Blanking Deflector Electrode Coating for Stable Charged Beam Deflection
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing drawing apparatuses face challenges in maintaining deflection accuracy of charged particle beams due to variations in the thickness of metallic films on electrodes, leading to beam drift and deteriorated drawing accuracy, especially when exposed to high-frequency and low-frequency operations.
Innovation Solution
A blanking deflector is designed with a first electrode coated with a low-resistance material film and a second electrode coated with a high-resistance material film, allowing control of the charged particle beam by applying voltages and currents to manage eddy currents and stabilize the magnetic field, thereby improving deflection accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the metallic film thickness is increased to prevent base material exposure, then charge-up suppression is improved, but eddy current increases causing beam drift and deteriorated deflection accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode structure is segmented into three distinct layers: base material layer, intermediate metallic film layer, and surface coating layer. Each layer serves a specific function - the base material provides structural support, the intermediate metallic film prevents charge-up, and the surface coating layer suppresses eddy current. This segmentation allows optimization of each layer's thickness independently to balance charge-up suppression and eddy current reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the electrode have different film thicknesses. The intermediate metallic film has a thickness of 1-10 nm which is optimized for charge-up suppression, while the surface coating layer has a thickness of 0.1-1 nm specifically optimized for eddy current suppression. This local quality variation allows the electrode to simultaneously achieve both charge-up prevention and eddy current reduction.
2Manufacturing precision
If the metallic film thickness is thinned to suppress eddy current, then beam drift is reduced, but the base material becomes exposed causing charge-up and deteriorated drawing accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode structure is segmented into three distinct layers: base material layer, intermediate metallic film layer, and surface coating layer. Each layer serves a specific function - the base material provides structural support, the intermediate metallic film prevents charge-up, and the surface coating layer suppresses eddy current. This segmentation allows optimization of each layer's thickness independently to balance charge-up suppression and eddy current reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the electrode have different film thicknesses. The intermediate metallic film has a thickness of 1-10 nm which is optimized for charge-up suppression, while the surface coating layer has a thickness of 0.1-1 nm specifically optimized for eddy current suppression. This local quality variation allows the electrode to simultaneously achieve both charge-up prevention and eddy current reduction.
3Area of stationary object
If the electrode surface area is enlarged to control large diameter multibeam, then beam coverage is improved, but uniform film deposition becomes difficult causing varying film thickness and beam drift
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the thickness parameter of the surface coating layer to 0.1-1 nm, which is thinner than the intermediate metallic film layer. This parameter change allows the surface coating to be more uniformly deposited across large electrode areas while still providing sufficient eddy current suppression. The thinness of the surface coating layer makes it less sensitive to deposition non-uniformities on large surfaces.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively suppresses eddy currents and maintains stable magnetic fields during both high-frequency and low-frequency operations, enhancing the deflection accuracy and preventing beam drift, thus improving the overall drawing precision.
Implementation Method 1
the film thickness of the metallic film of the electrodes varies, the magnitude of a magnetic field changes at the time of a high-frequency operation and at the time of a low-frequency operation due to the effect of an eddy current
Implementation Method 2
The blanking deflector causes the entire multibeam to pass between a plurality of electrodes to deflect the multibeam
Data Source
AI summary
A blanking deflector according to an embodiment includes: a first electrode comprising a first insulator, a first material film coating all surfaces of the first insulator and having lower resistance than the first insulator, and a first low-resistance film coating part or all of surfaces of the first material film and having lower resistance than the first material film; and a second electrode comprising a second insulator, a second material film coating all surfaces of the second insulator and having lower resistance than the second insulator, and a second low-resistance film coating part or all of surfaces of the second material film and having lower resistance than the second material film, wherein the blanking deflector controls whether to irradiate a specimen with a charged particle beam by causing the charged particle beam to pass between the first electrode and the second electrode.