TWI696897B - Charged particle beam drawing device, charged particle beam drawing system, and drawing data generation method - Google Patents

Abstract

Makes it easy to manage the drawing data after correction processing.

Charged particle beam drawing device (1), equipped with: beam The generating part (7) generates a charged particle beam; and the aperture part (16) has a plurality of openings through which the charged particle beam passes to generate a multi-beam containing a plurality of tiny beams; and a projection system (4), multi-beam reduced projection to the object to be drawn; and the occlusion part (17), between the aperture part and the projection system, to control a plurality of tiny beams toward the projection system, or the orientation is different from the projection system The direction; and the control section (41), which controls the beam generating section, the projection system, and the occlusion section; and the acquisition section (42), which obtains the first drawing data in the form of a vector for drawing the drawing object; and the first The image conversion unit (43) converts the first drawing data into the second drawing data in line-by-line (raster) form; and the image correction unit (44) corrects the second drawing data in pixel units to generate the line-by-line form The third drawing data; and the second image conversion unit (45), which converts the third drawing data into vector form of the fourth drawing data; and the first memory control unit (46), which stores the fourth drawing data in the 1 Describe the control of the data memory (47).

Description

Charged particle beam drawing device, charged particle beam drawing system, and drawing data generation method

The present disclosure relates to a charged particle beam drawing device, a charged particle beam drawing system, and a drawing data generation method for drawing with multiple beams.

In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, when a fine pattern is drawn on a photomask or a wafer, a charged particle beam drawing device is used. Recently, in order to perform high-speed drawing, a plurality of electron beams are simultaneously irradiated, and a multi-beam type charged particle beam drawing device for drawing a plurality of fine patterns has attracted attention.

The charged particle beam drawing device draws based on drawing data (hereinafter referred to as original drawing data) generated by a layout design tool or the like. The charged particle beam drawing device generally converts the original drawing data in the vector form known by the name of GDS or OASIS into a raster form of drawing data and temporarily saves it, and then based on the saved The drawing data in line format is drawn (refer to Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-527765).

The charged particle beam drawing device is based on line-by-line drawing data, and the irradiation/non-irradiation of the electron beam is switched in pixel units to perform drawing. However, the size of the fine patterns included in the original drawing data may not be the same as the pixels. The interval is consistent. In addition, the beam diameter of the electron beam is also inconsistent with the width of the pixel. Therefore, the drawing data must be corrected line by line before drawing.

However, the line-by-line form of drawing data has a huge amount of data. After the line-by-line form of drawing data is corrected in pixel units, if you want to save and manage the drawing data, you must have a large-capacity recording device, and it will be expensive to save. time.

In order to verify whether there is a problem with the drawing data after correction processing, sometimes processing is performed to transfer the drawing data to the design center, etc. However, due to the large amount of drawing data in the line-by-line format, the transmission will also take a lot of time. As a result, there is a problem that the verification of the drawing data after correction processing cannot be performed quickly.

The present disclosure was developed to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a charged particle beam drawing device, a charged particle beam drawing system, and a drawing data generation method that make it easier to manage the drawing data after correction processing.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in one aspect of the present disclosure, a charged particle beam drawing device is provided, comprising: a beam generating section generating a charged particle beam; and an aperture section having a plurality of openings to pass the aforementioned charged particle beam through these Openings to generate multiple beams containing multiple tiny beams; and A projection system, which projects the multi-beam down to the object to be drawn; and an obscuration section, interposed between the aperture section and the projection system, and controls the plurality of tiny beams toward the projection system, or to the projection system Different directions; and a control unit, which controls the beam generating unit, the projection system, and the occlusion unit; and an acquisition unit, which obtains the first drawing data in the form of a vector for drawing the drawing object; and the first An image conversion unit that converts the first drawing data into a second drawing data in a line-by-line format; and an image correction unit that corrects the second drawing data in a pixel unit to generate a third drawing data in a line-by-line format ; And a second image conversion unit, which converts the third drawing data into a fourth drawing data in a vector format; and a first memory control unit, which performs control to save the fourth drawing data in the first drawing data storage unit; The control unit controls the beam generating unit, the projection system, and the masking unit based on the third drawing data, and draws a drawing pattern on the drawing object.

The second image conversion unit may further include: a binarization unit that generates binary data obtained by binarizing the third drawing data; and an outline extraction unit that extracts the outline of the binary data To generate the fourth drawing data.

It may be further provided with: an inspection section that performs an appearance inspection of the drawing pattern of the drawing object after drawing the drawing object to determine whether there is a problem with the appearance; and a first memory control section that uses the checking section If it is determined that there is a problem, the fourth drawing data around the problematic area is read from the first drawing data storage unit; and the comparison means is to read the fourth drawing data read by the first memory control unit Compared with the first drawing data; and the correction problem determination unit, based on the comparison result by the comparison means, determines whether the processing of the first image conversion unit converting the first drawing data into the second drawing data is problematic . Alternatively, the third drawing data may include pixel values for each of the plurality of pixels. The second image conversion unit may include an area division unit that performs area division. The area division includes the third drawing data. The adjacent pixel ranges having the same pixel value are integrated into one divided region; and the vector conversion unit generates the fourth drawing data obtained by vectorizing the divided regions obtained by dividing the aforementioned regions.

The third rendering data may include pixel values for each of the plurality of pixels, and the second image conversion unit may include an accumulated dose distribution obtaining unit that performs the charging of the charged particle beam based on the third rendering data. Of the forward scatter and backscatter taken into account Simulate to obtain the accumulated dose distribution; and the accumulated dose conversion section to convert the aforementioned accumulated dose distribution into vector data; and the vertex number reduction section to reduce the number of vertices of the vector data transformed by the aforementioned accumulated dose conversion section To generate the fourth drawing data.

It may be further provided with: an inspection section that performs an appearance inspection of the drawing pattern of the drawing object after drawing the drawing object to determine whether there is a problem with the appearance; and a first memory control section that uses the checking section If it is determined that there is a problem, the fourth drawing data around the problematic area is read from the first drawing data storage unit; and the comparison means is to read the fourth drawing data read by the first memory control unit Compared with the first drawing data; and the correction problem determination unit, based on the comparison result by the comparison means, determines whether the processing performed by the image correction unit that generates the third drawing data by modifying the second drawing data is problem.

It may further include: a third image conversion unit that converts the fourth drawing data stored in the first drawing data storage unit into fifth drawing data in a line-by-line format, and the control unit based on the fifth drawing data, The beam generating unit, the projection system, and the masking unit are controlled to draw a drawing pattern on the drawing object.

The image correction unit can also correct the second drawing data The pixel values of the pixels in the corners of the drawing included in the material are used to generate the third drawing data.

It is also possible that the pixels superimposed on the drawing pattern have a larger pixel value than the pixels not superimposed on the drawing pattern, and the image correction unit changes the size of the drawing pattern included in the second drawing data. The pixel value of the pixel in the corner is corrected to a larger value to generate the third drawing data.

The image correction unit may also correct the pixel values of a plurality of pixels at the boundary of the drawing pattern included in the second drawing data to generate the third drawing data.

