Multi-charged particle beam writing method, multi-charged particle beam writing device and program

Abstract

To improve accuracy of lithography using multi-beams.SOLUTION: A multi-charged particle beam lithography method includes the steps of: dividing a data path for inputting control data for performing ON / OFF control of each beam of multi-beams to a cell array on a blanking aperture array substrate into a plurality of first blocks in accordance with at least either each input / output circuit of a plurality of input / output circuits or a plurality of wiring groups collected in accordance with an inter-wire distance of a plurality of wires to the plurality of input / output circuits, and calculating a first shift amount of the multi-beams for each of the plurality of first blocks based on at least either an electric field or a magnetic field for each of the divided plurality of first blocks; and correcting a radiation position or a radiation amount of the multi-beams based on the first shift amount and radiating each beam of the multi-beams.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a multi-charged particle beam writing method, a multi-charged particle beam writing apparatus, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] As LSIs become more highly integrated, the circuit line width required for semiconductor devices has become finer year by year. To form the desired circuit pattern on a semiconductor device, a method is adopted in which a high-precision original pattern (called a mask, or, in particular, a reticle used in steppers and scanners) formed on a light-shielding film on a glass substrate is reduced and transferred onto a wafer using a reduction projection exposure system. To create the high-precision original pattern, a technique known as electron beam lithography is used, in which a resist pattern is formed using an electron beam writing system.

[0003] A multi-beam lithography system can irradiate many beams at once compared to lithography using a single electron beam, thereby significantly improving throughput. In a multi-beam lithography system using a blanking aperture array substrate, for example, an electron beam emitted from a single electron gun is passed through a shaping aperture array substrate with multiple apertures to form multiple beams (multiple electron beams). The multiple beams pass through corresponding blankers on the blanking aperture array substrate. The blanking aperture array substrate has electrode pairs for individually deflecting the beams, with apertures formed between the electrode pairs for beam passage. Blanking deflection of the passing electron beams is performed by controlling the electrode pairs (blankers) to the same potential or to different potentials. The electron beams deflected by the blankers are shielded, while the undeflected electron beams are irradiated onto the substrate.

[0004] In multi-beam writing, the total beam current is large, which can lead to deterioration in writing accuracy due to the Coulomb effect. For example, the repulsive force between electrons can cause beam misalignment and focus misalignment on the sample surface. To suppress beam misalignment due to the Coulomb effect, a method has been proposed in which a blanking aperture array substrate is divided into multiple blocks, a table is created that shows the relationship between the blanking density (on-beam density) for each block and the amount of misalignment, and shift correction, distortion correction, etc. are performed based on parameters obtained from the table (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0005] In the method using the table described above, in order to improve the accuracy of correction, it is necessary to increase the number of block divisions of the blanking aperture array substrate, increase the blanking density conditions, etc. However, increasing the conditions increases the time required to create the table and increases the time required to obtain parameters from the table.

[0006] The beam position deviation is caused not only by the Coulomb effect between the beams, but also by the electric field from the accumulated charge of the capacitance on the control circuit mounted on the blanking aperture array board, and the magnetic field from the drive current of the control circuit, which are difficult to correct using conventional methods. Furthermore, it was found that the influence of these electric and magnetic fields differs depending on the position of the input / output circuits placed on the control circuit and the position of the wiring connected to them. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-028284 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-063149 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-029484 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-charged particle beam drawing method, a multi-charged particle beam drawing apparatus, and a program that can improve the drawing accuracy using multiple beams. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] A multi-charged particle beam writing method according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of: dividing a data path for inputting control data for controlling the on / off of each beam of a multi-beam into a cell array on a blanking aperture array substrate into a plurality of first blocks according to at least one of each input / output circuit of a plurality of input / output circuits and a plurality of wiring groups grouped according to the wiring distances of a plurality of wirings to the plurality of input / output circuits; calculating a first shift amount of the multi-beam for each of the plurality of first blocks due to at least one of the electric field and the magnetic field for each of the divided plurality of first blocks; and correcting the irradiation position or irradiation amount of the multi-beam based on the first shift amount and irradiating each beam of the multi-beam.

