JP5302606B2 - Charged particle beam drawing apparatus and charged particle beam drawing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a charged particle beam drawing apparatus and a charged particle beam drawing method.

  Along with the high integration of semiconductor devices, the circuit pattern of the semiconductor device is miniaturized. In order to form a fine circuit pattern in a semiconductor device, a highly accurate original pattern (that is, a reticle or mask) is required. In order to manufacture an original pattern, it is known to use an electron beam drawing apparatus having excellent resolution.

  In performing drawing processing using an electron beam drawing apparatus, a pattern layout (chip data) of a semiconductor device is generated, and design data defining the pattern layout is generated by an external device. This design data has a format that can be input to the electron beam drawing apparatus.

  When design data is input from an external device to the electron beam drawing apparatus, the design data is converted into drawing data in a format inside the electron beam drawing apparatus. This drawing data is data in which the shape and position of the graphic pattern are defined. Shot data is generated by performing a predetermined process on the drawing data, and the drawing process is executed based on the deflection data generated from the shot data.

  When the design data is composed of a plurality of files, an apparatus that improves processing efficiency by performing pipeline processing inside the electron beam drawing apparatus while transferring individual files is known (for example, Patent Documents). 1).

  However, there are cases where the design data is composed of one file in order to manage the design data by the user. In this case, when pipeline processing is performed using the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the design data of one file is batch transferred as shown in FIG. 9, and batch conversion into drawing data is performed after the batch transfer is completed. Is called. Batch conversion cannot be performed until batch transfer is completed, and subsequent processing cannot be performed until batch conversion is completed. For this reason, when the design data is composed of one file, the pipeline processing cannot be performed efficiently, and there is a problem that the drawing throughput is greatly reduced.

Even if the design data consists of multiple files, the amount of data in each file that makes up the design data is often different from the unit (data amount) that allows efficient pipeline processing. . Therefore, the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 still has room for improvement in terms of efficiently performing pipeline processing.
JP 2008-34439 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a charged particle beam drawing apparatus and a charged particle beam drawing method capable of efficiently performing pipeline processing.

  Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

  In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention includes a dividing unit that divides design data in which a pattern layout is defined into a plurality of data, and each piece of data divided by the dividing unit includes a shape of a graphic pattern and A drawing data conversion unit that converts the drawing data to a position-defined drawing data, a data processing unit that sequentially performs a plurality of predetermined processes on the drawing data converted by the drawing data conversion unit, and the data processing unit. A drawing unit that draws a pattern on a sample using a charged particle beam, and the division by the dividing unit, the conversion by the drawing data conversion unit, and the plurality of processes by the data processing unit are pipelined. The dividing unit divides the design data into units suitable for the pipeline processing.

  1st aspect of this invention WHEREIN: The design data analysis part which analyzes the data structure of the said design data is further provided, The said division part divides | segments the said design data based on the analysis result of the said design data analysis part You may comprise.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the second aspect of the present invention includes a dividing step for dividing design data in which a pattern layout is defined into a plurality of data, and the shape and position of the graphic pattern for each divided data. A step of converting the drawing data into defined data, a step of sequentially performing a plurality of predetermined processes on the drawing data, and drawing a pattern on the sample by a charged particle beam using the data subjected to the plurality of processes Dividing the design data, converting to the drawing data, and the plurality of processes constitute a pipeline process. In the division step, the design is performed in units suitable for the pipeline process. It is characterized by dividing data.

  The second aspect of the present invention may further include an analysis step for analyzing a data structure of the design data, and the division step may divide the design data based on an analysis result in the analysis step. Good.

  In the second aspect of the present invention, in the analysis step, a designable division position of the design data and a data amount of each data when divided at the divisionable position are acquired, and in the division step, each acquired data It is preferable that the design data is divided at the splittable position so that the total data amount obtained by adding the data amounts becomes the maximum data amount that can execute the pipeline processing.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, the design data is divided by the dividing unit, the divided data is converted into drawing data in which the shape and position of the graphic pattern are defined by the drawing data converting unit, and the converted drawing data is converted into the converted drawing data. A plurality of processes are performed by the data processing unit. Thereby, even if the design data is composed of one file, pipeline processing can be performed efficiently. Furthermore, according to the first aspect, since the design data is divided into units suitable for pipeline processing by the dividing unit, the pipeline processing can be efficiently performed even if the design data is composed of a plurality of files. it can.

  In the second aspect of the present invention, the design data is divided into a plurality of data, and each divided data is converted into drawing data in which the shape and position of the graphic pattern are defined, and a plurality of processes are sequentially performed on the drawing data. Done. Thereby, even if the design data is composed of one file, pipeline processing can be performed efficiently. Furthermore, according to the second aspect, since the design data is divided into units suitable for pipeline processing, the pipeline processing can be performed efficiently even if the design data is composed of a plurality of files.

  FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of an electron beam drawing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electron beam drawing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes a drawing unit 100 that performs a drawing process, and the drawing unit 100 includes an electron column 102. An illumination lens 110 for irradiating the first shaping aperture 108 with an electron beam (for example, an electron beam accelerated at 50 kV) 106 emitted from the electron gun 104 is disposed in the electron barrel 102.

  The electron beam 106 is transmitted through a first shaping aperture 108 having a rectangular opening, so that its cross-sectional shape is shaped into a rectangle. The shaped electron beam 106 is projected onto the second shaping aperture 114 by the projection lens 112. Inside the projection lens 112, a shaping deflector 116 is disposed concentrically with the projection lens 112.

  The position of the first shaping aperture image on the second shaping aperture 114 is controlled by the shaping deflector 116. By this control, the overlapping state between the first shaping aperture image and the opening of the second shaping aperture 114 changes, so that the shape and size of the electron beam 106 can be controlled.

  The focus of the electron beam 106 that has passed through the second shaping aperture 114 is focused on the surface of the sample 126 on the XY stage 124 by the objective lens 118. The XY stage 124 is continuously moved in the X direction (left and right direction in the figure) and the Y direction (depth direction in the figure) by a driving unit (not shown). The position of the XY stage 124 is measured by a known laser interferometer (not shown).

  The sample 126 is, for example, a reticle or mask in which a light shielding film such as a chromium film and a resist film are stacked on a glass substrate.

  Between the sample 126 and the second shaping aperture 114, a main deflector 120 and a sub deflector 122, which are objective deflectors, are arranged concentrically with the electron column 102. The irradiation position of the electron beam 106 on the sample 126 is determined by the main deflector 120 and the sub deflector 122.

  When performing the drawing process in the electron beam drawing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 2, the pattern to be drawn on the sample 126 is divided into strip-shaped frame regions, and the XY stage 124 is continuously moved in the X direction. Each frame area is drawn while The frame area is further divided into sub-field areas, and only the necessary parts in the sub-field area are deflected by the electron beam 106 formed by the first and second shaping apertures 120 and 122 to draw a figure.

  For deflecting the electron beam 106, a two-stage objective deflector composed of the main deflector 120 and the sub deflector 122 is used. The sub-field area is positioned by the main deflector 120, and the pattern drawing position in the sub-field area is positioned by the sub-deflector 122.

  The electron beam drawing apparatus shown in FIG. The control unit 200 includes a data analysis unit 202 that analyzes the data structure of design data input from an external device.

  3 to 5 are conceptual diagrams for explaining the structure of the design data defining the layout of the chip data and the extracted data information that is the analysis result by the data analysis unit 202. FIG.

  In the example shown in FIG. 3, data defining the layouts of areas 1 to 4 including graphic data respectively constitute a plurality of files 1 to 4 of design data. The design data header file defines the structure of the design data. That is, in this header file, the file name (files 1 to 4) storing the width and height of the chip, the width and height of areas 1 to 4, the arrangement information of areas 1 to 4, and the information of areas 1 to 4 The data size of each file 1 to 4 is described.

  Based on the information described in the header file, the data analysis unit 202 obtains a division position such that the data amount of each divided file becomes a pipeline processing unit, and extracts the division position and the data amount from the extracted data. Extract as information. As shown in FIG. 3, the extracted data information is a summary of the transfer file name and the data size of each transfer file for each pipeline processing unit.

  In the present invention, the unit of pipeline processing refers to the maximum amount of data that can be subjected to pipeline processing, for example, the amount of data for a plurality of frames.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4, data defining the layouts of areas 1 to 4 including graphic data constitute design data segments 1 to 4 each consisting of one file. In the header portion of the design data, the width and height of the chip, the width and height of areas 1 to 4, the arrangement information of areas 1 to 4, the offset of segments 1 to 4 storing information of areas 1 to 4, The data size and the like of segments 1 to 4 are described.

  Based on the information described in the header part, the data analysis unit 202 obtains a division position where the data amount of each divided file becomes a pipeline processing unit, and extracts the division position and the data amount from the extracted data. Extract as information. As shown in FIG. 4, the extracted data information is a summary of the transfer segment offset and the data size of each transfer segment for each pipeline processing unit.

  On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 5, unlike the example shown in FIG. 4, the design data consisting of one file does not have a header portion that defines the structure of the design data. In this example, the data structure of necessary design data cannot be acquired unless data is read sequentially from the beginning of the file.

  The data analysis unit 202 once reads all the data from the beginning of the file, acquires the position and data amount on the file in which the information of the cells 1 to 5 is described, and based on the acquired information, A division position where the data amount of each file becomes a pipeline processing unit is obtained, and the division position and the data amount of each file are extracted as extracted data information. As shown in FIG. 5, the extracted data information is a summary of the cell offset to be transferred and the data size of each cell for each pipeline processing unit.

  In the data analysis unit 202, a data structure analysis method is registered in advance according to the format of design data that can be input. When the design data is input, the data analysis unit 202 analyzes the design data according to an analysis method registered in advance corresponding to the format of the design data. The extracted data information that is the analysis result is sent to the data division transfer unit 204.

  The control unit 200 includes a plurality of data division transfer units 204, a drawing data conversion unit 208, a first data processing unit 210,..., An nth data processing unit 212 that execute pipeline processing.

  The data division transfer unit 204 divides the design data into data in units of pipeline processing according to the extracted data information, and transfers the divided data to the storage device 206 for storage. The storage device 206 is, for example, a memory or a hard disk.

  That is, each data division transfer unit 204 transfers the design data while dividing the design data for each pipeline processing unit of the extracted data information. In the case of the design data shown in FIG. 4, segment 1 is first divided by one data division transfer unit 204, and segments 2 and 3 are divided together by another data division transfer unit 204.

  The drawing data conversion unit 208 reads data from the storage device 206, converts the read data into drawing data in a predetermined format (that is, a format inside the electron beam drawing apparatus) using a conversion program, and stores the drawing data. Store in device 214. This drawing data is data in which the shape and position of the graphic pattern are defined.

  Here, the drawing data conversion unit 208 performs conversion processing to drawing data so as to be divided and transferred by the data division transfer unit 204 and pipeline processing.

  The first data processing unit 210 reads each drawing data from the storage device 214 and performs a format check on the read drawing data, for example.

  The n-th data processing unit (for example, the second data processing unit) 212 reads the drawing data after the format check from the storage device 214, and for example, estimates the number of shots of the read drawing data. By estimating the number of shots by the nth data processing unit 212, the drawing time can be estimated.

  The pipeline control unit 216 is connected to the data division transfer unit 204, the drawing data conversion unit 208, the first data processing unit 210,..., The nth data processing unit 212, and controls the pipeline processing executed by these. .

  In addition, the control unit 200 includes a control unit 250. The control unit 250 includes a plurality of data processing units 254, 256, and 258, and generates shot data from drawing data that has been processed by the nth data processing unit 212.

  The (n + 1) th data processing unit 254 reads the data after the number of shots estimated by the nth data processing unit 212 from the storage device 214, and performs, for example, a subfield area dividing process for dividing the graphic data of the read data into subfield areas. Then, the processed data is stored in the storage device 260.

  The n + 2 data processing unit 256 reads the data after the subfield region division from the storage device 260, for example, performs correction processing on the subfield region of the read data, and stores the processed data in the storage device 260.

  The n + k data processing unit 258 reads the data after the correction processing by the n + 2 data processing unit 256 from the storage device 260, performs shot division processing for dividing the figure of each subfield area into shot units, and outputs the processed data. It is stored in the storage device 260.

  Shot data is generated by sequentially performing a series of processes by the data processing units 254, 256,... 258, and the generated shot data is stored in the storage device 260.

  The drawing control unit 252 is connected to the (n + 1) th data processing unit 254, the (n + 2) th data processing unit 256,..., The (n + k) data processing unit 258, and controls the shot data generation processing executed by these.

