JP2009278010A - Charged particle beam drawing apparatus and method of transferring drawn data by charged particle beam drawing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charged particle beam drawing apparatus capable of transferring drawn data efficiently to a deflection control means and surely preventing missing blocks in the drawn data in the deflection control means, and also to provide a method of transferring drawn data by the charged particle beam drawing apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: A data processing section 16 is equipped with a computation means 22 which performs computation processing on design block data and generates drawing block data; and multiple rearrangement means 24 and 26 which rearrange the drawing block data generated by the computation means 22 in order of drawing and transfers the rearranged drawing block data to a deflection control circuit 15. During transfer of the rearranged drawing block data from one rearrangement means 24 to the deflection control circuit 15, the other rearrangement means 26 is selected as an output destination of the drawing block data from the computation means 22 by means of a selection means 23. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a charged particle beam drawing apparatus and a drawing data transfer method of the charged particle beam drawing apparatus.

In recent years, miniaturization of circuit patterns of semiconductor devices has progressed dramatically, and electron beam drawing apparatuses are widely used. In order to perform drawing using the electron beam drawing apparatus, it is necessary to create drawing data for the electron beam drawing apparatus from the design data.
An apparatus that creates a block of drawing data from a block of design data using a pipeline method is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). According to the apparatus of Patent Document 1, since the number of serially connected processors differs between arithmetic units, design data blocks having different arithmetic loads can be calculated with high efficiency.

However, in the pipeline method, since drawing data is not efficiently transferred to the deflection control circuit, it may not be possible to cope with further improvement in throughput. In addition to improving the throughput, it is necessary to reliably prevent a loss of drawing data blocks in the deflection control circuit.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-90141 JP 2008-34439 A

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to perform charged particle beam drawing capable of efficiently transferring drawing data to the deflection control means and reliably preventing a loss of the drawing data block in the deflection control means. An object of the present invention is to provide a drawing data transfer method for an apparatus and a charged particle beam drawing apparatus.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a first aspect of the present invention is a plurality of computing means for computing design block data that is design data distributed in units of blocks and generating drawing block data that is drawing data in units of blocks. A plurality of rearrangement units that rearrange the drawing block data generated by the plurality of arithmetic units in the drawing order, and transfer the data to a deflection control unit that controls the deflector; and the drawing blocks generated by the plurality of arithmetic units As a data output destination, selection means for selecting one sorting means from the plurality of sorting means, and drawing block data to be first transferred from the sorting means selected by the selection means to the deflection control means are set. A charged particle beam drawing apparatus comprising: a setting unit configured to perform the reordering unit selected by the selecting unit. When the drawing block data set by the above is input from the calculation means, the input drawing block data or a plurality of drawing block data including the input drawing blocks and having a continuous drawing order are supplied to the deflection control means. It is characterized by transferring.
According to the first aspect, since rearrangement of drawing block data and transfer to the deflection control means are performed by the plurality of rearrangement means, transfer to the deflection control means can be performed with high efficiency, and throughput can be reduced. Can be improved. However, if a plurality of rearranging means are provided, drawing block data is likely to be lost in the deflection control means. However, according to the first aspect, the drawing block data to be first transferred from the rearrangement unit selected by the selection unit to the deflection control unit is set by the setting unit. When the drawing block data set by the setting means is input from the computing means to the rearranging means, the input drawing block data, or a plurality of drawing in which the drawing order includes the input drawing block data are continuous. Block data is transferred from the rearrangement means to the deflection control means. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the writing block data from being lost in the deflection control means.