A second memory control unit may be provided to perform control to store the first drawing data in the second drawing data storage unit.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a charged particle beam drawing system, comprising: a beam generating portion that generates a charged particle beam; and an aperture portion having a plurality of openings through which the charged particle beam passes through the openings, To generate a multi-beam including a plurality of micro-beams; and a projection system to reduce the projection of the multi-beam to the object to be drawn; and a masking portion between the aperture portion and the projection system to control the plurality of channels The tiny beam faces the projection system or a direction different from the projection system; and the control unit controls the beam generation unit, the projection system and the masking unit; and the acquisition unit acquires the object to be drawn Vector form The first drawing data; and the first image conversion part, which converts the first drawing data into a second drawing data in a raster form; and the image correction part, which corrects the second drawing data in pixel units, Generate the third drawing data in line-by-line format; and the second image conversion unit, which converts the third drawing data into vector form of fourth drawing data; and the first drawing data storage unit, which stores the fourth drawing data; and The inspection unit, after drawing the drawing object, performs an appearance inspection of the drawing pattern of the drawing object to determine whether there is a problem in appearance; and corrects the problem determination unit, if the problem is determined by the checking unit, Then, it is determined whether there is a problem with the correction process in the aforementioned image correction unit.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a charged particle beam drawing system, comprising: a beam generating portion that generates a charged particle beam; and an aperture portion having a plurality of openings through which the charged particle beam passes through the openings, To generate a multi-beam including a plurality of micro-beams; and a projection system to reduce the projection of the multi-beam to the object to be drawn; and a masking portion between the aperture portion and the projection system to control the plurality of channels The tiny beam faces the projection system or a direction different from the projection system; and the control unit controls the beam generation unit, the projection system and the masking unit; and the acquisition unit acquires the object to be drawn Vector form The first drawing data; and the first image conversion part, which converts the first drawing data into a second drawing data in a raster format; and the image correction part, which performs the pixel unit on the second drawing data The correction process generates the third drawing data in the line-by-line format; and the second image conversion unit converts the third drawing data into the fourth drawing data in the vector format; and the first drawing data storage unit stores the fourth drawing data Data; and the control unit, based on the third drawing data, controls the beam generating unit, the projection system, and the masking unit to draw the drawing pattern on the drawing object; and the inspection unit, on the drawing object After drawing, perform a visual inspection of the drawing of the drawing object to determine whether there is a problem with the appearance; and the first regeneration section, if the inspection section determines that there is a problem, the fourth drawing data will be given Regeneration; and the second regeneration unit, using the regenerated fourth drawing data to regenerate the line-by-line third drawing data; the control unit, based on the regenerating third drawing data, control The beam generating unit, the projection system, and the masking unit redraw the drawing pattern of the object to be drawn, and the second image conversion unit converts the regenerated third drawing data into the fourth The drawing data, the first drawing data storage section, stores the first 4 Describe the information.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for generating drawing data is provided in a charged particle beam drawing device that uses multiple beams including a plurality of minute beams generated based on a charged particle beam to draw a drawing object The generating method of the drawing data used includes: a step of obtaining the first drawing data in the form of a vector for drawing the drawing object; and a step of converting the first drawing data into the second drawing data in a line-by-line format; And the step of correcting the second drawing data in pixel units to generate the third drawing data in a line-by-line format; and the step of converting the third drawing data into the fourth drawing data in the form of a vector; and saving the fourth drawing data Step 1 describes the data storage section.

Alternatively, the step of converting the fourth rendering data may be to binarize the third rendering data to generate a binary data, extract the outline of the binary data, and generate the fourth rendering data.

Alternatively, after drawing the drawing object, perform a visual inspection of the drawing pattern of the drawing object to determine whether there is a problem with the appearance. If it is determined that there is a problem, the problem surrounding the problem The fourth drawing data is read from the aforementioned first drawing data storage unit, The read fourth drawing data and the first drawing data are compared, and based on the result of the comparison, it is determined whether there is a problem with the process of converting the first drawing data into the second drawing data.

It may also be that the third drawing data includes pixel values for each of the plurality of pixels, and the step of transforming to the fourth image is to perform region division, and the region division is the same as that in the third drawing data. The adjacent pixel range of the pixel value is unified into one divided area, and the fourth drawing data obtained by vectorizing the divided area divided by the area is generated.

Alternatively, the third drawing data may include pixel values for each of the plurality of pixels. Based on the third drawing data, a drawing simulation that takes the forward scattering and backscattering of the charged particle beam into consideration may be performed to obtain accumulation. For the dose distribution, the accumulated dose distribution is converted into vector data, and the number of vertices of the converted vector data is truncated to generate the fourth drawing data.

Alternatively, after drawing the drawing object, perform a visual inspection of the drawing pattern of the drawing object to determine whether there is a problem with the appearance. If it is determined that there is a problem, the problem surrounding the problem First 4 The drawing data is read from the first drawing data storage unit, the read fourth drawing data and the first drawing data are compared, and based on the result of the comparison, the second drawing data is judged and corrected to generate the third Describe whether there is a problem with the processing of data.

According to the present disclosure, it is easy to manage the drawing data after the correction processing, and it is possible to easily and quickly determine whether there is a problem with the data conversion or correction processing from the vector format to the line-by-line format.

1‧‧‧ charged particle beam drawing device

2‧‧‧Lighting system

3‧‧‧Multi-beam generation system

4‧‧‧Projection system

5‧‧‧platform

6a‧‧‧The first electromagnetic lens

6b‧‧‧Second electromagnetic lens

6c‧‧‧The third electromagnetic lens

7‧‧‧ electron gun

8‧‧‧Extraction system

9‧‧‧Illumination lens

9a‧‧‧Massive deflector

10‧‧‧Aperture member

11‧‧‧The first deflector

12‧‧‧The second deflector

13‧‧‧Drawing objects

16‧‧‧Aperture plate

17‧‧‧Masking board

18‧‧‧Ground electrode

19‧‧‧biased electrode

40‧‧‧Draw a picture

41‧‧‧Control Department

42‧‧‧ Acquisition Department

43‧‧‧The first image conversion unit

44‧‧‧Image Correction Department

45‧‧‧The second image conversion unit

47‧‧‧The first drawing data memory department

49‧‧‧ 2nd drawing data memory department

50‧‧‧ Inspection Department

51‧‧‧Fixed problem judgment department

52‧‧‧ Third image conversion unit

53‧‧‧First Regeneration Department

54‧‧‧Second Regeneration Department

[Fig. 1] A schematic configuration diagram of a charged particle beam drawing device according to an embodiment.

[Fig. 2] A schematic diagram showing an example of a specific configuration of a multi-beam generating system.

[Fig. 3] A plan view of a plurality of openings formed in the aperture plate and the shielding plate, viewed from above the aperture plate.

[Fig. 4] A schematic block diagram showing an example of a specific internal structure of a control system according to an embodiment.

[FIG. 5A] An explanatory diagram of a first example of correction processing performed by the image correction unit in FIG. 4. [FIG.

[Fig. 5B] An explanatory diagram of a first example of correction processing performed by the image correction unit in Fig. 4.

[Fig. 6] An explanatory diagram of a second example of correction processing performed by the image correction unit of Fig. 4.

7 is an explanatory diagram of a second example of correction processing performed by the image correction unit in FIG. 4.

[Fig. 8] An explanatory diagram of a second example of correction processing performed by the image correction unit of Fig. 4.

9 is an explanatory diagram of a second example of correction processing performed by the image correction unit of FIG. 4.

[Fig. 10] A schematic block diagram of a specific internal configuration of a control system according to a modification.

[Fig. 11] A schematic flowchart of a first example of processing procedures of a control system including image correction processing and error factor identification processing.

[Fig. 12] A schematic flowchart of an example of the redrawing process of the control system.

[FIG. 13A] A schematic diagram of an example of the third drawing data.

[FIG. 13B] A schematic diagram of an example of binarizing the third drawing data in FIG. 13A.

[Fig. 14] A schematic diagram of an example of extracting a contour based on the binary data of Fig. 13B.

[Fig. 15] A detailed flowchart of a detailed processing procedure in a case where the processing of step S9 in Fig. 11 is performed using the fourth drawing data generated by the first method in Fig. 12.

[Fig. 16] A modeled schematic diagram of the processing of Fig. 15.

[Fig. 17] A schematic flowchart of the processing procedure in the case of performing step S5 in Fig. 11 by the second method.

[FIG. 18A] A schematic diagram of an example of the third drawing data.

[FIG. 18B] The third drawing data of FIG. 18A is divided according to the dose Illustration of an example of domain segmentation.

[Fig. 19] A schematic diagram of an example of converting each divided region in Fig. 18B into fourth drawing data composed of polygonal vector data.

[Fig. 20] A detailed flowchart of a detailed processing procedure in a case where the processing of step S10 of Fig. 11 is performed using the fourth drawing data generated by the second method of Fig. 17.

[FIG. 21A] A modeled explanatory diagram of the processing of FIG. 20. [FIG.

[Fig. 21B] A modeled explanatory diagram of the processing of Fig. 20.

[Fig. 22] A schematic diagram of fourth drawing data generated by the process of Fig. 20 based on the third drawing data generated by redoing the process of step S4 of Fig. 11.

[Fig. 23] A schematic flowchart of the processing procedure in the case where step S5 in Fig. 11 is performed by the third method.

[FIG. 24A] A schematic diagram of an example of the third drawing data.

