JPH11150050A - Electron beam plotter and plotting method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electron beam plotter which can use a plurality of electron beam optical system columns, can be used without waste, and can secure high plotting throughput. SOLUTION: In an electron beam plotter which plots an appropriate pattern 5 by applying electron beams 6 to specified sections on a wafer 4, using an exposure chamber 1 including an electron optical columns 2, the electron optical columns 2 mounted on one part of the exposure chamber 1 are mounted in such condition that they can be displaced with respect to the exposure chamber 1.

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 and a drawing method for drawing a desired pattern by directly exposing a desired pattern on a resist provided on a wafer using an electron beam. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, high throughput has been required for semiconductor manufacturing, and this is no exception in a lithography process for forming a fine pattern on a semiconductor wafer. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 4A, a plurality of electron optical system columns 2 which were conventionally arranged only once are arranged in the upper portion 1 of the exposure chamber, and a plurality of desired chips 15 on the same wafer 4 are arranged. At the same time, a multi-column method in which exposure is performed using the electron beam 6 is being used.

That is, one desired chip 14 is assigned to one electron optical system column 2 and electron beam exposure is performed.
This is to improve the throughput. In an actual electron beam exposure apparatus, similarly to a conventional electron beam exposure apparatus, the connection portion 3 between the electron optical system column 2 and the upper portion of the exposure chamber 1 is fixed by welding or the like. They are arranged in a layout that depends on the size and the size of the upper portion 1 of the exposure chamber.

Here, the size of the electron optical system column 2 is determined by the size of the electron gun depending on the acceleration voltage of the electrons used. That is, in the related art, as shown in FIG. 4B, the electron optical system column 2 is fixedly arranged on a predetermined portion of the exposure chamber, for example, the flat plate 1 provided on the upper part of the exposure chamber. Therefore, the wafers that can be processed by one exposure chamber have the same number of the electron optical system columns, and the number of the electron optical system columns is substantially equal to the range in which the electron beam output from each individual electron optical system column is scanned. A chip having a pattern can be drawn. However, even if the pattern is drawn beyond the range that can be processed by the single exposure chamber, or even if the pattern has the same range, the arrangement position on the wafer is If it is out of alignment with the optical system column, it will not be possible to perform exposure processing.
Alternatively, it was necessary to change the design of the pattern.

[0005]

Normally, desired patterns (chips) to be exposed on a wafer are arranged on a circle which is the outer shape of the wafer.
Has various sizes. Therefore, in a fixed arrangement of the electron optical system columns depending on the size of the electron optical system column, one desired chip cannot be assigned to one electron optical system column.

As a result, a useless electron optical system column is generated,
This hinders the original purpose of improving the exposure throughput. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, since the desired chip arrangement 5 to be exposed is different from the arrangement of the plurality of electron optical system columns, the deflection distance and direction of the electron beam 6 during the actual exposure are different for each electron beam optical system column 2. The digital processing for controlling the electron beam deflector becomes complicated, and as a result, the control becomes difficult.

In addition, the electron beam calibration (correction processing for deflection distortion, size, etc.) for each electron beam optical system column performed in advance is also complicated because the electron beam deflection range differs for each electron beam optical column. Would. On the other hand, JP-A-8-191042
The publication describes an electron beam lithography system having multiple columns, and discloses an apparatus that performs calibration of multiple columns simultaneously in order to perform uniform exposure processing. It is not disclosed that each of the columns is configured so that its arrangement position is variable.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to improve the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art, to use a plurality of electron beam optical system columns without waste, and to secure a high drawing throughput. An apparatus is provided.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention employs the following basic technical structure. That is, as a first aspect according to the present invention, using an exposure chamber including an electron optical system column,
In an electron beam lithography system that irradiates a predetermined portion on a wafer with an electron beam and draws an appropriate pattern, the electron optical system column mounted on a part of the exposure chamber is positioned with respect to the exposure chamber. An electron beam lithography apparatus mounted in a displaceable state,
As an aspect of the present invention, a part of the exposure chamber is used in an electron beam lithography apparatus that irradiates a predetermined portion on a wafer with an electron beam to draw an appropriate pattern using an exposure chamber including an electron optical system column. This is a drawing method for displacing the electron optical system column mounted on the wafer in response to an arrangement state of a desired chip formed on a wafer to be exposed.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention employs the above-mentioned technical configuration, and therefore has a function of arbitrarily moving an electron beam optical system column at a connection portion between an exposure chamber and an electron beam optical system column. The plurality of electron optical system columns and movable connection portions are arranged at arbitrary positions on the exposure chamber.