  In the first aspect, it is preferable that the selection unit switches the rearrangement unit when starting to transfer the drawing block data to the deflection control unit. Thus, during the transfer of the drawing block data from one rearrangement unit to the deflection control unit, the drawing block data can be output from the arithmetic unit to the other rearrangement unit. Then, the rearrangement of the drawing block data can be executed by other rearrangement means. Therefore, the throughput can be further improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of drawing block data that is drawing data in units of blocks is generated by calculating a plurality of design block data that is design data distributed in units of blocks, and the plurality of generated drawing data A method for transferring drawing data in a charged particle beam drawing apparatus, wherein block data is rearranged in a drawing order by a plurality of rearrangement means and transferred to a deflection control means, and the step of distributing the plurality of design block data to a plurality of arithmetic means Selecting one sorting unit from the plurality of sorting units as an output destination of the drawing block data generated by the plurality of computing units, and first selecting the sorting control unit from the selected sorting unit to the deflection control unit. A step of setting drawing block data to be transferred to the drawing block, and a drawing block data generated by the plurality of computing means. Output the data to the selected sorting means, and when the set drawing block data is input to the selected sorting means, the input drawing block data or the input drawing block data is And a step of transferring a plurality of drawing block data including a continuous drawing order to the deflection control means.
According to the second aspect, the drawing block data is rearranged and transferred to the deflection control means by the plurality of rearrangement means, so that the transfer to the deflection control means can be performed with high efficiency, and the throughput is reduced. Can be improved. However, if a plurality of rearranging means are provided, drawing block data is likely to be lost in the deflection control means. However, according to the second aspect, drawing block data to be transferred first from the selected rearrangement means to the deflection control means is set. When the set drawing block data is input to the sorting means, the input drawing block data or a plurality of drawing block data including the input drawing block data and having the drawing order continuous are rearranged. Is transferred from the means to the deflection control means. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the writing block data from being lost in the deflection control means.

  In the second aspect, it is preferable that the method further includes a step of switching the selected rearrangement unit to another rearrangement unit when the transfer of the drawing block data to the deflection control unit is started. Thereby, during the transfer of the drawing block data from one sorting means to the deflection control means, the drawing block data can be output from the computing means to the other sorting means, and the drawing block data can be output in the other sorting means. Can be sorted. Therefore, the throughput can be further improved.

  In this second aspect, the method further includes a step of pooling the drawing block data generated by the plurality of expansion means, and the drawing data pooled so that the set drawing block data can be input to the selected sorting means. It is preferable to output the data to the selected sorting means. Thereby, even when a lot of drawing block data is generated and pooled, it is possible to prevent the drawing block data from being lost in the selected rearranging means. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of missing drawing block data in the deflection control means.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an electron beam drawing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
An electron beam drawing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a drawing unit 1 that executes pattern drawing. An electron beam 3 (for example, an electron beam accelerated to 50 kV) 3 emitted from the electron gun 2 of the drawing unit 1 is formed into a rectangular cross section by the S1 aperture 4. The electron beam 3 shaped by the S1 aperture 4 is projected onto the S2 aperture 7 by the projection lens 6. At this time, the position of the S1 aperture image on the S2 aperture 7 is adjusted by the shaping deflector 5. By controlling the shaping deflector 5 by the deflection control circuit 15, the degree of overlap between the S 1 aperture image and the opening of the S 2 aperture 7 is controlled. As a result, the cross-sectional shape of the electron beam 3 is formed into a rectangle or a triangle.

The electron beam 3 formed by the S2 aperture 7 is shrunk by the objective lens 9 and irradiated onto the sample 10. At this time, the irradiation position of the electron beam 3 on the sample 10 is determined by driving and controlling the objective deflector 8 by the deflection control circuit 15. The sample 10 is a reticle, for example, and is held on a stage 11 that moves continuously. The stage 11 is driven in the X direction, the Y direction, and the θ direction (horizontal rotation direction) by driving a motor (not shown) by the stage drive circuit 12. The position of the stage 11 is detected by a stage position detection circuit 14 based on the output of the laser interferometer 13.
Although not shown, the objective deflector 8 is composed of a sub-deflector that deflects the electron beam in the subfield on the sample 10 and a main deflector that controls the position of the subfield in the frame. Can do.

  The deflection control circuit 15 drives and controls the shaping deflector 5 and the objective deflector 8 based on the drawing data (drawing block data) transferred from the data processing unit 16. The data processing unit 16 transfers drawing block data generated by distributing / parallelizing design data (CAD data) to the deflection control circuit 15. In addition to the DPM (Data Pass Manager) 20 as a control means for executing control related to design data distribution / parallelization processing and drawing block data transfer, the data processing unit 16 includes a distribution means 21, a plurality of calculation means 22, , Selection means 23, first rearrangement means 24, and second rearrangement means 26. The plurality of arithmetic means 22 are arranged in parallel between the distributing means 21 and the selecting means 23 one by one.