[0010] A multi-charged particle beam lithography apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a blanking aperture array substrate having a plurality of blankers corresponding to each beam of a multibeam and turning each beam on and off; a deflection control circuit that outputs control data for controlling the on / off of each beam of the multibeam; a plurality of input / output circuits that receive the control data from the deflection control circuit and output a beam on / off signal to each of the plurality of blankers; and a lithography control unit whose data path for inputting the control data calculates a first shift amount due to at least one of an electric field and a magnetic field for each of a plurality of first blocks divided according to at least one of each input / output circuit of the plurality of input / output circuits and a plurality of wiring groups grouped according to the wiring distances of a plurality of wirings to the plurality of input / output circuits, and corrects the irradiation position or irradiation amount of the multibeam based on the first shift amount to perform lithography.

[0011] A program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a control computer to execute the following steps: divide a data path for inputting control data for controlling the on / off of each beam of a multi-beam into a cell array on a blanking aperture array substrate into a plurality of first blocks according to at least one of each input / output circuit of a plurality of input / output circuits and a plurality of wiring groups grouped according to the wiring distances of a plurality of wirings to the plurality of input / output circuits; calculate a first shift amount of the multi-beam for each of the plurality of first blocks due to at least one of the electric field and the magnetic field for each of the plurality of divided first blocks; and correct the irradiation position or irradiation amount of the multi-beam based on the first shift amount. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the drawing accuracy using multiple beams. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a multi-charged particle beam writing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a shaping aperture array member. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a blanking aperture array substrate. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an input / output circuit and a cell array circuit. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an individual blanking mechanism. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of irradiation steps within one shot cycle. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of beam-on timing. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of block division of a blanking aperture array substrate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment, a configuration using an electron beam as an example of a charged particle beam will be described. However, the charged particle beam is not limited to an electron beam, and an ion beam or the like may also be used.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a lithography apparatus according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the lithography apparatus 100 includes a lithography unit 150 and a control unit 160. The lithography apparatus 100 is an example of a multi-charged particle beam lithography apparatus. The lithography unit 150 includes an electron lens barrel 102 and a lithography chamber 103. The electron lens barrel 102 includes an electron gun 201, an illumination lens 202, a shaping aperture array member 203, a blanking aperture array substrate 204, a reduction lens 205, a limiting aperture member 206, an objective lens 207, and a deflector 208. The electron lens barrel 102 may also include an astigmatism correction coil (not shown) and the like.

[0016] An XY stage 105 is disposed within the writing chamber 103. A substrate 101 to be written is disposed on the XY stage 105. A resist to be exposed by an electron beam is applied to the upper surface of the substrate 101. The substrate 101 is, for example, a substrate (mask blank) to be processed into a mask, or a semiconductor substrate (silicon wafer) to be processed into a semiconductor device. The substrate 101 may also be a mask blank coated with resist and on which nothing has yet been written. A mirror 210 for measuring the stage position is disposed on the XY stage 105.

[0017] The control unit 160 has a control computer 110, a deflection control circuit 130, a stage position detector 139, and memory units 140 and 142. Drawing data is input from the outside and stored in the memory unit 140. The drawing data usually defines information on multiple graphic patterns to be drawn. Specifically, a graphic code, coordinates, size, etc. are defined for each graphic pattern. The memory unit 142 stores function data. The functions indicated by the function data will be described later.

[0018] The control computer 110 has a data processing unit 111, a writing control unit 112, and a correction amount calculation unit 113. Each unit of the control computer 110 may be configured with hardware such as an electric circuit, or may be configured with software such as a program that executes these functions on the control computer 110. Alternatively, each unit may be configured with a combination of hardware and software.

[0019] The stage position detector 139 emits a laser beam, receives the light reflected from the mirror 210, and detects the position of the XY stage 105 based on the principle of laser interference.

[0020] Fig. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of shaping aperture array member 203. As shown in Fig. 2, a plurality of openings 203a are formed at a predetermined arrangement pitch along the vertical direction (y direction) and horizontal direction (x direction) in shaping aperture array member 203. Each opening 203a is formed, for example, in a rectangular or circular shape with the same (approximately the same) dimensions.

[0021] An electron beam 200 emitted from an electron gun 201 (emitting section) is illuminated almost perpendicularly by an illumination lens 202 onto the entire shaping aperture array member 203. The electron beam 200 illuminates an area that includes all of the apertures 203a. A portion of the electron beam 200 passes through the multiple apertures 203a in the shaping aperture array member 203, and the remaining beam is stopped by the shaping aperture array member 203. As the electron beam 200 passes through the multiple apertures 203a, multiple electron beams (multi-beams) 20a to 20e, each having, for example, a rectangular shape, are formed.