The plurality of electron beam optical system columns are arranged in accordance with a desired chip arrangement on a wafer to be exposed. An electron beam lithography apparatus characterized by moving a plurality of electron beam optical system columns based on a desired chip arrangement and having a function of performing movement of the electron beam optical system columns in advance before exposure. This is an electron beam exposure apparatus.

Therefore, according to the present invention, a plurality of electron beam optical system columns are moved according to a desired chip arrangement on a wafer before the electron beam exposure apparatus is calibrated and arranged on an exposure chamber. One desired chip can be assigned to the optical system column. As a result, a plurality of electron beam optical system columns can be used without waste, and a high drawing throughput can be secured. Also, in the device calibration performed before the actual electron beam exposure, the same calibration process (correction process of electron beam deflection distortion, size, direction, etc.) can be easily performed for all columns. Becomes

[0013]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an electron beam drawing apparatus according to the present invention. That is, FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a configuration of a specific example of an electron beam lithography apparatus according to the present invention, in which an exposure chamber 1 including an electron optical system column 2 is used. Then, in an electron beam lithography apparatus 20 for irradiating a predetermined portion on the wafer 4 with an electron beam 6 to draw an appropriate pattern 5, the electron optical system column mounted on a part of the exposure chamber 1 Reference numeral 2 denotes an electron beam lithography apparatus 20 mounted so as to be displaceable with respect to the exposure chamber 1.

In the present invention, the electron optical system column 2 has therein, for example, an electron gun, an electron lens, a deflector and the like, and the exposure chamber 1
At a predetermined position, for example, at the upper portion of the exposure chamber 1 or the like, via a position changing device 3 for changing the position relative to the exposure chamber 1.

In the present invention, the electron optical system column comprises:
Not limited to one, and a plurality may be arranged on the same exposure chamber. In this case, the plurality of the electron optical system columns 2 may be arbitrarily and individually set to a predetermined position in the exposure chamber 1. It is desirable to be mounted so that it can be displaced with respect to the part. Further, in the present invention, the electron optical system column 2 is appropriately displaced in response to an arrangement of desired chips 5 formed on the wafer 4 to be exposed, and specifically, The electron optical system column 2 is moved and displaced so that one electron optical system column 2 is located at the center of each desired chip 5 formed on the wafer 4 to be exposed.

Further, the displacement of the electron optical system column 2 with respect to a predetermined portion of the exposure chamber 1 in the present invention is determined in response to information received by the position variable device 3 via a predetermined control mechanism, The amount of the displacement is determined by the current drawing center of the electron optical system column 2 mounted in the exposure chamber 1 and the desired chip formed on the wafer 5 to be exposed. It is desirable that it be determined based on the difference value from the center.

That is, in the present invention, the plurality of electron beam optical system columns 2 are arranged according to the desired chip arrangement 5 on the wafer 4 to be exposed. Further, in the present invention, in the electron beam optical system column 2, the plurality of electron beam optical system columns 2 are moved to the exposure chamber 1 based on the arrangement pitch of the desired chips 5 on the wafer 4 to be exposed. Arbitrarily and individually.

Hereinafter, the specific configuration and operation of the electron beam writing apparatus 20 according to the present invention will be described in more detail.
As shown in FIG. 1A, a plurality of electron beam optical system columns 2 installed in an upper portion 1 of an exposure chamber of an electron beam exposure apparatus 20.
At the connecting portion 3 of the bellows 1 as shown in FIG.
4 and a position changeable state using a position variable device 3 including an operable bolt 13 and the like.

The reason why the cover 14 is used in this embodiment is to prevent dust and dirt from entering the exposure chamber. With this configuration, the electron optical system column 2 can be moved within an arbitrary range with respect to the exposure chamber 1. At this time, one electron optical system column 2 is moved by moving the electron optical system column 2 by a predetermined distance in accordance with the desired chip arrangement 5 on the wafer 4.
Can be assigned so that one desired chip 5 is drawn smoothly, and exposure using the electron beam 6 becomes possible while securing a high drawing throughput.

Also, in the apparatus calibration performed before the actual electron beam exposure, the same calibration processing (correction processing for electron beam deflection distortion, size, direction, etc.) is simply performed for all columns. In the actual exposure, the deflection direction and the distance of the electron beam 6 for each electron beam optical system column 2 can be made the same, so that the correction processing at the time of exposure (position control for deflecting the exposure pattern data) can be performed. ) Is simplified.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1 (B), the electron beam optical system column 2 initially has the arrangement pitch JPx7 and
If JPy8 was placed in the upper part 1 of the exposure chamber,
The electron beam optical system column 2 is arbitrarily moved on the connection portion 3,
The arrangement pitches Px9 and Py10 of the desired chip arrangement 5 on the wafer 4 are made the same. That is, FIG. 1B shows that the electron beam optical system column 2 is arranged at the arrangement pitch CPx11 and C
The figure after moving by Py12 and matching with the desired chip arrangement 5 is shown.

In FIG. 2, an electron beam optical system column 2
1 shows an example of the structure of a connection portion 3 between the semiconductor device and an upper portion 1 of an electron beam exposure chamber. 2A and 2B show a cross-sectional view and a projection view, respectively. In the position variable device 3 constituting the connecting portion, the electron beam optical system column 2 is fixed with a bolt 13 whose operation can be controlled, and is slidably connected to the exposure chamber 1.

In this specific example, the electron optical system column 2
Is moved in a certain axial direction by controlling (rotating) the bolt 13. 2B, the electron beam optical system column 2 can be moved to an arbitrary position by rotating the connection portion 3 and the bolt 13 by 90 degrees as shown in FIG. 2B. At this time, it is necessary to cover the connection portion with metal, bellows 14 or the like 14 in order to maintain a vacuum in the exposure chamber.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a projection view of a plurality of electron beam optical system columns 2 arranged on the upper portion 1 of the electron beam exposure chamber. Since the wafer 4 has a circular shape as shown in FIG. 3, the desired chip arrangement 5 naturally follows the outer shape of the circle. Therefore, a plurality of electron beam optical system columns 2 are similarly arranged in advance.

Thus, one desired chip can be allocated to one electron optical system column without waste, and a high drawing throughput can be secured. or,
FIG. 5 shows a configuration of another specific example of the position variable device 3 according to the present invention, in which an edge 21 projecting in a circumferential direction is provided at a lower end of the electron optical system column 2.
A groove 22 is formed in the exposure chamber 1 in the vicinity of the mounting position of the electron optical column 2, and the edge 21 is fitted into the groove 22, and more preferably, the inner surface of the edge 21 and the groove 22. A bearing or the like for reducing friction is provided between the two, and a driving means 25 for displacing and moving the electron optical system column 2 is provided at an appropriate position.

As is apparent from the above description, as a specific example of the writing method according to the second aspect of the present invention, an exposure chamber including an electron optical system column is used, and an electron beam is applied to a predetermined portion on a wafer. In an electron beam lithography system that irradiates a line and draws an appropriate pattern, the electron optical system column mounted in a part of the exposure chamber is used to form a desired chip on a wafer to be exposed. This is a drawing method in which displacement is performed in response to the arrangement state of.