  The distribution means 21 is a unit that distributes one design data into a plurality of block unit design data (hereinafter referred to as “design block data”). Each calculation means 22 is a calculation unit that performs graphic calculation (including expansion processing) on the distributed design block data and generates drawing data in units of blocks (hereinafter referred to as “drawing block data”). In addition, each calculation means 22 can temporarily pool (hold) the generated drawing block data. The selection unit 23 selects one of the first rearrangement unit 24 and the second rearrangement unit 26 as an output destination of the drawing block data generated by the calculation unit 22. The first rearrangement unit 24 and the second rearrangement unit 26 are units that rearrange input drawing block data in the drawing order and transfer them to the deflection control circuit 15.

  The first and second rearranging means 24 and 26 have memories 25 and 27 used for rearranging the drawing block data, respectively. The capacity of the memories 25 and 27 can be 4 GB to 12 GB, for example. Note that the data amount of one drawing block data can be, for example, 200 MB to 500 MB.

  An electron beam drawing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a control unit 30 that controls the entire operation of the electron beam drawing apparatus 100. In addition to the stage drive circuit 12, the stage position detection circuit 14, the deflection control circuit 15, and the DPM 20 described above, a storage device 17 is connected to the control unit 30 via a bus 18. The storage device 17 stores a plurality of design data.

Next, the operation of the data processing unit 16 will be briefly described.
When the pattern layout is registered by the operator, the DPM 20 reads design data corresponding to the pattern layout from the storage device 17 and outputs the read design data to the distribution unit 21. The distribution means 21 distributes the input design data into a plurality of design block data, and outputs the distributed design block data to the vacant calculation means 22. Each computing means 22 generates drawing block data DPB (Data Pass Block) by performing design block data computation processing (graphic computation processing). This arithmetic processing includes expansion processing for expanding compressed design block data.

  Here, even if the distribution unit 21 distributes the design block data to the same data amount, the data amount of the DPB generated by the calculation unit 22 is different. The main reason that the DPB data amount is different is the difference in pattern density. For this reason, even if the design block data is distributed to the plurality of computing means 22 at the same time, the computation end timings of the plurality of computing means 22 are different. As a result, the DPB order input to the rearranging means 24 and 26 selected by the selecting means 23 is different from the drawing order. Therefore, before transferring the DPB to the deflection control circuit 15, it is necessary to rearrange the DPB in the drawing order in the rearranging means 24 and 26.

  When the arithmetic processing is completed, each arithmetic means 22 does not immediately output the generated DPB to the selected rearranging means 24 and 26, but temporarily pools them. Specifically, each computing means 22 generates a DPB and simultaneously outputs a pool signal to the DPM 20. The DPM 20 causes the rearrangement means 24 and 26 selected by the selection means 23 to output the DPB from the calculation means 22 that has output the pool signal. At this time, the remaining amount (free capacity) of the memories 25 and 27 of the selected sorting means 24 and 26 is taken into consideration. That is, the pooled DPB is output from the computing means 22 so that a waiting DPB described later can be always stored in the memories 25 and 27.

  The rearranging means 24 and 26 temporarily store the DPB input from the arithmetic means 22 in the internal memories 25 and 27, rearrange the DPB in the drawing order (number order), and transfer the DPB to the deflection control circuit 15. At this time, when a waiting DPB, which will be described later, is input, the input waiting DPB or a plurality of DPBs (DPB group) having serial numbers including the waiting DPB are transferred. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, drawing data having no missing drawing block data is obtained. As shown in FIG. 2, the length of the drawing block data is not constant, and one drawing block data is not divided into two stripes.

Next, transfer of drawing block data (DPB) in the data processing unit 16 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are diagrams for explaining a drawing block data (DPB) transfer method executed by the data processing unit 16 in the present embodiment.

3A, first, the first rearrangement unit 24 is selected by the selection unit 23. Then, as indicated by the symbol “W” in FIG. 3A, “waiting DPB” is set to DPB 1 in the selected first rearranging means 24. This “waiting DPB” is the DPB having the smallest number among the DPBs not yet transferred to the deflection control circuit (DEF) 15 (that is, the DPB having the earliest drawing order). That is, the “waiting DPB” is a DPB that needs to be transferred to the deflection control circuit 15 first. By transferring this waiting DPB to the deflection control circuit 15, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a defective DPB.
As shown in FIG. 3A, since DPBs 2, 4, and 5 are pooled, these DPBs 2, 4, and 5 are output to the first rearrangement unit 24.

The DPBs 2, 4, 5 input to the first rearranging unit 24 are stored in the memory 25 of the first rearranging unit 24. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3B, the first rearranging means 24 (the memory 25 thereof) does not store the DPB1 that is the waiting DPB. For this reason, DPBs 2, 4, and 5 are not transferred from the first rearrangement means 24 to the deflection control circuit 15. That is, transfer of DPB from the first rearrangement means 24 to the deflection control circuit 15 is prohibited until DPB1 which is a waiting DPB is input.
Then, as shown in FIG. 3B, when DPB 1 is pooled, DPB 1 is output to the first rearranging means 24.

DPB1 input to the first rearranging means 24 is stored in the memory 25. Since the stored DPB1 is a standby DPB, the DPB1 is transferred from the first rearrangement means 24 to the deflection control circuit 15 as shown in FIG. At this time, not only DPB1 but also DPB2 continuous with DPB1 is transferred to the deflection control circuit 15 at a time. The deflection control circuit 15 controls the shaping deflector 5 and the objective deflector 8 based on the transferred DPBs 1 and 2. Thereby, DPB 1 and 2 can be drawn on the sample 10 (the same applies to the following DPBs).
On the other hand, the DPBs 1 and 2 and the discontinuous DPBs 4 and 5 are not transferred to the deflection control circuit 15. This is because when the DPBs 4 and 5 are transferred, the DPB 3 is lost in the deflection control circuit 15, and pattern omission occurs.
Although data loss is permitted in the Internet field, DPB loss is not allowed in the electron beam lithography system 100 and must be reliably prevented.

When the transfer of the DPBs 1 and 2 from the first rearrangement unit 24 to the deflection control circuit 15 is started, the selection unit 23 selects the second rearrangement unit 26 and sets the waiting DPB “W” to DPB3. The
When DPB 3 is pooled during the transfer of DPB 1 and 2, this DPB 3 is output to the second rearranging means 26. Thus, by alternately switching the first rearrangement unit 24 and the second rearrangement unit 26 at the transfer start timing to the deflection control circuit 15, the rearrangement units 24 and 26 can be used efficiently, Throughput can be improved.
The DPB 3 input to the second rearranging means 26 is stored in the memory 27. Since the stored DPB 3 is a standby DPB, the DPB 3 is transferred from the second rearrangement means 26 to the deflection control circuit 15 as shown in FIG. At this time, since DPB continuous with DPB 3 is not stored in the memory 27 of the second rearranging means 26, only DPB 3 is transferred to the deflection control circuit 15.

  When the transfer of the DPB 3 from the second rearrangement unit 26 to the deflection control circuit 15 is started, the first rearrangement unit 24 is selected by the selection unit 23 as shown in FIG. Is set in DPB4. Since DPB4 is already stored in the first rearrangement means 24, DPB4 and DPB5 continuous with DPB4 can be transferred to the deflection control circuit 15. However, transfer from both the first rearrangement unit 24 and the second rearrangement unit 26 to the deflection control circuit 15 is not possible. Therefore, the DPBs 4 and 5 are transferred after the transfer of the DPB 3 is completed. As shown in FIG. 3E, when the DPBs 6 and 7 are pooled during the transfer of the DPB 3, the DPBs 6 and 7 are output to the first rearrangement unit 24.

  When the transfer of the DPB 3 is completed, the transfer of the DPBs 4, 5, 6 and 7 from the first rearrangement unit 24 to the deflection control circuit 15 is started as shown in FIG. 2 rearrangement means 26 is selected, and waiting DPB “W” is set in DPB8.

  Thereafter, when the DPBs 9, 10, 11, and 12 are pooled as shown in FIG. 4B, the DPBs 9, 10, 11, and 12 can be output to the second rearranging unit 26 in the same manner as described above. . However, as shown in FIG. 4B, only DPBs 9, 10, and 11 are output to the second rearranging means 26. This is because when the DPBs 9, 10, 11, and 12 are stored in the memory 27 of the second rearranging means 26, the remaining amount (empty capacity) of the memory 27 becomes smaller than the capacity of the DPB 8 that is the standby DPB. That is, after DPB 9, 10, 11, 12 is stored in memory 27, DPB 8 cannot be stored, and DPB 8 is lost. Therefore, the DPB 12 is not output to the second rearranging unit 26 in order to ensure the remaining amount in the memory 27 that can store the DPB 8 that is the waiting DPB.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4C, when the DPB 8 is pooled, the DPB 8 is output to the second rearranging means 26. As described above, since the memory 27 of the second rearranging unit 26 has a remaining amount capable of storing the DPB 8, the DPB 8 is stored in the memory 27. Since the stored DPB 8 is a standby DPB, as shown in FIG. 4D, DPB 8 and DPBs 9, 10, and 11 continuing to DPB 8 are transferred from second rearrangement means 26 to deflection control circuit 15. When the transfer of the DPBs 8, 9, 10, and 11 is started, as shown in FIG. 4D, the selection unit 23 selects the first rearrangement unit 24, and the waiting DPB “W” is set in the DPB 12. . Since the DPB 12 is already pooled, the DPB 12 is output to the first rearranging means 24.

The DPB 12 input to the first rearranging unit 24 is stored in the memory 25. Since this stored DPB 12 is a standby DPB, the DPB 12 is transferred from the first rearrangement means 24 to the deflection control circuit 15 as shown in FIG. When the transfer of the DPB 12 is started, the second rearranging unit 26 is selected by the selecting unit 23 as shown in FIG.
By repeating the above operation, it is possible to improve the throughput while preventing the occurrence of defective DPB in the deflection control circuit 15.

Next, specific control will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a data transfer control routine executed by the DPM 20 in the present embodiment. This routine is started when a pattern layout is registered by an operator.

  According to the routine shown in FIG. 5, first, distributed processing of design data is executed, and design block data generated by the distributed processing is distributed to a plurality of computing means 22 (step 100). In step 100, design data corresponding to the pattern layout registered by the operator is read from the storage device 17, and the read design data is input to the distribution unit 21. The distribution unit 21 generates a plurality of design block data by distributing the input design data, and outputs the generated plurality of design block data to the available calculation unit 22. The computing means 22 temporarily pools the DPB that is the drawing block data by computing the input design block data.

After the processing of step 100, the selection unit 23 selects either the first rearrangement unit 24 or the second rearrangement unit 26 as the output destination of the DPB generated by the calculation unit 22 (step 102). In this step 102, for example, as shown in FIG. 3A, the first rearranging means 24 is selected. Then, the waiting DPB is set in the sorting means selected in step 102 (step 104).
As described above, this waiting DPB is the DPB of the smallest number among the DPBs that have not been transferred to the deflection control circuit 15 (that is, the DPB that is drawn first). In this step 104, for example, as shown in FIG. 3A, in the selected first rearranging means 24, DPB1 is set as the waiting DPB (W).
The processing in step 104 corresponds to the “setting unit” in the first aspect of the present invention.

  Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the DPB is pooled in any of the plurality of computing means 22 (step 106). As described above, each computing means 22 outputs a pool signal to the DPM 20 when pooling the generated DPB. In this step 106, it is determined whether the DPB is pooled based on the pool signal input from the computing means 22. The process of step 106 is repeatedly executed until the DPB is pooled in the calculation means 22.

  If it is determined in step 106 that the DPB is pooled, it is determined whether the pooled DPB is the waiting DPB set in step 104 (step 108). If it is determined in step 108 that the DPB pooled is the standby DPB, the pooled DPB is output to the sorting means selected in step 102 (step 112). In this step 112, for example, as shown in FIG. 3B, DPB1, which is a waiting DPB, is output from the computing means 22 to the first rearranging means 24 and stored in the memory 25. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 114.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 108 that the DPB pooled is not a standby DPB, the pooled DPB is output to the sorting means selected in step 102 and stored in the sorting means memory. It is determined whether or not the capacity for the waiting DPB remains (step 110). If it is determined in step 110 that the capacity for the waiting DPB remains, the pooled DPB is output to the sorting means selected in step 102 (step 112). In this step 112, for example, as shown in FIG. 3A, the pooled DPBs 2, 4, and 5 are output from the computing means 22 to the first sorting means 24, and the memory 25 of the first sorting means 24 is output. Is remembered. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 114.

  If it is determined in step 110 that there is no remaining DPB capacity, the pooled DPB is not output to the rearranging means, and the process returns to step 106. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, DPB 9-11 is output to the second rearranging means 26, but DPB 12 is not output to the second rearranging means 26 and remains pooled. This is because when the DPB 12 is output to the second rearranging means 26 and stored in the memory 27, the DPB 8 that is the waiting DPB cannot be stored in the memory 27.

  In step 114, it is determined whether or not the waiting DPB is input to the selected rearranging means, that is, whether or not the waiting DPB is stored in the memory of the selected rearranging means. If it is determined in step 114 that the waiting DPB is not input, the process returns to step 106.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 114 that the standby DPB has been input, it is determined whether or not the DPB is being transferred from the rearrangement means not selected to the deflection control circuit 15 (step 116). The processing in step 116 is repeatedly executed until the DPB transfer is completed. As a result, it is possible to prevent a situation in which DPB transfer is simultaneously performed from both rearrangement means 24 and 26 to the deflection control circuit 15. For example, as shown in FIG. 3E, while the DPB 3 is being transferred from the second rearrangement unit 26 to the deflection control circuit 15, the DPBs 4 and 5 from the first rearrangement unit 24 to the deflection control circuit 15 are transferred. There is no transfer.

  If it is determined in step 116 that the DPB is not being transferred, transfer of the waiting DPB or a plurality of serial numbers including the waiting DPB to the deflection control circuit 15 is started (step 118). In this step 118, for example, as shown in FIG. 3C, transfer of DPB1 and 2 to the deflection control circuit 15 is started.

Then, it is determined whether or not the final DPB (see FIG. 2) has been transferred to the deflection control circuit 15 (step 120). If it is determined in step 120 that the final DPB has not been transferred, the reordering means is switched (step 122). In this step 122, a reordering means different from the reordering means transferring the DPB is selected. Thereafter, the process returns to step 4, and the waiting DPB is set in the rearranging means after switching.
In the above step 122, for example, as shown in FIG. 3C, the second rearranging unit 26 different from the first rearranging unit 24 transferring the DPBs 1 and 2 is selected. Thereby, the pooled DPBs can be output to the second rearrangement unit 26 after switching, and the DPBs can be rearranged in the second rearrangement unit 26.
Thereafter, in step 104, a waiting DPB is set in the rearrangement means switched in step 122. For example, as shown in FIG. 3C, the DPB 3 is set as the standby DPB in the second rearranging means 26. Thereafter, the processing after step 106 is executed.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 120 that the final DPB has been transferred, it is not necessary to switch the rearranging means, and thus this routine is terminated.