[0022] Beam passage holes are formed in the blanking aperture array substrate 204 in accordance with the positions of the openings 203a in the shaping aperture array member 203. A blanker 50 (see FIG. 5) consisting of a pair of electrodes 51, 52 is disposed in each passage hole. By grounding one electrode 52 and keeping it at ground potential, and switching the other electrode 51 to ground potential or a potential other than ground potential, the deflection of the beam passing through the passage hole is switched on and off, thereby performing blanking control.

[0023] When the beam is on, the opposing electrodes 51 and 52 of the blanker 50 are controlled to the same potential, and the blanker 50 does not deflect the beam. When the beam is off, the opposing electrodes 51 and 52 of the blanker 50 are controlled to different potentials, and the blanker 50 deflects the beam. The multiple blankers 50 perform blanking deflection of the corresponding beams among the multi-beams that have passed through the multiple apertures 203a of the shaping aperture array member 203, thereby controlling the beam to an off state.

[0024] The multiple beams 20 a to 20 e that have passed through the blanking aperture array substrate 204 are reduced in size by the reduction lens 205 and travel toward the central opening formed in the limiting aperture member 206 .

[0025] Here, the beam controlled to the beam-off state is deflected by the blanker 50 and passes through a trajectory that passes outside the opening of the limiting aperture member 206, and is therefore blocked by the limiting aperture member 206. On the other hand, the beam controlled to the beam-on state is not deflected by the blanker 50 and passes through the opening of the limiting aperture member 206. At this time, the beam ideally passes through the same point. The beam trajectory is adjusted by an alignment coil (not shown) so that this point is located within the central opening of the limiting aperture member 206. In this way, blanking control is performed by turning the deflection of the blanker 50 on and off, and the beam is controlled to be on and off.

[0026] The limiting aperture member 206 blocks each beam deflected to a beam-off state by the multiple blankers 50. Then, multiple beams for one shot are formed by the beams that pass through the limiting aperture member 206 and are formed from when the beam is turned on until when the beam is turned off.

[0027] The multi-beams that have passed through the limiting aperture member 206 are focused by the objective lens 207 to form a pattern image with the desired reduction ratio. The beams (the entire multi-beams) that have passed through the limiting aperture member 206 are deflected in the same direction by the deflector 208 and irradiated onto the desired position on the substrate 101.

[0028] When the XY stage 105 is moving continuously, at least while the substrate 101 is being irradiated with the beam, the deflector 208 controls the beam irradiation position on the substrate 101 so that it follows the movement of the XY stage 105. The multiple beams irradiated at one time are ideally aligned on the substrate 101 at a pitch obtained by multiplying the arrangement pitch of the multiple openings 203a in the shaping aperture array member 203 by the desired reduction ratio described above.

[0029] The blanking aperture array substrate 204, which controls blanking of each beam of the multi-beam array, includes input / output circuits 31 (31a, 31b) and cell array circuits 34 each having a blanking aperture and an electrode, as shown in Fig. 3. The input / output circuits 31 receive control signals from the deflection control circuit 130.

[0030] The cell array circuit 34 is provided in the center of the blanking aperture array substrate 204, and two input / output circuits 31a and 31b are provided on either side of the cell array circuit 34. A data path D for a control signal from the deflection control circuit 130 to the blanking aperture array substrate 204 L , D R is divided into two systems.

[0031] 4, the cell array circuit 34 is provided with a plurality of cells that constitute individual blanking mechanisms 40. One individual blanking mechanism 40 corresponds to one blanker 50. The input / output circuit 31 converts the control signal received from the deflection control circuit 130 into a beam on / off signal and outputs the signal to the cell array circuit 34. For example, the input / output circuit 31a outputs the beam on / off signal to the individual blanking mechanism 40 arranged on one half of the cell array circuit 34, and the input / output circuit 31b outputs the beam on / off signal to the individual blanking mechanism 40 arranged on the other half.

[0032] The input / output circuit 31 is provided with a plurality of selectors 320 (demultiplexers). The selectors 320 receive irradiation time control data that defines the irradiation time for each beam shot via the amplifier 310, and output beam on / off signals from corresponding output lines. A plurality of individual blanking mechanisms 40 are connected in series to each output line.