In the writing method according to the present invention, a plurality of electron optical system columns are mounted on the exposure chamber, and the respective electron optical system columns are individually and arbitrarily set in the exposure chamber. Exposure processing is desirably performed in a state of being displaced with respect to. Further, in the electron beam optical system column, it is preferable to move the plurality of electron beam optical system columns with respect to the exposure chamber based on an arrangement pitch of desired chips on a wafer to be exposed.

[0028]

According to the present invention, a plurality of electron beam optical system columns are moved and arranged on an exposure chamber according to a desired chip arrangement on a wafer before calibration of an electron beam exposure apparatus.
One desired chip can be assigned to one electron optical system column. As a result, a plurality of electron beam optical system columns can be used without waste, and a high drawing throughput can be secured. Also, in the device calibration performed before the actual electron beam exposure, the same calibration process (correction process of electron beam deflection distortion, size, direction, etc.) can be easily performed for all columns. Becomes

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are views for explaining the configuration of a specific example of an electron beam drawing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating a configuration of a specific example of a position variable device used in the electron beam lithography apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of another specific example of the electron beam lithography apparatus according to the present invention.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating a configuration of a specific example of a conventional electron beam drawing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of another specific example of the position variable device used in the electron beam drawing apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Exposure chamber upper part 2 ... Electron optical system column 3 ... Connection part and position variable device 4 ... Wafer 5 ... Desired chip arrangement 6 ... Electron beam 7 ... Connection part arrangement pitch JPx 8 ... Connection part arrangement pitch JPy 9 ... Chip Arrangement pitch Px 10: Arrangement pitch of the chip Py 11: Arrangement pitch of the electron optical system column after movement CPx 12: Arrangement pitch of the electron optical system column after movement CPy 13: Operable bolts 14: Metal and bellows 15 ... Desired chip

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Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An electron beam lithography system that irradiates a predetermined portion on a wafer with an electron beam and draws an appropriate pattern by using an exposure chamber including an electron optical system column. The electron optical system column mounted on the exposure chamber is mounted so as to be displaceable with respect to the exposure chamber. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the column of the electron optical system is connected to a predetermined position of the exposure chamber via a position changing device that changes a position of the column relative to the exposure chamber. The electron beam drawing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 3. The electron optical system column according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of electron optical system columns are arbitrarily and individually mounted so as to be displaceable with respect to a predetermined portion of the exposure chamber. An electron beam lithography apparatus according to claim 1. 4. The electron optical system column according to claim 1, wherein said electron optical system column is displaced in response to an arrangement of desired chips formed on a wafer to be exposed. An electron beam lithography apparatus according to any one of the above. 5. An amount of displacement of the electron optical system column with respect to a predetermined portion of the exposure chamber is determined between a drawing center of the electron optical system column currently mounted in the exposure chamber and a wafer to be exposed. 5. The electron beam lithography apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the value is determined based on a difference value from a center of a desired chip to be formed. 6. The electron beam lithography apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of electron beam optical system columns are arranged according to a desired chip arrangement on a wafer to be exposed. 7. The electron beam optical system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of electron beam optical columns are moved with respect to the exposure chamber based on an arrangement pitch of desired chips on a wafer to be exposed. 6. The electron beam writing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, 8. An electron beam lithography system that irradiates a predetermined portion on a wafer with an electron beam to draw an appropriate pattern using an exposure chamber including an electron optical system column, and a part of the exposure chamber. Wherein the electron optical system column mounted on the wafer is displaced in response to an arrangement state of a desired chip formed on a wafer to be exposed. 9. A plurality of electron optical system columns are mounted on the exposure chamber, and each of the electron optical system columns is individually and arbitrarily displaced with respect to the exposure chamber. 9. The drawing method according to claim 8, wherein processing is performed. 10. The electron beam optical system column, wherein the plurality of electron beam optical system columns are moved with respect to the exposure chamber based on an arrangement pitch of desired chips on a wafer to be exposed. Or the drawing method according to 9.