[FIG. 24B] A schematic diagram of the accumulated dose distribution obtained by drawing simulation using the third drawing data of FIG. 24A.

[Fig. 25A] An explanatory diagram of the processing of steps S62 and S63 of Fig. 23.

[Fig. 25B] An explanatory diagram of the processing of steps S62 and S63 of Fig. 23.

[Fig. 26] A detailed flowchart of a detailed processing procedure in a case where the processing of step S10 of Fig. 11 is performed using the fourth drawing data generated by the third method of Fig. 23.

[Fig. 27] A modeled explanatory diagram of the processing of Fig. 26.

[Fig. 28] A schematic flowchart of an example of the redrawing process of the control system.

[FIG. 29] Schematic diagram of the internal configuration of the control system that performs the processing of FIG. 28 Block diagram.

[Fig. 30] A schematic flowchart of a second example of the processing procedure of the control system.

[FIG. 31] A block diagram of a control system according to the second example.

Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a charged particle beam drawing device 1 according to an embodiment. The charged particle beam drawing device 1 of FIG. 1 is used for the purpose of forming a fine pattern on an object to be drawn such as an exposure mask or a silicon wafer.

The charged particle beam drawing device 1 of FIG. 1 is roughly divided into an illumination system 2, a multi-beam generating system 3, a projection system 4, and a control system 35.

The illumination system 2 includes an electron gun (beam generating unit) 7, an extraction system 8, a deflector 9a, and an illumination lens 9. The electron gun 7 emits electron beams (electron rays). In addition, the charged particles used for drawing by the charged particle beam drawing device 1 according to this embodiment are not necessarily limited to electron beams. For example, it may be a beam of various ions such as hydrogen ions or heavy ions, or a beam of charged atomic clusters or charged molecules. Here, the heavy ion means an ion of an element (for example, oxygen, nitrogen, etc.) heavier than carbon (C). Or, the heavy ion refers to neon (Ne), argon (Ar), krypton (Kr), xenon (Xe), and the like. In the following, an example of using an electron beam as a charged particle beam is mainly explained.

The deflector 9a controls the traveling direction 1a of the electron beam emitted by the electron gun 7. Illuminating lens 9 aligns the traveling direction of the electron beam Qi. The electron beam passing through the illumination lens 9 becomes a telecentric beam 1b with a wide amplitude.

The multi-beam generating system 3 generates a multi-beam 1c including a plurality of minute beams from the electron beam 1b passing through the illumination lens 9 as described in detail later.

The projection system 4 includes a first electromagnetic lens 6a, a first deflector 11, a second electromagnetic lens 6b, an aperture member 10, a third electromagnetic lens 6c, and a second deflector 12. The multi-beam 1c incident on the projection system 4 sequentially passes through the first electromagnetic lens 6a, the first deflector 11, and the second electromagnetic lens 6b. After that, only the multiple beams that have passed through the opening of the aperture member 10 sequentially pass through the third electromagnetic lens 6c and the second deflector 12, and then irradiate the drawing object 13 placed on the platform 5 to perform Portray. The projection system 4 uses the first to third electromagnetic lenses 6a to 6c to project the multi-beam down onto the object 13 to be drawn. The platform 5 is made movable in the two-dimensional direction of its installation surface. Therefore, while the platform 5 is moved, the multi-beam is reduced and projected onto the drawing object 13 by the projection system 4, whereby any place on the drawing object 13 can be drawn. The object 13 to be drawn is a mask for exposure, a silicon wafer, or the like.

In addition, the projection system 4 also performs optical compensation for a wide range of chromatic and geometric aberrations in the first to third electromagnetic lenses 6a to 6c and the first to second deflectors 11, 12 Sexual treatment.

The control system 35 controls the illumination system 2, the multi-beam generating system 3, and the projection system 4 as described in detail later. In addition to this, the control system 35 also performs visual inspection of the drawing, or correction processing described later Control etc.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example of a specific configuration of the multi-beam generating system 3. The multi-beam generating system 3 of FIG. 2 includes an aperture plate (aperture portion) 16 and a mask plate (a mask portion) 17.

The aperture plate 16 has a protective layer 15 that protects the plate 16 from collision with electron beams, and a plurality of openings 16a that radiate multiple beams. The protective layer 15 is an unnecessary member, and it may be omitted.

The masking plate 17 has a plurality of openings 17a formed to fit the openings 16a of the aperture plate 16.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the plurality of openings 16 a and 17 a formed in the aperture plate 16 and the mask plate 17 as viewed from above the aperture plate 16. In the example of FIG. 3, a plurality of openings 16 a are arranged at regular intervals in the two-dimensional direction of the plane direction of the aperture plate 16.

As shown in FIG. 2, a group of electrodes, that is, a ground electrode 18 and a bias electrode 19 are provided adjacent to each opening 17 a of the masking plate 17. By energizing the ground electrode 18 and the corresponding deflection electrode 19, the electron beams passing through the corresponding openings 16a, 17a are deflected, and as shown by the arrow 21 in FIG. 2, the electron beams are not passed through the Aperture plate 10. On the other hand, when the ground electrode 18 and the corresponding deflection electrode 19 are not energized, the electron beam is not deflected, and as shown by the arrow 20 in FIG. 2, it passes through the aperture plate 10 in FIG. 1. The energization is performed by applying a voltage sufficiently different from the preset voltage in the non-conducting state between the ground electrode 18 and the bias electrode 19. The preset voltage in the non-energized state is 0V, and the ground electrode 18 and the bias electrode 19 have the same potential. Ground electrode 18 and bias The voltage control to the electrode 19 is performed by the control system 35.

In this way, each of the openings 17a of the masking plate 17 can control whether or not to deflect the electron beam, and therefore the number of beams and the beam positions of the multiple beams passing through the aperture plate 10 of FIG. 1 can be arbitrarily controlled.

In the case of the charged particle beam drawing device 1 of the single beam method, only one electron beam is irradiated to the object to be drawn 13, so the cross-sectional shape can be processed into an arbitrary shape such as a rectangle and adjusted to an arbitrary intensity. Under irradiation. Therefore, for example, a rectangular pattern can be drawn while scanning a rectangular irradiation spot on the exposure target surface. Therefore, a dimensional error does not occur, and accurate pattern formation can be performed, but the improvement of the drawing speed cannot be expected, and therefore a problem that the drawing time takes a long time may occur.

On the other hand, in the case of the multi-beam charged particle beam drawing device 1, it has the advantage of being able to perform extremely high-speed drawing using a plurality of electron beams, but it is difficult to individually control the cross-sectional shape of each beam, or individually Control the intensity of each beam. More specifically, it is not possible to provide a mechanism for individually shaping or individually adjusting the intensity of each electron beam passing through the opening 16a of the fine aperture plate 16.

的多數個圓形的照射點，但無法將照射點成形為任意形狀，不得不採用藉由各個電子束的ON/OFF控制來進行描繪之方法。鑑此，為了進行此多射束方式之帶電粒子束描繪裝置1的描繪控制，會利用藉由二維像素排列而構成之描繪資料。 According to the currently used general multi-beam method of charged particle beam drawing device 1, although the diameter can be formed on the exposure target surface

There are many circular irradiation spots, but the irradiation spots cannot be shaped into arbitrary shapes, and the method of drawing by the ON/OFF control of each electron beam has to be adopted. In view of this, in order to perform the drawing control of the multi-beam charged particle beam drawing device 1, drawing data constituted by two-dimensional pixel arrangement is used.

In addition, the charged particle beam drawing device 1 according to the multi-beam method cannot individually control the intensity of a plurality of electron beams. However, by controlling the blanking plate 17, each electron beam can be individually turned on/off. In view of this, the following method is adopted, that is, for each of the irradiation reference points, the electron beams irradiated separately are individually turned on/off controlled to change the exposure time, thereby changing the exposure intensity. Such exposure time control is actually performed in the form of control of the number of exposures. This is because the platform 5 is actually moved two-dimensionally (the left-right direction and the front-rear direction in FIG. 1 ), and a plurality of electron beams are scanned on the object 13 to be drawn while drawing two-dimensionally.

