the generating, modulating, converting and focusing steps are being performed to expose the substrate with an image comprising a sequence of electron beam patterns. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. Maskless lithography apparatus comprising:
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a light source;
a spatial light modulator positioned to receive light from the light source for providing an array of individually modulated optical beams in response to an input data signal;
an array of lenses for focusing each of the optical beams;
a photon-electron converter positioned at the focus of the optical beams for converting each optical beam to an electron beam;
optics interposed between the spatial light modulator and the array of lenses for mapping the beams onto lenses in a one-to-one correspondence;
an electron lens interposed between the photon-electron converter and the substrate for focusing the individual electron beams on the substrate; and
a stage for providing relative movement between the substrate and the photon-electron converter such that the image is recorded on the substrate with the array of electron beams. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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23. Maskless lithography apparatus comprising:
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a light source;
a spatial light modulator positioned to receive light from the light source for providing an array of individually modulated optical beams in response to an input signal;
an array of lenses for focusing each of the modulated optical beams;
a photon-electron converter positioned at the focus of the modulated optical beams for converting each modulated optical beam to an electron beam;
an electron demagnifier interposed between the photon-electron converter and the substrate; and
a movable stage for supporting the substrate and for introducing a relative movement between the substrate and the photon-electron converter such that the image is recorded on the substrate with the array of electron beams. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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26. Maskless lithography apparatus for exposing a substrate with an image formed by an array of electron beams, the system comprising:
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a programmable optical radiation source for providing an array of optical beams modulated in response to an input data signal and forming a sequence of optical patterns;
a photon-electron converter, comprising an array of optically sensitive microtips, for converting the optical beams to electron spots and forming a sequence of electron spot patterns;
electron optics for focusing electrons emitted from the electron spots onto the substrate; and
a translator for introducing relative movement between the substrate and the focused electron spots such that the substrate is exposed with a sequence of focused electron spot patterns forming the image. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification