JPH11102853A - Electron beam lithography device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize an exposure map, which is used for correcting the dose of irradiation with an electron beam, in the minimum capacity of an exposure map memory by a method, wherein a means for compressing/extending data on the map is added to the map memory and the data is extendedly used, when needed. SOLUTION: When data on an electron beam is outputted from a lithography data creating means on the basis of a formed exposure map, the address of an exposure map memory 201 corresponding to the data is outputted from a coordinate address exchange means 202 in the same manner as that at the time of the formation of the above map and data pertinent to the address and data in the vicinity of the data are read out. The read-out data are inputted in a compression/extension means 301 are extended, the contents of the memory 201 to correspond to the data are referred to by an electron beam correcting means 103, the dose of irradiation with the electron beam is corrected, so that the dose of irradiation is reduced at the place of a high exposure density of a pattern relative to the place of a low exposure density of the pattern and is increased at the place of the low exposure density relative to the place of the high exposure density, and the pattern is drawn. Thereby, the data on the exposure map can be preserved with a small capacity for the memory 201.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electron beam drawing apparatus for irradiating an electron beam directly onto a sample to draw a desired pattern.
And a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus equipped with the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The configuration of a conventional electron beam drawing apparatus will be described below with reference to FIG. In the electron beam lithography apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the electron beam data (coordinates, dimensions, irradiation amount) of the irradiation unit generated by the drawing data generation unit 101 is corrected by a predetermined electron beam correction unit 103, and designated by the corrected data. The electron beam is irradiated on the photosensitive agent applied on the sample by the electron beam drawing means 104.

There are various electron beam correction means, but the object of the present invention is a correction called a proximity effect correction. The proximity effect means that the electron beam irradiated on the sample passes through the layer of photosensitive agent on the surface, is backscattered inside the sample, and the electron beam passes through the photosensitive agent on the non-sample surface again. Is an overexposure phenomenon.

For this reason, in an electron beam lithography apparatus, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
The exposure map memory is provided as in Japanese Patent No. 25816, and the exposure area density of the pattern to be drawn on the sample by the blank drawing operation is formed on the map memory in advance, and the actual drawing is performed while referring to the contents of the map memory. When the exposure density is high, the irradiation amount is relatively small, and when the exposure density is low, the irradiation amount is corrected to be relatively large. Reference numeral 102 in FIG. 1 indicates a map creating unit that creates an exposure amount map.

FIG. 2 shows the exposure map creating means 102 in more detail. Exposure map creation means 1
In 02, a coordinate-address conversion unit 202 for generating a corresponding memory address from the coordinate data in order to create an exposure map memory 201 on the physical memory from the drawing data generated by the drawing data generation unit 101 in FIG.
It has area value calculation means 203 for generating an area value from data indicating the dimensions of the pattern, and stores the data generated by these means in the exposure amount map memory 201 while accumulating it.

A reference numeral 103 reads out map data corresponding to the drawing data and several data around the drawing data from the exposure map memory 201 created by the map creating means 102, and calculates the density of the drawing data around from the map data. Electron beam correction means for adjusting the irradiation amount in inverse proportion thereto. Reference numeral 104 in FIG. 1 denotes an electron beam drawing for outputting the irradiation amount, coordinates and electron beam size corrected by the electron beam correction means 103 to an electron gun. Means.

At the time of drawing, of the electron beam data similarly input from the data generating means 101, the irradiation amount data is corrected by the value of the corresponding address of the previously generated exposure amount map, and the corrected drawing is performed by the drawing means 104. carry out.

[0008]

In the conventional method, an exposure map memory is required which is proportional to the total area of the pattern to be drawn. Particularly, when there are many types of patterns to be simultaneously drawn on the sample, there is a problem that the apparatus becomes large and expensive.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, a means for compressing / expanding the exposure map data is added to the exposure map memory, and the data is expanded when necessary. The capacity of the exposure map memory can be reduced.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an electron beam lithography apparatus as a kind of semiconductor manufacturing apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, the map generating means 102 shown in FIG. 1 is configured as shown in FIG. 3 in FIG.
Numeral 01 denotes a file obtained by compressing the exposure map data of the minimum unit of the region to be irradiated with the electron beam, which has been cumulatively calculated by the area value calculating means 203 when the exposure map is created, and decompressing and reconstructing the compressed file at the time of drawing. The compression / expansion means of the JPEG method or the like for reducing the capacity of the exposure map memory 201 by doing so.