For example, if it is designed to predetermine the exposure time of several nanoseconds in advance as the unit exposure time when one electron beam is irradiated, each time the electron beam irradiation is completed, the stage 5 is moved in the X-axis direction by exactly the interval d Then, the next electron beam irradiation is performed. For a specific irradiation reference point Q, exposure is performed by a unit of exposure time with different electron beams (adjacent electron beams) each time. At this time, if individual ON/OFF control is performed for each electron beam, although it is a step type, it is possible to achieve the setting of a particular exposure intensity for each irradiation reference point. As described later, by controlling the exposure intensity, it is possible to finely adjust the shape of the drawing or the width of the drawing.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of a specific internal configuration of the control system 35 of this embodiment. The control system 35 of FIG. 4 includes a control unit 41, an acquisition unit 42, a first image conversion unit 43, an image correction unit 44, a second image conversion unit 45, a first memory control unit 46, and first drawing data The memory unit 47, the second memory control unit 48, and the second drawing data memory unit 49. In FIG. 4, the acquisition unit 42, the first image conversion unit 43, the image correction unit 44, the second image conversion unit 45, the first memory control unit 46, and the second memory control unit 48 are provided in the charged particle beam Inside the drawing device 1, the first drawing data storage unit 47 and the second drawing data storage unit 49 are provided in a device (for example, an inspection device) separate from the charged particle beam drawing device 1. In this specification, the charged particle beam drawing device 1 and the inspection device are collectively referred to as a charged particle beam drawing system.

The control unit 41 controls each unit in the charged particle beam drawing device 1. The control unit 41 may be constituted by, for example, one or a plurality of computers, but the specific configuration for implementing the control unit 41 is not particularly inconsequential. The control unit 41 may include at least a part of functions of an acquisition unit 42, a first image conversion unit 43, an image correction unit 44, and a second image conversion unit 45 described later.

The obtaining unit 42 obtains first drawing data in a vector format for drawing the drawing object 13. Here, the so-called vector form means that the drawing data is managed by line segment information and line direction information. The obtaining unit 42 obtains the first drawing data generated by a layout design tool (not shown) via a network or a recording medium such as an optical disc. The first drawing data is the general vector drawing data such as GDS or OASIS.

The first image conversion unit 43 converts the first drawing data obtained by the obtaining unit 42 into second drawing data in a line-by-line format. Here, the so-called line-by-line means that the drawing data is managed by pixel data in pixel units.

The image correction unit 44 corrects the second rendering data in pixel units It is expected that the second drawing data will approach the ideal drawing data, and the third drawing data in line-by-line form will be generated. The reason why the image correction unit 44 performs the correction process while maintaining the line-by-line format is that it extracts only the characteristic features of the pattern image of the second drawing data and performs the correction process.

The second image conversion unit 45 converts the third rendering data into a fourth rendering data in a vector format. The reason why the second image conversion unit 45 converts the drawing data from the line-by-line format to the vector format is that if the line-by-line format is maintained, the amount of data becomes large and it is not suitable for storage.

The first drawing data storage unit 47 stores the fourth drawing data in the form of a vector in which an image is converted by the second image conversion unit 45. The first memory control unit 46 controls to store the fourth drawing data in the first drawing data storage unit 47. In addition, the second drawing data storage unit 49 stores the first drawing data in the vector format before the correction process. The second memory control unit 48 controls to store the first drawing data in the second drawing data storage unit 49. In addition, the second drawing data storage unit 49 is an unnecessary component, and therefore may be omitted. The advantage of providing the second drawing data storage unit 49 is that if there is a problem in the visual inspection of the drawing drawn on the drawing object 13, that is, it is judged that there is an error, it is possible to assist in exploring the cause of the problem. That is to say, as for the cause of the error in the visual inspection of the drawing, it can be considered that there is a problem (error) of data conversion and correction processing from the vector form to the line-by-line format, and a problem (error) other than the data conversion and correction process ). To determine whether it is a problem of correction processing, it is sufficient to compare the first drawing data before correction processing with the fourth drawing data after correction processing. Therefore, if correction processing is stored in the second drawing data storage unit 49 The first drawing data can easily and quickly determine whether it is a correction error.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a first example of correction processing performed by the image correction unit 44 of FIG. 4. The corner portion 40a of the drawing pattern 40 drawn on the drawing object 13, even if the ideal pattern in design is a corner portion having a steep angle, can easily become a shape with a circular arc during actual drawing. This is because the beam shape of the electron beam has an arc, and the beam diameter of the electron beam may be larger than the width of the pixel, and the brightness of the electron beam at the center of the beam aperture is the highest, and the brightness is closer to the periphery Weak gradients, etc.

In view of this, in the first example of the correction process, the exposure intensity of the pixel corresponding to the corner portion 40a of the drawing pattern 40 is further increased to perform the correction process of suppressing the arc of the actual pattern shape.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of only one corner 40 a of the drawing 40. FIG. 5(a) reveals the first drawing data in the corner 40a and the second drawing data in the corner 40a. The first drawing data is drawing data in the form of a vector, and includes line direction information and line segment length information of the drawing pattern 40. The second drawing data includes pixel value information of each pixel constituting the drawing pattern 40. Here, the pixel refers to the unit area within the drawing 40, and the pixel value refers to the dose of the irradiation amount of the electron beam per unit area within the drawing 40.

In the example of FIG. 5, the angle between the two sides of the corner 40 a of the drawing 40 is 90 degrees, and the boundary of the drawing 40 passes through the center of each pixel. In this case, in the second drawing data, the pixel value of the pixels of the entire range in which the drawing pattern 40 exists in the pixel is set to 15, and the drawing pattern 40 is stored. The pixel value of only half of the pixels in the pixel is set to 7, the pixel value of the pixel present in the corner portion 40a of the drawing pattern 40 is set to 4, and the pixel value of the pixel where the drawing pattern 40 does not exist in the pixel is set to 0. The pixels present in the corner portion 40a of the drawing pattern 40 are present in the 1/4 area of the pixel. Therefore, the pixel value is 15×1/4=3.75, which is rounded to 4.

FIG. 5(b) reveals the third drawing data after the correction process by the image correction unit 44. Before the correction process, the pixel value of the pixel existing in the corner portion 40a of the drawing pattern 40 is set to 4, but by performing the correction process, the pixel value of this pixel is changed to 15. In this way, the fourth drawing data obtained by vector-converting the third drawing data becomes the drawing data in which the corner portion 40a is enlarged into a rectangular shape. The first drawing data storage unit 47 stores this fourth drawing data. The fourth drawing data is in the form of a vector, so compared to saving the third drawing data in a line-by-line format, the amount of stored data can be greatly reduced.

As shown in FIG. 5(b), if the corner portion 40a of the drawing pattern 40 is enlarged into rectangular drawing data to actually draw, the arc of the corner portion 40a will be suppressed, and the design ideal will be approached的drawing pattern 40.

In this way, the image correction unit 44 detects the corner portion 40a of the drawing pattern 40 from the second drawing data in the line-by-line format, which is the drawing data of the drawing object 13, and corrects the pixel value of the corner portion 40a. The second image conversion unit 45 converts the corrected third drawing data into a fourth drawing data in a vector format, and stores it in the first drawing data storage unit 47. Such a It is possible to manage the revised drawing data with a smaller amount of data, so it is possible to reduce the amount of data when the revised fourth drawing data is sent to the design center for verification, and it becomes easier to perform the fourth Describe the verification of the data.

In addition, the image correction unit 44 performs correction processing, and is not limited to only the corner portion 40 a of the drawing 40. For example, the boundary line of the drawing pattern 40 may also be corrected.

6 to 9 are explanatory diagrams of a second example of the correction process performed by the image correction unit 44 of FIG. 4. When one pixel is 5 nm wide in the pattern, for the drawing pattern 40 that is divisible by 5 in the wide pattern, the boundary line of the drawing pattern 40 will pass through the boundary position of the pixel. FIG. 6 shows an example of the third drawing data corresponding to the drawing pattern 40 with a pattern width of a multiple of 5 (for example, 20 nm). In FIG. 6, the pixel value of the pixel where the drawing pattern 40 exists is set to 15 and the pixel value of the pixel where the drawing pattern 40 does not exist is set to 0. In the example of FIG. 6, the boundary line of the drawing pattern 40 and the boundary position of the pixels match.