  Further, the drawing control unit 252 generates main deflection data for controlling the main deflector 120, sub deflection data for controlling the sub deflector 122, and variable shaping data for controlling the shaping deflector 116 from the shot data. By transferring the generated deflection data to the drawing unit 100, drawing processing is performed in the drawing unit 100.

  Next, specific control of the electron beam writing method according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a main part of the electron beam writing method according to the present embodiment. The routine shown in FIG. 6 is started when design data is input from an external apparatus to the electron beam drawing apparatus.

  According to the routine shown in FIG. 6, first, data analysis processing for analyzing the data structure of design data is executed by the data analysis unit 202 (step S10). In this step S10, the design data is analyzed according to the analysis method corresponding to the format of the input design data, and the extracted data information as the analysis result is output. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the segment offset and data size are output as extracted data information for each pipeline processing unit.

  Next, based on the analysis result of the above step S10, the data division transfer processing for dividing the design data and transferring the divided data to the storage device 206 is executed by the plurality of data division transfer units 204 (step S20). In step S20, the design data is divided into processing units for the pipeline processing based on the extracted data information output in step S10.

  For example, in the design data shown in FIG. 4, segment 1 data is first divided as pipeline processing unit 1, segment 2 and 3 data is divided second as pipeline processing unit 2, and segment 4 data Is divided into the third as pipeline processing unit 3.

  The transfer from each data division transfer unit 204 to the storage device 206 may be performed according to the free capacity of the storage device 206.

  Next, the data stored in the storage device 206 is read, and data conversion processing for converting the read data into drawing data is executed by the plurality of drawing data conversion units 208 (step S30). The drawing data converted in step S30 is stored in the storage device 214.

  And the drawing data memorize | stored in the memory | storage device 214 are read, and the format check of the read drawing data is performed by the some 1st data process part 210 (step S40).

  Subsequently, the drawing data stored in the storage device 214 is read, and the number of shots of the read drawing data is estimated by the plurality of nth data processing units 212 (step S50).

  Thereafter, it is determined whether or not all data processing has been completed for the design data input from the external device (step S60). If it is determined in step S60 that all data processing has not been completed, the process returns to step S20.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the process from step S20 to step S50 constitutes a pipeline process.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S60 that all data processing has been completed, this routine ends.

  After the end of this routine, another routine (not shown) is activated, and shot data is generated by the data processing units 254, 256, and 258 sequentially performing data processing in the control unit 250.

  For example, the data processing unit 254 performs region division processing for dividing the graphic data into subfield region units, the data processing unit 256 performs subfield region correction processing, and the data processing unit 258 performs graphic processing for each subfield region. A shot division process for dividing the image into shot units is performed.

  The drawing control unit 252 generates main deflection data, sub deflection data, and variable shaping data from the shot data generated in this way. When the drawing control unit 252 applies the main deflection data to the main deflector 120, the sub deflection data to the sub deflector 122, and the variable shaping data to the shaping deflector 116, as shown in FIG. A pattern is drawn.

  Next, pipeline processing in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 7, data conversion processing, data processing 1,..., Data processing n constitute pipeline processing for each piece of divided and transferred data. That is, design data division processing by each data division transfer unit 204 and divided data transfer processing, conversion processing to drawing data by the drawing data conversion unit 208, format check processing by the first data processing unit 210,. The shot number estimation process by the nth data processing unit 212 constitutes a pipeline process.

  Data 1 first divided from the design data of one file is transferred to the storage device 206 and stored in the storage device 206. In the example shown in FIG. 4, this data 1 is data of segment 1 and has a data amount suitable for pipeline processing. Data 1 read from the storage device 206 is format-converted into drawing data, and the data 1 after the format conversion is stored in the storage device 214. Data processing 1 (format check),..., Data processing n (estimation of the number of shots) are sequentially performed on the data 1 read from the storage device 214.

  Data 2 divided second from the design data is transferred to the storage device 206 and stored in the storage device 206. In the example shown in FIG. 4, this data 2 is data of segments 2 and 3, and has a data amount suitable for the pipeline. Data 2 read from the storage device 206 is format-converted into drawing data, and the data 2 after the format conversion is stored in the storage device 214. Data processing 1 (format check),..., Data processing n (estimation of the number of shots) are sequentially performed on the data 2 read from the storage device 214.

