Restricted Placement Grids for Multibeam Lithography Exposure
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional multibeam exposure strategies in lithographic processing are inefficient as they expose the entire target surface, including areas not intended for exposure, leading to increased processing time and data transfer overhead.
Innovation Solution
The method restricts exposure to predefined cluster areas on the target surface, separating them by dormant spaces, allowing for reduced processing time while maintaining high accuracy by adjusting exposure doses at nominal positions within these areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the entire target surface is exposed using conventional multibeam exposure strategies, then complete coverage is achieved, but processing time and data transfer overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the target surface into multiple cluster areas separated by dormant spaces, and further segments each cluster area into multiple sub-areas. This segmentation allows the exposure system to process only relevant regions rather than the entire target surface, reducing processing time while maintaining exposure accuracy through systematic coverage of all necessary areas.
2Reliability
If exposure is performed on all areas of the target surface, then no regions are missed, but data transfer overhead and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes dormant spaces from the exposure process by identifying and excluding areas that do not require exposure. By taking out these unnecessary regions from the processing workflow, the system maintains exposure completeness for all required areas while significantly reducing the total processing time and data transfer requirements.
3Productivity
If the beam is focused on specific cluster areas only, then processing efficiency improves, but coverage completeness must be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic beam steering and positioning systems that can rapidly switch between different cluster areas and sub-areas. The beam positioning is dynamically adjusted based on the exposure pattern requirements, allowing the system to efficiently navigate to specific areas needing exposure while maintaining high positioning accuracy through real-time control adjustments.
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
This approach reduces processing time and data requirements, enhancing writing efficiency and accuracy by focusing exposure only on specific regions of interest, thereby improving throughput and positional correction.
Implementation Method 1
illuminating said pattern definition device by means of an illuminating wide beam, which traverses the pattern definition device through said apertures thus forming a patterned beam consisting of a corresponding plurality of beamlets
Implementation Method 2
method for irradiating a target with a beam of energetic radiation composed of electrically charged particles
Data Source
AI summary
A method for irradiating a target with a beam of energetic electrically charged particles, wherein the target comprises an exposure region where an exposure by said beam is to be performed, and the exposure of a desired pattern is done employing a multitude of exposure positions on the target. Each exposure position represents the location of one of a multitude of exposure spots of uniform size and shape, with each exposure spot covering at least one pattern pixel of the desired pattern. The exposure positions are located within a number of mutually separate cluster areas which are defined at respective fixed locations on the target. In each cluster area the exposure position are within a given neighboring distance to a next neighboring exposure position, while the cluster areas are separated from each other by spaces free of exposure positions, which space has a width, which is at least the double of the neighboring distance.