First, when exposure map generation is started, the data generated by the area value calculation means 203 is compressed by the compression / decompression means 301 and the coordinate-address conversion means 20 is used.
2 are stored in the corresponding exposure map memory 201. Next, when the electron beam data is output from the drawing data generation unit 101 based on the generated exposure amount map, the corresponding address of the exposure amount map memory 201 is changed to the coordinate-address conversion unit 202 as in the previous map generation. And the corresponding data and its neighboring data are read.

The read data is transmitted to the compression / decompression means 30.
1, the electron beam correction means 103 refers to the contents of the corresponding exposure map memory, and the exposure dose is relatively small at a high exposure density, and relatively low at a low exposure location. The drawing is performed with the irradiation amount corrected so as to increase. This makes it possible to store the exposure map data with a smaller memory capacity than the conventional electron beam drawing apparatus.

Further, it is possible to store a plurality of or several types of data of the minimum exposure map with the memory capacity of the conventional exposure map.

Referring to FIG. 4, a second embodiment is shown.
The exposure map obtained by the above method is filed and provided with a storage unit 401 such as a hard disk, such as a workstation, so that a plurality of exposure map data can be held. In the case of data having the above, it is possible to omit the time for creating the exposure map again by expanding and using the file of the exposure map.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a third embodiment.
In FIG. 5, reference numeral 501 denotes the area value calculating means 20 shown in FIG.
The first electron beam drawing apparatus 502a to 502n provided with the map creating means 102 having a
This is a second electron beam drawing apparatus in which the second map creating means 505 is constituted only by the expanding means 301 and the exposure map memory 201.

First, an exposure map generated by the first electron beam drawing apparatus 501 comprises a map creation means 102 connected by a communication means 504 such as a LAN and the like, comprising only a compression / expansion means 301 and an exposure map memory 201. The data is transferred to the second electron beam drawing apparatuses 502a to 502n and expanded by each apparatus. Here, by inputting the same drawing data to each device and correcting the irradiation amount using the exposure map, the second electron beam drawing devices 502a to 502n are equivalent to the first electron beam drawing device 501. Processing becomes possible.

[0017]

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize an exposure map used for correcting the irradiation amount of an electron beam with a minimum memory capacity. Further, by holding the exposure amount map data, when the same data is used, the creation of the exposure amount map can be omitted, and the time can be shortened.

Further, by connecting a plurality of electron beam lithography apparatuses by communication means, it becomes possible to operate and manage all the connected electron beam lithography apparatuses from a remote place.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electron beam drawing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a map creation unit in a conventional method.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a map creating unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a map creating unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an electron beam drawing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a map creating unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

101: drawing data generating means, 102: map creating means 1, 103: electron beam correcting means, 104: electron beam drawing means, 201: exposure map memory, 202: coordinate-address converting means, 203: area value calculating means, 301: compression / expansion means, 401: map data storage means, 501: first electron beam drawing apparatus, 502: second electron beam drawing apparatus,
503: operation control means, 504: communication means, 505: map creation means 2.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A drawing data generating means for forming a drawing pattern, an exposure map for observing a pattern distribution based on the data, and an exposure map generating means for storing the exposure map in a memory; An electron beam lithography system having a means for correcting the irradiation amount of a line with reference to the exposure amount map, wherein the electron beam irradiating apparatus includes means for compressing / expanding the data of the exposure amount map in the minimum unit of the region to be irradiated with the electron beam Line drawing device. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a function of simultaneously compressing / expanding a plurality of data of an exposure map of a minimum unit of an area to be irradiated with an electron beam or compressing / expanding a single data. Electron beam drawing equipment. 3. When a compressed exposure map is held and drawing is performed using the same exposure map, the compressed map is decompressed and reproduced to save map creation time. 2. The electron beam lithography apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electron beam lithography apparatus can reduce the number of electrons. 4. The first electron beam lithography apparatus according to claim 1,
A second electron beam lithography apparatus having a means for storing an exposure map and a means for compressing / expanding the data without providing a means for creating an exposure map from the data generated by the drawing data generating means. And transferring the compressed exposure map generated by the first electron beam lithography apparatus to the second electron beam lithography apparatus so that the second electron beam lithography apparatus can create the exposure map. Electron beam lithography system.