[0033] For example, the selector 320 has eight output lines row1 to row8, and each output line is connected to 256 individual blanking mechanisms 40. By arranging 64 selectors 320 in each of the input / output circuits 31a and 31b, it is possible to transfer beam on / off signals to 512 × 512 individual blanking mechanisms 40 in the cell array circuit 34.

[0034] The arrangement of the individual blanking mechanisms 40 to which the input / output circuit 31a outputs a beam on / off signal and the individual blanking mechanisms 40 to which the input / output circuit 31b outputs a beam on / off signal is not limited to that shown in Fig. 4. For example, the output lines from the input / output circuit 31a and the output lines from the input / output circuit 31b may be arranged alternately. Alternatively, the individual blanking mechanisms 40 to which the input / output circuit 31a outputs a beam on / off signal and the individual blanking mechanisms 40 to which the input / output circuit 31b outputs a beam on / off signal may be arranged alternately.

[0035] 5, the individual blanking mechanism 40 includes a shift register 41, a pre-buffer 42, a buffer 43, a data register 44, a NAND circuit 45, and an amplifier 46. The shift register 41 transfers data output from the shift register of the preceding cell to the shift register of the succeeding cell in accordance with a clock signal (SHIFT).

[0036] The pre-buffer 42 stores the beam on / off signal for the cell output from the shift register 41 in accordance with the clock signal (LOAD1).

[0037] The buffer 43 takes in and holds the output value of the pre-buffer 42 in accordance with the clock signal (LOAD2).

[0038] The data register 44 receives and holds the output value of the buffer 43 in accordance with the clock signal (LOAD3).

[0039] An output signal of the data register 44 and a shot enable signal (SHOT_ENABLE) are input to the NAND circuit 45. An output signal of the NAND circuit 45 is applied to an electrode 51 of a blanker 50 via an amplifier 46 (driver amplifier).

[0040] When the output signal of the data register 44 and the shot enable signal are both high, the output of the NAND circuit 45 goes low, electrodes 51 and 52 have the same potential, the blanker 50 does not deflect the beam, and the beam is turned on. When at least one of the output signal of the data register 44 and the shot enable signal is low, the output of the NAND circuit 45 goes high, electrodes 51 and 52 have different potentials, the blanker 50 deflects the beam, and the beam is turned off.

[0041] The shot enable signal is input to the NAND circuits 45 of all the individual blanking mechanisms 40, and by setting the shot enable signal to Low, all beams can be turned off.

[0042] When the shot enable signal is maintained at High, the beam is switched on / off by the output of the data register 44. That is, when the irradiation time control data is 1 (High), the beam on / off signal becomes an on signal, and when the irradiation time control data is 0 (Low), the beam on / off signal becomes an off signal.

[0043] Multi-beam writing uses a fixed shot cycle that is adjusted to the maximum irradiation dose, and each beam is turned on for the desired irradiation time within one shot cycle and off for the rest of the time. For example, the gradation value N is calculated by dividing the irradiation time T by the quantization unit Δ. The quantization unit Δ can be set in various ways, but can be defined as 1 ns, for example. The gradation value N is converted into a binary value with n digits, which becomes the irradiation time control data.

[0044] For example, if N=50, then 50=2 5 +2 4 +2 1 Therefore, when converted to an 8-digit binary value, the irradiation time control data becomes "00110010." Similarly, if N=100, the irradiation time control data becomes "01100100."

[0045] The first digit of the irradiation time control data indicates an irradiation time of 1Δ. The second digit of the irradiation time control data indicates an irradiation time of 2Δ. The third digit of the irradiation time control data indicates an irradiation time of 4Δ. The fourth digit of the irradiation time control data indicates an irradiation time of 8Δ. The fifth digit of the irradiation time control data indicates an irradiation time of 16Δ. The sixth digit of the irradiation time control data indicates an irradiation time of 32Δ. The seventh digit of the irradiation time control data indicates an irradiation time of 64Δ. The eighth digit of the irradiation time control data indicates an irradiation time of 128Δ.