  Thereafter, the same pipeline processing is performed on the data divided from the design data.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the design data input to the electron beam drawing apparatus is divided, the divided design data is converted into drawing data, and predetermined processing (format check) is performed on the converted drawing data. And shot number estimation). Since the division of the design data, the conversion to the drawing data, and the predetermined processing constitute a pipeline processing, the pipeline processing can be efficiently performed even when design data consisting of one file is input to the electron beam drawing apparatus. it can. Therefore, even if one file of design data is input, a decrease in throughput can be prevented.

  In this embodiment, the structure of the input design data is analyzed, and the design data is divided into pipeline processing units based on the analysis result. Therefore, the design data is not a single file but a plurality of files. Even if it exists, a pipeline process can be performed efficiently. further,

  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, the analysis and division of design data is performed in the electron beam drawing apparatus, but these may be performed in an external apparatus. For example, when there is room in the processing unit (not shown) of the external device, the processing capability of the external device can be effectively utilized by analyzing and dividing the design data in the external device. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the structure of the design data is analyzed by the data analysis / division unit 300 provided in the external device (see FIGS. 3 to 5), and the design is performed based on the analysis result (extraction data information). Transfer files 1 to n generated by dividing data may be input to the electron beam drawing apparatus. Transfer files 1 to n input to the electron beam drawing apparatus are units of pipeline processing, and are transferred to the storage device 206 by the data transfer unit 205.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows the structure of the electron beam drawing apparatus by embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a drawing process of a product reticle 126. It is the schematic which shows the structure of design data, and the extraction data information which is the analysis result (the 1). It is the schematic which shows the structure of design data, and the extraction data information which is the analysis result (the 2). It is the schematic which shows the structure of design data, and the extraction data information which is the analysis result (the 3). It is a flowchart which shows the principal part of the electron beam drawing method of embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the pipeline process in embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the structure of the electron beam drawing apparatus by the modification of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the case where the design data of the conventional 1 file are collectively transferred.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Drawing part 200 Control part 202 Data analysis part 204 Data division | segmentation transfer part 208 Drawing data conversion part 210 1st data processing part 212 nth data processing part 250 Control unit 254 n + 1th data processing part 256 n + 2 data processing part 258 n + k Data processing section

Claims (5)

A division transfer unit that obtains design data with a defined pattern layout from the outside , divides it into a plurality of data, and transfers it,
A drawing data conversion unit for converting each data divided and transferred by the division transfer unit into drawing data in which the shape and position of the graphic pattern are defined;
A data processing unit that sequentially performs a plurality of predetermined processes on the drawing data converted by the drawing data conversion unit;
A drawing unit that draws a pattern on a sample with a charged particle beam using data processed by the data processing unit,
A pipeline control unit is configured to control the division transfer by the division transfer unit, the conversion by the drawing data conversion unit, and the plurality of processes by the data processing unit to be pipeline processing,
The pipeline control unit controls the drawing data conversion unit to sequentially perform pipeline conversion processing while transferring the data divided by the division transfer unit,
The charged particle beam drawing apparatus, wherein the division transfer unit divides and transfers the design data in units of pipeline processing of the pipeline processing . A design data analysis unit for analyzing the data structure of the design data;
The division transfer unit, based on said design data analysis unit of the analysis result, a charged particle beam drawing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transferring and dividing the design data. A division transfer step of acquiring design data with a defined pattern layout from the outside , dividing it into a plurality of data, and transferring ,
Converting each divided and transferred data into drawing data in which the shape and position of a graphic pattern are defined;
Sequentially performing a plurality of predetermined processes on the drawing data;
Drawing a pattern on a sample with a charged particle beam using the data subjected to the plurality of processes,
The design data is transferred to the drawing data sequentially while transferring the divided design data so that the divided transfer of the design data, the conversion to the drawing data, and the plurality of processes become pipeline processing. Configure the pipeline control unit to control to process as conversion ,
In the divided transfer step, the design data is divided and transferred in units of pipeline processing of the pipeline processing . An analysis step of analyzing a data structure of the design data;
4. The charged particle beam drawing method according to claim 3, wherein in the division transfer step, the design data is divided and transferred based on the analysis result in the analysis step. In the analysis step, the design data can be divided and the data amount of each data when divided at the division position is obtained,
In the division transfer step, the design data is divided at the divisible position so that a total data amount obtained by adding the data amounts of the acquired data becomes a maximum data amount capable of executing the pipeline processing. The charged particle beam drawing method according to claim 4.

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