On the other hand, for the wide drawing pattern 40 that cannot be divisible by 5, the pixel value of the pixel located at the boundary line must be adjusted to move the boundary line away from the boundary position of the pixel. FIG. 7 discloses an example in which a drawing pattern 40 to be drawn with a wide pattern of 19 nm is drawn, and the pixel value of a pixel located at the boundary of the drawing pattern 40 is set to 15.

It is assumed that the width of the pattern when drawing is performed using the third drawing data as shown in FIG. 7 is 19.5 nm. In this case, the width of the pattern must be narrowed by another 0.5 nm. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, the pixel value of the pixel located at the boundary line drawing the pattern 40 is set to a smaller value, that is, 13. The width of the pattern at this time is as shown in FIG. 8 and it is assumed to be 18.5 nm. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the pixel value of the pixel located at the boundary line of the drawing pattern 40 is alternately repeated as 13 and 14 along the boundary line. . The image correction unit 44 performs correction processing by repeating such correction so as to achieve the optimum pattern width.

In the case of FIG. 9, the pixel values along the direction of the boundary line are 13 and 14, and the fourth drawing data in the form of a vector converted from the third drawing data becomes a polyline shape. Even if the boundary line has a broken line shape, the unevenness is about 0.5 nm, and there is no practical problem. However, in the fourth drawing data, the coordinates of each intersection point including a polyline, and the length and direction of the polyline, compared to the drawing pattern 40 having a straight boundary line, the amount of data will increase. However, the amount of data is still much smaller than that of the line-by-line third drawing data.

As a method of verifying whether the third drawing data that has been corrected by the image correction unit 44 is incorrect, it may be considered to transfer the fourth drawing data obtained by vector-converting the third drawing data to the above-mentioned design center, etc. To verify, but the control system 35 can also verify whether there are errors. The error is that the drawing object 13 is actually drawn based on the third drawing data, and the visual inspection of the drawing pattern 40 is performed using the fourth drawing data to detect it. As a factor for detecting an error, there are problems with the correction process of the image correction unit 44 and problems with processes other than the correction process. Therefore, when an error is detected, the factor of the error must be identified.

Identification of error factors by the control system 35 The block diagram configuration in the case up to this point is shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 10 is a result of adding the inspection unit 50 and the correction problem determination unit 51 to FIG. 4. The inspection unit 50 performs an appearance inspection of the drawing pattern 40 drawn on the drawing object 13 to determine whether the cause of the problem is the correction process of the image correction unit 44. The correction problem determination unit 51 determines whether there is a problem with the correction process of the image correction unit 44, and if there is a problem, instructs the image correction unit 44 to perform the correction process again. In FIG. 10, the acquisition unit 42, the first image conversion unit 43, the image correction unit 44, the second image conversion unit 45, the first drawing data storage unit 47, the second drawing data storage unit 49, the inspection unit 50 and The correction problem determination unit 51 constitutes a drawing data verification device.

FIG. 11 is a schematic flowchart of a first example of processing procedures of the control system 35 including image correction processing and error factor identification processing.

First, the acquisition unit 42 acquires the first drawing data in a vector format for drawing the drawing object 13 (step S1). The acquired first drawing data is stored in the second drawing data storage unit 49 (step S2). The processing of this step S2 is interspersed with the processing of steps S3 to S6 described later. Next, the first image conversion unit 43 converts the first drawing data into second drawing data in a line-by-line format (step S3). Next, the image correction unit 44 performs correction processing of the second drawing data to generate third drawing data in a line-by-line format (step S4). Next, the second image conversion unit 45 converts the third drawing data into a fourth drawing data in a vector format (step S5). The details of the processing in step S5 will be described later.

Next, the first memory control unit 46 performs control to store the fourth drawing data in the first drawing data storage unit 47 (step S6). The first drawing data storage unit 47 is provided, for example, in a server (not shown) that performs information communication with the charged particle beam drawing device 1.

Next, the control unit 41 draws the drawing object 13 based on the third drawing data to form a drawing pattern 40 (step S7). The above steps S1 to S7 are performed by the charged particle beam drawing device. The processing of steps S8 to S11 described later is performed by the inspection device.

In step S8, the formed drawing pattern 40 is captured by an unillustrated shooting device, and the captured image is analyzed to perform an appearance inspection of the drawing pattern 40. During the visual inspection, for example, Die to Die inspection or Die to Database inspection. The Die to Die inspection is an inspection that compares cells of the same type on the drawing object 13 on which the drawing pattern 40 is formed. The unit is a basic pattern constituting the drawing pattern 40. A drawing pattern 40 is formed by combining a plurality of units. Although there may be plural types of cells with different shapes, various types of cells may be combined in just an arbitrary number to constitute the drawing pattern 40. In the Die to Die inspection, the captured image of the unit to be inspected is compared with the captured image of another unit of the same shape to perform the visual inspection. On the other hand, the Die to Database inspection is to compare the captured image of the drawing pattern 40 with the first drawing data to perform a visual inspection. The first drawing data used for comparison may be used as well as those read from the second drawing data storage unit 49.

Next, as a result of the visual inspection, it is determined whether the drawing pattern 40 has a visual problem (step S9). If there is no appearance problem, the processing of FIG. 11 ends, and if there is an appearance problem, the fourth drawing data stored in the first drawing data storage unit 47 and the second drawing data are stored in the second The first drawing data of the drawing data storage unit 49 is compared to determine whether there is a problem with the correction process performed by the image correction unit 44 (step S10). The details of the processing in step S10 will be described later. If it is judged that there is no problem with the correction process, it is determined that the problem lies outside the correction process, and the error process predetermined in advance is executed (step S11). If it is determined in step S10 that there is a problem with the correction process, the process returns to step S4 and the correction process of the second drawing data is repeated.

To perform the processing in step S5, several methods can be considered. Hereinafter, representative first to third techniques will be described in order.

FIG. 12 is a schematic flowchart of the processing procedure of the first method. First, the third drawing data generated in step S4 of FIG. 11 is binarized (binarization unit, step S21). 13A is a schematic diagram of an example of the third drawing data, and FIG. 13B is a schematic diagram of an example of binarizing the third drawing data of FIG. 13A. The third drawing data in FIG. 13A is line-by-line data in pixel units with a minimum value of 0 and a maximum value of 15. In step S21 of FIG. 12, the threshold is appropriately set, and the line-by-line data above the threshold is set to 1 and the line-by-line data under the threshold is set to 0 to binarize. The threshold value can be set to an arbitrary value, but FIG. 13B discloses an example in which the threshold value is set to 5 to be binarized. By this binarization, data in pixel units can be expressed in one bit, so the amount of data can be greatly reduced.

When the process of step S21 is performed, a plurality of thresholds with different values can also be set, and binary data is generated according to each threshold. The amount of binary data is much smaller than the original 3rd drawing data. Therefore, even if a plurality of binary data is set, there will be no risk of extremely increasing the amount of data.

Then, based on the binarized data, draw a drawing pattern Of the outline, generating vector data, that is, fourth drawing data (outline extraction unit, step S22). The generated fourth drawing data is stored in the first drawing data storage unit in step S6 in FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an example of contour extraction based on the binary data of FIG. 13B. The contour is extracted along the boundary between 1 and 0, and vector data containing contour information is generated.

FIG. 15 is a schematic flowchart of a detailed processing procedure in a case where the processing of step S9 of FIG. 11 is performed using the fourth drawing data generated by the first method of FIG. 12. If it is determined in step S9 of FIG. 11 that there is a problem with the drawing pattern, the fourth drawing data in the vicinity of the problematic location is read from the first drawing data storage unit (step S31).

Next, the fourth drawing data read in step S31 and the first drawing data are compared (step S32). As a result of the comparison, it is determined whether or not data mismatches of a predetermined size or more have occurred (step S33). If an inconsistency is detected in step S33, it is determined that a certain problem has occurred when switching from the first drawing data to the second drawing data (step S34), and the process moves to step S3 in FIG. 11. If no discrepancy is detected in step S33, the error processing in step S11 of FIG. 11 is performed.

FIG. 16 is a model diagram of the processing of FIG. 15. The solid line in FIG. 16 is the fourth drawing data, the dashed line is the first drawing data, and × is the problem area determined in step S9 of FIG. 11. In the processing of FIG. 15, it is only necessary to read out the fourth drawing data in the vicinity of the spot where the problem is determined in step S9 of FIG. 11 among the drawing patterns, and compare it with the corresponding first drawing data, so no drawing pattern is necessary. The entire fourth drawing data and first drawing data The comparison of materials makes it possible to check the problem at high speed.

