Since multi electron beam exposure has become a serious contender for next generation mask making, proximity- and process effect corrections (PEC) need to be adapted to this technology. With feature sizes in the order of the short-range blurs (resist and tool), contrast enhancements need to be combined with standard linearity corrections. Different PEC strategies are reviewed and compared with respect to their suitability for multi-beam exposure. This analysis recommends a hybrid approach that combines the benefits of shape- and dose PEC and is optimally applicable for multibeam exposure. Exposure results on the proof-of-concept 50keV electron multi-beam mask exposure tool (eMET POC) and a standard 50 kV vector shaped beam tool (VSB) are shown to verify that the combined PEC with overdose contrast enhancement covers the whole pattern range from isolated to opaque.

Date Published: 26 March 2013
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 8680, Alternative Lithographic Technologies V, 86802A (26 March 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2014148

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8680:
Alternative Lithographic Technologies V
William M. Tong, Editor(s)