As described above, in the present embodiment, a plurality of rearranging units 24 and 26 are used to rearrange the drawing block data generated by the computing unit 22 and the deflection control circuit for the rearranged drawing block data. 15 is transferred. As a result, the drawing block data can be transferred from the rearranging means 24 and 26 to the deflection control circuit 15 with high efficiency, so that the waiting time of the drawing block data in the deflection control circuit 15 can be shortened. Throughput can be improved.
In the present embodiment, rearrangement means 26 and 24 different from the rearrangement means 24 and 26 that transfer drawing block data to the deflection control circuit 15 outputs the drawing block data from the calculation means 22. The destination is selected by the selection means 23. As a result, while the drawing block data is being transferred from one rearrangement unit to the deflection control circuit 15, the drawing block data can be output from the calculation unit 22 to the other rearrangement unit, and the other rearrangement unit. The rendering block data can be rearranged at. Thus, throughput can be improved.
In the present embodiment, the rearrangement means 24 and 26 selected by the selection means 23 sets the DPB having the smallest number among the DPBs not yet transferred to the deflection control circuit 15 as the waiting DPB. When the waiting DPB is input to the selected rearranging means 24 and 26, the waiting DPB or a serial number DPB including the waiting DPB is output to the deflection control circuit 15. Thereby, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of the missing DPB in the deflection control circuit 15.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, although the electron beam is used in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be applied to the case where another charged particle beam such as an ion beam is used.
In the above embodiment, two sorting means are provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more sorting means may be provided.

It is the schematic which shows the structure of the electron beam drawing apparatus by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the drawing data without the defect | deletion of drawing block data. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a drawing block data (DPB) transfer method executed by the data processing unit 16 in the embodiment of the present invention (part 1); FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a drawing block data (DPB) transfer method executed by the data processing unit 16 in the embodiment of the present invention (part 2); 4 is a flowchart showing a data transfer control routine executed by the DPM 20 in the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Electron beam drawing apparatus 1 Drawing part 5 Shaping deflector 8 Objective deflector 10 Sample 15 Deflection control circuit 16 Data processing part 17 Memory | storage device 20 DPM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 Distribution means 22 Calculation means 23 Selection means 24 1st rearrangement means 25,27 Memory 26 2nd rearrangement means 30 Control computer

Claims (5)

A plurality of calculation means for calculating design block data which is design data distributed in block units and generating drawing block data which is drawing data in block units;
A plurality of rearrangement means for rearranging the drawing block data generated by the plurality of arithmetic means in the drawing order and transferring the data to a deflection control means for controlling the deflector;
A selection unit that selects one sorting unit from the plurality of sorting units as an output destination of the drawing block data generated by the plurality of computing units;
Setting means for setting drawing block data to be transferred first from the rearrangement means selected by the selection means to the deflection control means;
The rearrangement means selected by the selection means includes the drawing block data inputted or the drawing block inputted when the drawing block data set by the setting means is inputted from the computing means. A charged particle beam drawing apparatus, wherein a plurality of drawing block data having a continuous sequence is transferred to the deflection control means. The charged particle beam drawing apparatus according to claim 1,
The charged particle beam drawing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit switches the rearrangement unit when starting transfer of the drawing block data to the deflection control unit. A plurality of design block data, which is design data distributed in units of blocks, are calculated to generate a plurality of drawing block data, which are drawing data in units of blocks, and the generated plurality of drawing block data are generated by a plurality of sorting means. A method of transferring drawing data in a charged particle beam drawing apparatus that rearranges the drawing order and transfers the deflection control means to the deflection control means,
Distributing the plurality of design block data to a plurality of computing means;
Selecting one sorting means from the plurality of sorting means as an output destination of the drawing block data generated by the plurality of computing means;
Setting drawing block data to be first transferred from the selected rearrangement means to the deflection control means;
Outputting the drawing block data generated by the plurality of computing means to the selected sorting means;
When the set drawing block data is input to the selected rearrangement means, the input drawing block data or a plurality of drawing block data including the input drawing block data and having a continuous drawing order are deflected. A method of transferring drawing data of a charged particle beam drawing apparatus, comprising: transferring to a control means. In the transfer method of the drawing data in the charged particle beam drawing apparatus of Claim 3,
The drawing data transfer of the charged particle beam drawing apparatus further comprising the step of switching the selected rearrangement means to another rearrangement means when starting the transfer of the drawing block data to the deflection control means Method. In the drawing data transfer method of the charged particle beam drawing apparatus according to claim 3 or 4,
Further comprising the step of pooling the drawing block data generated by the plurality of expansion means;
A drawing data transfer method for a charged particle beam drawing apparatus, comprising: outputting pooled drawing data to a selected rearrangement unit so that the set drawing block data can be input to the selected rearrangement unit.

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