As described above, when a plurality of fourth drawing data having different thresholds are stored in the first drawing data storage unit 47, each of the plurality of fourth drawing data and the first drawing data may be compared to perform a problem Check the place. In this way, the problem can be inspected with higher accuracy.

FIG. 17 is a schematic flowchart of the processing procedure in the case where step S5 of FIG. 11 is performed by the second method. First, the third drawing data generated in step S4 of FIG. 11 is divided into regions for each pixel value (region division unit, step S41). Here, each pixel value of the third drawing data indicates the dose of the electron beam. In step S41, the adjacent pixel ranges having the same dose are defined as one divided area.

FIG. 18A is a schematic diagram of an example of the third drawing data, and FIG. 18B is a schematic diagram of an example of segmenting the third drawing data of FIG. 18A according to the dose. FIG. 18B discloses an example of setting one divided area with a dose of “15”, three divided areas with a dose of “7”, and one divided area with a dose of “4”.

Next, the third drawing data in each divided area obtained by the area division is converted into vector data, that is, fourth drawing data (vector conversion section, step S42). FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of an example of converting each divided region of FIG. 18B into fourth drawing data composed of polygonal vector data. For example, the divided area d1 has a dose of "15", so it is converted into fourth drawing data including the value of "15" and polygon information. The generated fourth drawing data is saved in the first by step S6 in FIG. 11 Draw data memory 47.

FIG. 20 is a schematic flowchart of a detailed processing procedure in a case where the processing of step S10 of FIG. 11 is performed using the fourth drawing data generated by the second method of FIG. 17. If it is determined in step S9 of FIG. 11 that there is a problem with the drawing pattern, the fourth drawing data in the vicinity of the problematic location is read from the first drawing data storage unit 47 (step S51).

Next, the fourth drawing data read in step S51 and the first drawing data are compared (step S52). As a result of the comparison, it is determined whether the correction made by the correction process of step S4 of FIG. 11 is excessive (step S53). If it is determined that the correction is excessive, the conclusion that there is a problem when converting from the second drawing data to the third drawing data in step S4 of FIG. 11 is derived (correction problem determination unit, step S54), and the error processing in step S11 of FIG. 11 is performed. If it is determined that the correction is not excessive in step S53, the process moves to step S4 in FIG. 11.

21A and 21B are model explanatory diagrams of the processing of FIG. 20. The solid line in FIG. 21 is the fourth drawing data, the dashed line is the first drawing data, and × is the problem area determined in step S9 of FIG. 11. The problem in FIG. 21A is the corner of the drawing. The problem in FIG. 21B is the end of the drawing. In either case, by redoing the correction process in step S4 of FIG. 11 again and adjusting the pixel value around ×, the problem can be eliminated.

22 is a schematic diagram of the fourth drawing data generated by the processing of FIG. 20 based on the third drawing data generated by redoing the process of step S4 of FIG. 11 when the problem of FIG. 21A is found. Comparing the fourth drawing data of FIG. 22 with FIG. 21A, the pixel value of the corner of the drawing pattern is affected by change. As a result, the visual inspection of steps S8 and S9 in FIG. 11 will be determined to be normal.

In the processing of FIG. 20, it is only necessary to read out the fourth drawing data near the point where the problem is determined in step S9 of FIG. 11 and compare it with the corresponding first drawing data, so there is no need to perform the first drawing of the entire drawing. 4. The comparison between the drawing data and the first drawing data enables the problem to be checked at high speed.

FIG. 23 is a schematic flowchart of the processing procedure in the case where step S5 of FIG. 11 is performed by the third method. First, using the third drawing data generated in step S4 of FIG. 11, a drawing simulation that takes the forward scattering or backscattering of the electron beam into consideration is performed, and the accumulated dose distribution is acquired (accumulated dose distribution acquisition section, step S61 ). The so-called forward scattering refers to the scattering phenomenon that the electron beam is irradiated not only on the target irradiation position but also around the target irradiation position. The so-called backscattering refers to a scattering phenomenon in which a part of the electron beam penetrates the resist film and is reflected on the base substrate, and is irradiated to the periphery of the target irradiation position. In step S61, by performing a drawing simulation that takes forward scattering or backscatter into consideration, the dose distribution of the electron beam irradiated to the target irradiation position is obtained as the accumulated dose distribution.

FIG. 24A is a schematic diagram of an example of third drawing data, and FIG. 24B is a schematic diagram of an accumulated dose distribution obtained by performing a drawing simulation using the third drawing data of FIG. 24A. The characteristic of the accumulated dose distribution is that the farther away from the target irradiation position, the smaller the dose.

Once the accumulated dose distribution is obtained in step S61 of FIG. 23, then, the accumulated dose distribution is limited to an arbitrary threshold to generate a resist Pattern image, and convert the resist pattern image into vector data (accumulated dose conversion unit, step S62). Next, the rectangular data obtained by reducing the number of vertices of the vector data converted in step S62 is stored in the first drawing data storage unit as the fourth drawing data (vertical number reduction unit, step S63).

25A and 25B are explanatory diagrams of the processes of steps S62 and S63 of FIG. 23. In the accumulated dose distribution shown in FIG. 24B, for example, only pixels with doses above a threshold of 5 are extracted, and vector data as shown in FIG. 25A is obtained. The outline of this vector data is a curve as shown in FIG. 25A, and it has many vertex data. Therefore, in step S63 of FIG. 23, the vector data having a contour line as shown in FIG. 25A is converted into rectangular data having a straight line contour as shown in FIG. 25B. In this way, the fourth drawing data composed of vector data obtained by reducing the number of vertices is obtained.

FIG. 26 is a schematic flowchart of a detailed processing procedure in a case where the processing of step S10 of FIG. 11 is performed using the fourth drawing data generated by the third method of FIG. 23. If it is determined in step S9 of FIG. 11 that there is a problem with the drawing pattern, the fourth drawing data near the point where the problem is found is read from the first drawing data storage unit (step S71).

Next, the fourth drawing data read in step S71 and the first drawing data are compared (comparator, step S72). As a result of the comparison, it is determined whether the correction made by the correction process of step S4 of FIG. 11 is excessive (correction problem determination unit, step S73). If it is determined that the correction is excessive, it is concluded that there is a problem when converting from the second drawing data to the third drawing data by step S4 of FIG. 11 (step S74), and the error of step S11 of FIG. 11 is performed Mishandling. If it is determined that the correction is not excessive in step S73, the process moves to step S4 in FIG. 11.

FIG. 27 is a model explanatory diagram of the processing of FIG. 26. FIG. The solid line in FIG. 27 is the fourth drawing data, the dashed line is the first drawing data, and X is the problem area determined in step S9 of FIG. 11. In the third method, the forward drawing or backscattering of the electron beam is considered to generate the fourth drawing data. Therefore, the accuracy of the fourth drawing data can be improved, and the problem of drawing patterns can be checked with high accuracy.

The third drawing data is deleted once the process of drawing the drawing pattern on the drawing object in step S7 of FIG. 11 is completed. However, the fourth drawing data stored in the first drawing data storage unit 47 can be used to redraw the drawing object. Redrawing is performed when the object to be drawn initially (for example, a photomask) becomes defective after drawing, or when a plurality of photomasks are commissioned due to a customer's request. The situations that need to be redrawn are, for example, the following situations 1), 2) or 3).

1) When manufacturing a photomask as the object 13 to be drawn, an electron beam photosensitive resist is applied to the blanks for the photomask, and the pattern is drawn with the electron line, and then the substrate is processed by development and etching To make a photomask. The manufactured mask is subjected to visual inspection of the drawn pattern by step S8 in FIG. 11. If the visual inspection reveals that the drawing pattern cannot be processed into the desired shape, a new mask base plate will be prepared and drawn again.

2) The photosensitive resist coated on the bottom After drawing the pattern, the sub-line is developed. If the developed pattern is found to be defective, the resist is peeled off, the photosensitive resist is coated again on the same base plate, and drawn again.