[0046] One shot cycle is divided into the same number of irradiation steps as the number of digits (number of bits) n of the irradiation time control data, and each irradiation step has an irradiation time corresponding to the number of digits. For example, if irradiation is performed in order from the largest digit to the smallest and Δ = 1 ns, as shown in Figure 6, the first irradiation step will be 128 ns irradiation. The second irradiation step will be 64 ns irradiation. The third irradiation step will be 32 ns irradiation. The fourth irradiation step will be 16 ns irradiation. The fifth irradiation step will be 8 ns irradiation. The sixth irradiation step will be 4 ns irradiation. The seventh irradiation step will be 2 ns irradiation. The eighth irradiation step will be 1 ns irradiation.

[0047] When N=100, the irradiation time control data is “01100100”, and as shown in FIG. 7, the beam is turned on in the second (64 ns), third (32 ns), and sixth (4 ns) irradiation steps, and is turned off in the first, fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth irradiation steps.

[0048] As shown in this example, in multi-beam lithography, one shot cycle is divided into multiple irradiation steps, and the beam is switched on / off in each irradiation step to achieve the desired irradiation time. For example, the irradiation times of the multiple irradiation steps are different from one another and are proportional to a power of two.

[0049] On the other hand, in multi-beam writing, the input / output circuits 31a and 31b mounted on the blanking aperture array substrate 204 are equipped with various circuits such as power supply circuits, logic circuits, and switching circuits, and during operation, various currents flow in addition to control signals from the deflection control circuit. Therefore, there is no one-to-one correspondence between the beam on / off signals sent from the input / output circuits 31a and 31b to the output lines row1 to row8 and the input currents to the input / output circuits 31a and 31b.

[0050] Various currents flow in the input / output circuits 31a and 31b mounted on the blanking aperture array substrate 204 during operation. In this case, the electric field from the accumulated charge of the capacitance arranged on the input / output circuits 31a and 31b and the magnetic field due to the current in the circuit affect the accuracy of the beam irradiation position. Therefore, in this embodiment, the shift amount of the entire multi-beam is calculated from the shift amount for each block calculated based on the circuit current (power supply current, operating current based on beam on / off signals, etc.) from the deflection control circuit 130, which affects the electric field and magnetic field, to each of the multiple input / output circuits 31a and 31b arranged on the blanking aperture array substrate 204, and the irradiation position is corrected. At this time, the pattern resolution position may be adjusted by adjusting the irradiation amount of each beam.

[0051] As described above, in this embodiment, the positions of the input / output circuits 31a and 31b to which the control signals from the deflection control circuit 130 to the blanking aperture array substrate 204 are input and the wiring positions to the input / output circuits 31a and 31b are divided into two systems, so each system is divided into two blocks to find the circuit current.

[0052] Then, for example, the data processing unit 111 virtually divides the drawing area of ​​the substrate 101 into a plurality of mesh areas. The size of the mesh area is, for example, approximately the same as the size of one beam, and each mesh area becomes a pixel (unit irradiation area). The data processing unit 111 reads out the drawing data from the storage unit 140, and calculates the pattern area density ρ of each pixel using a pattern defined in the drawing data.

[0053] Next, the data processing unit 111 calculates the dose of the beam irradiated to each pixel by multiplying the pattern area density ρ by a reference dose and a correction coefficient for correcting the proximity effect, etc. The data processing unit 111 calculates the irradiation time by dividing the dose by the current density.

[0054] Next, the data processing unit 111 distributes the irradiation time among a plurality of irradiation steps, and generates irradiation time control data. For example, the data processing unit 111 divides the irradiation time by the quantized unit to calculate the gradation value t (irradiation time converted into an integer). In the example shown in FIG. 7, the data processing unit 111 calculates the irradiation time control data using a sequence (2 7 , 2 6 , 2 5 , 2 4 , 2 3 , 2 2 , 2 1 , 2 0 ) to find the sequence of ON / OFF flags corresponding to

[0055] The data processing unit 111 calculates the number of 1s (High) in the irradiation time control data transmitted from the deflection control circuit 130 to the input / output circuit 31a in a predetermined time unit as the data transfer amount. The data processing unit 111 also calculates the number of 1s (High) in the irradiation time control data transmitted from the deflection control circuit 130 to the input / output circuit 31b in a predetermined time unit as the data transfer amount. All signal lines transmitting the irradiation time control data may be used to calculate the data transfer amount, or some signal lines may be thinned out to calculate the data transfer amount. The data transfer amount may be calculated in predetermined time units or in terms of the data transfer time in predetermined data division units. The operating current depends on the transfer amount and transfer time of the control data.

[0056] The data path is divided in advance into blocks each including the input / output circuits 31a and 31b (data path D L , D R), and for each block, a circuit current is applied to calculate the center of gravity of the on-beam, and the shift amount is obtained. At this time, the multiple wirings connected to these input / output circuits may be divided into blocks according to the distance between the wirings, for example, by dividing a group of wirings grouped together with wirings having a close average distance between them at the input / output position to the input / output circuit (input / output position). However, the method of dividing the wirings is not limited to this. The shift amount X is the deviation of the center of gravity of the on-beam in one half of the region from the center of the region on one half of the cell array circuit 34 where the individual blanking mechanism 40 that receives the beam on / off signal from the input / output circuit 31a is located. L , Y L The deviation of the center of gravity of the on-beam in the other half of the cell array circuit 34 from the center of the area where the individual blanking mechanism 40 that receives the beam on / off signal from the input / output circuit 31b is arranged is calculated as a shift amount X R , Y R is required.

[0057] Using the circuit current I as a variable, find functions f and g to calculate the shift amount. X L / R =f(I L / R ), Y L / R =g(I L / R The data of the functions f and g is stored in the storage unit 142.

[0058] During the drawing process, the correction amount calculation unit 113 calculates the shift amount X using the circuit current calculated by the data processing unit 111 and the function extracted from the storage unit 142. L / R , Y L / R Ask for.

[0059] The correction amount calculation unit 113 calculates the calculated shift amount X L and X R and calculates the shift amount X in the x direction for the entire blanking aperture array substrate. L and Y R are combined to calculate the shift amount Y in the y direction for the entire blanking aperture array substrate.

[0060] The bonding method is not limited, for example, X=aX L +bX R The shift amount X can be calculated by a linear combination such as L and X R Alternatively, the maximum value (larger value) of the shift amount X may be used. L and X R The average value of these may be used as the shift amount X.

[0061] The correction amount calculation unit 113 calculates the correction amount for canceling the calculated shift amounts X and Y for the entire blanking aperture array substrate.

[0062] The deflection control circuit 130 controls the deflection amount of the deflector 208 based on this correction amount, thereby correcting the irradiation position or irradiation amount of the multi-beam.

[0063] As described above, according to this embodiment, the shift amount is calculated based on the circuit current to the input / output circuits 31a and 31b, and the beam irradiation position or irradiation amount is corrected. Therefore, the influence on the accuracy of the beam irradiation position from the electric field due to the accumulated charge of the capacitance on the input / output circuits 31a and 31b and the magnetic field due to the drive current can be suppressed, thereby improving the drawing accuracy.

[0064] In the above embodiment, the circuit current used to calculate the shift amount may correspond to a shot that occurs before the actual shot, may correspond to the actual shot, may correspond to a shot that occurs after the actual shot, or may correspond to two or more of these.

[0065] If it corresponds to a shot before the actual shot, it can correct for the effects of previous shots. If it corresponds to the actual shot, it can perform real-time correction. If it corresponds to a shot after the actual shot, it can correct for the effects of previously irradiated shots.

[0066] In the above embodiment, an example of calculating the shift amount using the circuit current (power supply current and operating current) has been described, but the operating current may be calculated based on any one of the control signals of the data transfer amount, data transfer time, and on / off current based on the beam on / off signal.

[0067] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which two input / output circuits are provided on the blanking aperture array substrate and the data path from the deflection control circuit 130 is divided into two systems, but the number of input / output circuits and the data path from the deflection control circuit 130 may be three or more systems. Also, two or more systems of data paths may be input from the deflection control circuit 130 to one input / output circuit.

[0068] The cell array circuit 34 may be divided into multiple blocks, and the deviation of the center of gravity of the on-beam from the center of the block may be calculated for each block based on the irradiation dose distribution or blanking distribution for each block. The combined shift amount (second shift amount) of the deviations for each block may be added to the shift amount (first shift amount) calculated using functions f and g.