3) After a photomask is produced and shipped, when it is necessary to remake a photomask with the same drawing pattern due to the customer's request, etc., the new photomask base plate will be coated with electronic wire sensitivity under the same drawing conditions Resist, and draw again.

In addition, when redrawing, there may be a case where drawing is performed according to the same drawing pattern as before, and a case where drawing is performed according to a drawing pattern to which correction or correction is applied to the previous drawing pattern.

FIG. 28 is a schematic flowchart of an example of the redraw process of the control system 35, and FIG. 29 is a schematic block diagram of the internal configuration of the control system 35 that performs the process of FIG. 28. FIG. 29 is a structure obtained by adding the third image conversion unit 52 to the configuration of FIG. 10. The third image conversion unit 52 converts the fourth drawing data stored in the first drawing data storage unit 47 into fifth drawing data in a line-by-line format. The control unit 41 controls the multi-beam generating system 3, the aperture member 10, the projection system 4, the deflector 9a, and the like based on the fifth drawing data, and redraws the drawing pattern on the drawing object.

In FIG. 28, first, the fourth drawing data stored in the first drawing data storage unit 47 is read out and acquired (step S81). Next, the third image conversion unit 52 converts the fourth drawing data into line-by-line fifth drawing data (step S82). Next, using the fifth drawing data, the control unit 41 draws a drawing pattern on the drawing object (step S83).

FIG. 30 is a schematic flowchart of a second example of the processing procedure of the control system 35, and FIG. 31 is a block diagram of the control system 35 according to the second example. In the second example, when it is determined that there is a problem with the drawing pattern and the correction process of the second drawing data is problematic, the fourth drawing data is regenerated instead of the correction process of the second drawing data. As shown in FIG. 31, the control system 35 according to the second example includes a first regeneration unit 53 and a second regeneration unit 54 in addition to the configuration of FIG. The first regeneration unit 53 regenerates the fourth drawing data stored in the first drawing data storage unit 47 if the correction problem determination unit 51 determines that there is a problem with the correction process of the image correction unit 44. The second regeneration unit 54 regenerates the third drawing data in a line-by-line format based on the regenerated fourth drawing data.

Steps S91 to S101 in FIG. 30 are common to steps S1 to S11 in FIG. 11. If it is determined in step S100 that there is a problem with the correction process, the fourth drawing data stored in the first drawing data storage unit 47 is read out and regenerated by the first regeneration unit 53 (step S102). Next, based on the regenerated fourth drawing data, the second drawing unit 54 regenerates the line-by-line third drawing data (step S103). The regenerated third drawing data is used in the drawing pattern in the drawing step S97, and is used in step S95 to convert to the fourth drawing data.

The regeneration processing of the fourth drawing data and the third drawing data in steps S102 and S103 of FIG. 30 is performed as follows, for example. The fourth drawing data is read from the first drawing data storage unit 47 and converted into line-by-line fifth drawing data, and the fifth drawing data is corrected again to eliminate the problem found in step S10 of FIG. 11 and restart generate The third depicts the information. In addition, the regenerated third drawing data is converted into vector data, and the fourth drawing data is regenerated and stored in the first drawing data storage unit 47.

In this way, in the present embodiment, after converting the first drawing data in the vector format to be drawn on the drawing object 13 into the second drawing data in the line-by-line format, based on the second drawing data, it is recognized that the drawing pattern 40 should be performed The correction location is corrected in pixel units to generate the third drawing data in a line-by-line format. The third drawing data is difficult to send directly to the design center for verification because of the large amount of data. In view of this, in the present embodiment, the third drawing data is converted into the fourth drawing data in the form of a vector, and stored in the first drawing data storage unit 47 in a state where the amount of data is reduced. Therefore, if necessary, the fourth drawing data can be easily read out from the first drawing data storage unit 47 for verification, and it is possible to easily and quickly determine whether the correction process is correct.

The aspect of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but also includes various modifications conceivable by those skilled in the art, and the effect of the present disclosure is not limited to the above content. In other words, various additions, changes, and partial deletions can be made within the scope of the conceptual ideas and gist of the disclosure that do not deviate from the content regulated by the scope of the patent application and the equivalents derived from them.

35‧‧‧Control system

41‧‧‧Control Department

42‧‧‧ Acquisition Department

43‧‧‧The first image conversion unit

44‧‧‧Image Correction Department

45‧‧‧The second image conversion unit

46‧‧‧ First Memory Control Department

47‧‧‧The first drawing data memory department

48‧‧‧ 2nd Memory Control Department

49‧‧‧ 2nd drawing data memory department

Claims (15)