[0069] For example, as shown in Fig. 8, the cell array circuit 34 is divided into four 2x2 blocks B1 to B4, and the amount of deviation of the center of gravity of the on-beam from the center of the block is determined for each block. All of the individual blanking mechanisms 40 in blocks B1 to B4 may be evaluated, or only some of the individual blanking mechanisms 40 may be evaluated, for example, by skipping one. Reducing the number of individual blanking mechanisms 40 to be evaluated reduces the amount of calculation.

[0070] The amount of deviation of the on-beam center of gravity from the center of the block is calculated for each of blocks B1 to B4, and the amount of deviation of each block is combined (linear combination, maximum value selection, averaging, etc.) to calculate the amount of shift (second shift amount).

[0071] Since the amount of shift for each block indicates the rotation, expansion, distortion, etc. of the beam shape of the entire multi-beam, the beam shape may be corrected using an electrostatic lens or an astigmatism correction coil.

[0072] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the components can be modified and embodied in practice without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, various inventions can be created by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, some components may be omitted from all the components shown in the embodiments. Furthermore, components from different embodiments may be appropriately combined. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 40 Individual blanking mechanism 50 Blanca 100 Drawing device 110 Control computer 111 Data Processing Unit 112 Drawing control unit 113 Correction amount calculation unit

Claims

1. a step of dividing a data path for inputting control data for controlling on / off of each beam of the multi-beam into a cell array on a blanking aperture array substrate into a plurality of first blocks according to at least one of each input / output circuit of a plurality of input / output circuits and a plurality of wiring groups grouped according to the distances between a plurality of wirings to the plurality of input / output circuits, and calculating a first shift amount of the multi-beam for each of the plurality of first blocks due to at least one of an electric field and a magnetic field for each of the plurality of divided first blocks; correcting the irradiation position or the irradiation amount of the multi-beam based on the first shift amount and irradiating each beam of the multi-beam; A multi-charged particle beam writing method comprising:

2. 2. The multi-charged particle beam writing method according to claim 1, wherein the first shift amount is calculated for each of the plurality of divided first blocks based on a circuit current including a power supply current and an operating current that depends on a transfer amount or a transfer time of control data to each of the plurality of input / output circuits.

3. Dividing the cell array into a plurality of second blocks to obtain an irradiation dose distribution or a blanking distribution; calculating a second shift amount for each of the second blocks from the irradiation dose distribution; Furthermore, 3. The multi-charged particle beam writing method according to claim 1, wherein the irradiation position or the irradiation amount of the multi-beams is corrected based on the first shift amount and the second shift amount, and each beam of the multi-beams is irradiated.

4. 4. The multi-charged particle beam writing method according to claim 3, wherein the shift amount of the entire cell array and the rotation, enlargement, and distortion of the beam shape of the multi-beams are calculated from the first shift amount or the second shift amount, and the beam shape is corrected.

5. a blanking aperture array substrate having a plurality of blankers each corresponding to one of the multiple beams and turning on / off the corresponding beam; a deflection control circuit that outputs control data for controlling the on / off of each of the multiple beams; a plurality of input / output circuits that receive the control data from the deflection control circuit and output beam on / off signals to each of the plurality of blankers; a writing control unit that calculates a first shift amount due to at least one of an electric field and a magnetic field for each of a plurality of first blocks divided according to at least one of each input / output circuit of the plurality of input / output circuits and a plurality of wiring groups grouped according to distances between a plurality of wirings to the plurality of input / output circuits, and that corrects an irradiation position or an irradiation amount of the multi-beam based on the first shift amount for writing; A multi-charged particle beam writing apparatus comprising:

6. 6. The multi-charged particle beam drawing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the drawing control unit calculates the first shift amount for each of the plurality of divided first blocks based on a circuit current including a power supply current and an operating current that depends on a transfer amount or a transfer time of control data to each of the plurality of input / output circuits.

7. a step of dividing a data path for inputting control data for controlling on / off of each beam of the multi-beam into a cell array on a blanking aperture array substrate into a plurality of first blocks according to at least one of each input / output circuit of a plurality of input / output circuits and a plurality of wiring groups grouped according to the distances between a plurality of wirings to the plurality of input / output circuits, and calculating a first shift amount of the multi-beam for each of the plurality of first blocks due to at least one of an electric field and a magnetic field for each of the plurality of divided first blocks; correcting the irradiation position or the irradiation amount of the multi-beam based on the first shift amount; A program that causes the control computer to execute the above.

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