A charged particle beam drawing device, comprising: a beam generating part which generates a charged particle beam; and an aperture part having a plurality of openings through which the charged particle beam passes through the openings to generate as many micro beams as possible A beam; and a projection system that reduces the projection of the multi-beam to the object to be drawn; and an obscuration section between the aperture section and the projection system to control the plurality of tiny beams toward the projection system, or toward A direction different from the projection system; and a control unit that controls the beam generation unit, the projection system, and the occlusion unit; and an acquisition unit, which acquires the first drawing data in the form of a vector for drawing the drawing object ; And the first image conversion unit, which converts the first drawing data into second drawing data in a line-by-line (raster) form; and the image correction unit, corrects the second drawing data in pixel units to generate a line-by-line format The third drawing data; and the second image conversion unit, which converts the third drawing data into a vector form of fourth drawing data; and the first memory control unit, which stores the fourth drawing data in the first drawing data memory The control of the department; and the inspection department, after drawing the aforementioned drawing object, perform a visual inspection of the drawing pattern of the drawing object by Die to Die inspection or Die to Database inspection to determine whether there is a problem in appearance; and The first memory control unit, if it is judged by the inspection unit that there is a problem, reads the fourth drawing data around the problem from the first drawing data memory unit; and the comparison means will use the first 1 The fourth drawing data read by the memory control unit is compared with the first drawing data; and the correction problem determination unit, based on the comparison result by the comparison means, occurs when the fourth drawing data and the first drawing data occur If the data above the specified size is not consistent, it is judged that there is a problem with the processing of the first image conversion unit converting the first drawing data into the second drawing data; the control unit controls the foregoing based on the third drawing data The beam generating unit, the projection system, and the masking unit draw the drawing pattern of the drawing object, and the second image conversion unit includes a binarization unit that generates the third drawing data Binary data obtained by binarization; and an outline extraction unit, which extracts the outline of the aforementioned binary data to generate the aforementioned fourth drawing data. A charged particle beam drawing device, comprising: a beam generating part which generates a charged particle beam; and an aperture part having a plurality of openings through which the charged particle beam passes through the openings to generate as many micro beams as possible A beam; and a projection system that reduces the projection of the multi-beam to the object to be drawn; and a masking portion between the aperture portion and the projection system to control The plurality of microscopic beams are directed to the projection system or to a direction different from the projection system; and the control unit controls the beam generation unit, the projection system and the occlusion unit; and the acquisition unit acquires The first drawing data in the form of a vector drawn by the drawing object; and the first image conversion unit, which converts the first drawing data into second drawing data in a raster format; and the image correction unit, in pixels The unit corrects the second drawing data to generate the third drawing data in a line-by-line format; and the second image conversion unit converts the third drawing data into the fourth drawing data in the vector format; and the first memory control unit performs The control of storing the fourth drawing data in the first drawing data storage unit; the control unit, based on the third drawing data, controls the beam generating unit, the projection system, and the masking unit to control the drawing object The drawing image is drawn. The third drawing data includes pixel values for each of the plurality of pixels. The second image conversion unit includes an area dividing unit that performs area division. The area division is based on the third drawing data. The adjacent pixel ranges with the same pixel value within the are integrated into one divided area; and the vector transformation unit generates the divided area divided by the aforementioned area The fourth drawing data obtained by vectorization. A charged particle beam drawing device, comprising: a beam generating part which generates a charged particle beam; and an aperture part having a plurality of openings through which the charged particle beam passes through the openings to generate as many micro beams as possible A beam; and a projection system that reduces the projection of the multi-beam to the object to be drawn; and an obscuration section between the aperture section and the projection system to control the plurality of tiny beams toward the projection system, or toward A direction different from the projection system; and a control unit that controls the beam generation unit, the projection system, and the occlusion unit; and an acquisition unit, which acquires the first drawing data in the form of a vector for drawing the drawing object ; And the first image conversion unit, which converts the first drawing data into second drawing data in a line-by-line (raster) form; and the image correction unit, corrects the second drawing data in pixel units to generate a line-by-line format The third drawing data; and the second image conversion unit, which converts the third drawing data into a vector form of fourth drawing data; and the first memory control unit, which stores the fourth drawing data in the first drawing data memory Control of the part; the control part controls the beam generating part, the projection system and the masking part based on the third drawing data, and draws the drawing pattern on the drawing object, The third drawing data includes pixel values for each of the plurality of pixels, and the second image conversion unit includes an accumulated dose distribution obtaining unit that forward scatters the charged particle beam based on the third drawing data And backscattering into consideration in the simulation of drawing to obtain the accumulated dose distribution; and the accumulated dose conversion unit, which converts the aforementioned accumulated dose distribution into vector data; and the vertex number reduction unit, which will be transformed by the aforementioned accumulated dose conversion unit The number of vertices of the vector data is reduced, and the fourth drawing data described above is generated. The charged particle beam drawing device as described in item 2 or item 3 of the patent application scope, comprising: an inspection part, which is performed by Die to Die inspection or Die to Database inspection after drawing the aforementioned drawing object Visual inspection of the drawing of the drawing object to determine whether there is a problem with the appearance; and the first memory control unit, if the problem is determined by the inspection unit, the fourth drawing data around the problem Read from the first drawing data memory section; and comparing means, comparing the fourth drawing data read out by the first memory control section with the first drawing data; and the correction problem judgment section, based on the comparing means As a result of the comparison, it is determined whether the processing performed by the image correction unit that generates the third drawing data by correcting the second drawing data is excessively corrected. The charged particle beam drawing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a third image conversion unit to be stored in the fourth of the first drawing data storage unit The drawing data is converted into line-by-line fifth drawing data, and the control unit controls the beam generating unit, the projection system, and the masking unit based on the fifth drawing data, and redraws the drawing pattern for the drawing object Portray. The charged particle beam drawing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the image correction unit corrects the pixels of the pixels in the corners of the drawing pattern included in the second drawing data Value to generate the third drawing data. The charged particle beam drawing device as described in item 6 of the patent application scope, wherein the pixels superimposed on the drawing pattern are set to have a larger pixel value than the pixels not superimposed on the drawing pattern, and the aforementioned image correction The unit corrects the pixel value of the pixel at the corner of the drawing pattern included in the second drawing data to a value larger than the current pixel value, and generates the third drawing data. The charged particle beam drawing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the image correction section corrects the position of the boundary line of the drawing pattern included in the second drawing data The pixel value of a plurality of pixels generates the third drawing data. As described in any one of the first to third patent application scope The electric particle beam drawing device includes a second memory control unit that controls to store the first drawing data in the second drawing data storage unit. A charged particle beam drawing system, comprising: a beam generating part to generate a charged particle beam; and an aperture part having a plurality of openings to pass the charged particle beams through the openings to generate as many micro beams as possible A beam; and a projection system that reduces the projection of the multi-beam to the object to be drawn; and an obscuration section between the aperture section and the projection system to control the plurality of tiny beams toward the projection system, or toward A direction different from the projection system; and a control unit that controls the beam generation unit, the projection system, and the occlusion unit; and an acquisition unit, which acquires the first drawing data in the form of a vector for drawing the drawing object ; And the first image conversion unit, which converts the first drawing data into second drawing data in a line-by-line (raster) form; and the image correction unit, corrects the second drawing data in pixel units to generate a line-by-line format The third drawing data; and the second image conversion unit, which converts the third drawing data into a vector form of fourth drawing data; and the first drawing data storage unit, which stores the fourth drawing data; and the inspection unit, on the After the drawing of the drawing object, the Die to Die check or Die to Database check is used to conduct a visual inspection of the drawing pattern of the drawing object to determine whether there is a problem with the appearance; and The correction problem determination unit determines whether the correction process in the image correction unit has been excessively corrected if the problem is determined by the inspection unit. A charged particle beam drawing system, comprising: a beam generating part to generate a charged particle beam; and an aperture part having a plurality of openings to pass the charged particle beams through the openings to generate as many micro beams as possible A beam; and a projection system that reduces the projection of the multi-beam to the object to be drawn; and an obscuration section between the aperture section and the projection system to control the plurality of tiny beams toward the projection system, or toward A direction different from the projection system; and a control unit that controls the beam generation unit, the projection system, and the occlusion unit; and an acquisition unit, which acquires the first drawing data in the form of a vector for drawing the drawing object ; And the first image conversion unit, which converts the first drawing data into second drawing data in a line-by-line (raster) form; and the image correction unit, which performs correction processing on the second drawing data in pixel units to generate a The third drawing data in line form; and the second image conversion unit, which converts the third drawing data into fourth drawing data in vector form; and the first drawing data storage unit, which stores the fourth drawing data; and the control unit , Based on the third drawing data, controlling the beam generating section, the projection system, and the masking section, and drawing the drawing pattern on the drawing object; and The inspection section, after drawing the drawing object, performs a visual inspection of the drawing pattern of the drawing object by Die to Die inspection or Die to Database inspection to determine whether there is a problem with the appearance; and the first regeneration Department, if the inspection unit determines that there is a problem, the fourth drawing data is regenerated; and the second regenerating unit uses the regenerated fourth drawing data to draw the third drawing line by line The data is regenerated; the control unit controls the beam generating unit, the projection system, and the masking unit based on the regenerated third drawing data, and redraws the drawing pattern of the drawing object, the first 2 The image conversion unit converts the reconstructed third rendering data into the fourth rendering data, and the first rendering data storage unit stores the reconstructed fourth rendering data. A method for generating drawing data, which is a method for generating drawing data used in a charged particle beam drawing device for drawing a drawing object using multiple beams including a plurality of minute beams generated based on a charged particle beam, and includes : The step of obtaining the first drawing data in the form of a vector for drawing the object to be drawn; and the step of converting the first drawing data into the second drawing data in a line-by-line format; and correcting the second drawing in pixel units Data, the step of generating line-by-line third drawing data; and The step of transforming the aforementioned third drawing data into the fourth drawing data in the form of a vector; and the step of storing the aforementioned fourth drawing data in the first drawing data storage unit; after drawing the aforementioned drawing object, by Die to Die inspection or Die to Database inspection to perform the visual inspection of the drawing of the drawing object to determine whether there is a problem with the appearance. If the problem is determined, the fourth drawing data around the problem is taken from the above The first drawing data storage unit reads and compares the read fourth drawing data with the first drawing data, and based on the result of the comparison, when a predetermined size occurs between the fourth drawing data and the first drawing data When the above data is inconsistent, it is judged that there is a problem with the process of converting the first drawing data into the second drawing data. The step of converting the fourth drawing data into the fourth drawing data is generated by binarizing the third drawing data. Binary data, extract the outline of the aforementioned binary data, and generate the aforementioned fourth drawing data. The method for generating drawing data as described in item 12 of the patent application scope, wherein the third drawing data includes pixel values for each of a plurality of pixels, and the step of converting the fourth image into the fourth image is to perform region division. The area segmentation system incorporates the aforementioned third drawing data The adjacent pixel ranges having the same pixel value are integrated into one divided area, and the fourth drawing data obtained by vectorizing the divided areas divided by the area is generated. The drawing data generation method as described in item 12 of the patent application scope, wherein the third drawing data includes pixel values for each of a plurality of pixels, and the forward direction of the charged particle beam is performed based on the third drawing data Scattering and backscattering are considered in the simulation of drawing, the accumulated dose distribution is obtained, the accumulated dose distribution is converted into vector data, and the number of vertices of the converted vector data is truncated to generate the fourth drawing data. The drawing data generation method as described in item 13 or item 14 of the patent application scope, wherein after drawing the drawing object, drawing the drawing object is performed by Die to Die inspection or Die to Database inspection Check the appearance of the drawing to determine whether there is a problem with the appearance. If the problem is determined, read the fourth drawing data around the problem from the first drawing data storage section, and read the previously read The fourth drawing data is compared with the first drawing data, and based on the result of the comparison, the second drawing data is judged and corrected. Whether the process of generating the aforementioned third drawing data is excessively corrected.

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