US-12620547-B2 - Beam manipulator in charged particle-beam exposure apparatus

US12620547B2US 12620547 B2US12620547 B2US 12620547B2US-12620547-B2

Abstract

An improved electron beam manipulator for manipulating an electron beam in an electron projection system and a method for manufacturing thereof are disclosed. The electron beam manipulator comprises a body having a first surface and a second surface opposing to the first surface and an interconnecting surface extending between the first surface and the second surface and forming an aperture through the body. The body comprises an electrode forming at least part of the interconnecting surface between the first surface and the second surface.

Inventors

Johannes Cornelis Jacobus De Langen
Dmitry MUDRETSOV
Dongbin CAI

Assignees

ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20210224
Priority Date: 20200306

Claims (19)

1 . An electron beam manipulator for manipulating an electron beam in an electron projection system, the electron beam manipulator comprising: a body having a first surface and a second surface opposing to the first surface and an interconnecting surface extending between the first surface and the second surface and defining an aperture through the body, the body comprising a plurality of electrodes associated with the aperture, the electrodes forming at least part of the interconnecting surface between the first surface and the second surface and at least part of the first surface so that at least part of each of the electrodes is positioned on the first surface, wherein two adjacent facing surfaces of adjacent electrodes of the plurality of electrodes define a gap having a radial length longer than a radial length of at least one electrode.
2 . The electron beam manipulator of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrodes comprises multiple electrodes isolated from each other.
3 . The electron beam manipulator of claim 1 , wherein the adjacent facing surfaces defining the gap are radially diverging or have a consistent tangential dimension along their radial length.
4 . The electron beam manipulator of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrodes further form at least part of the second surface.
5 . The electron beam manipulator of claim 1 , wherein the at least part of each of the plurality of electrodes is configured to have an electric potential different from an electric potential of at least another part of the respective electrode when operating.
6 . The electron beam manipulator of claim 1 , wherein the body comprises: a substrate; and a first electric conductive layer formed on one surface of the substrate and forming at least part of the first surface of the body, wherein the plurality of electrodes are connected with the first electric conductive layer.
7 . The electron beam manipulator of claim 1 , wherein the body comprises: a substrate; and a plurality of electrode contacts formed on the substrate, wherein the plurality of electrode contacts are connected with a respective electrode of the plurality of electrodes.
8 . The electron beam manipulator of claim 1 , wherein the body is formed by a doped silicon substrate forming the first surface, the second surface, and the plurality of electrodes.
9 . The electron beam manipulator of claim 8 , wherein the body further includes an isolation layer extending between the first surface and the second surface and electrically isolating the plurality of electrodes of the doped silicon substrate from the rest of the doped silicon substrate.
10 . The electron beam manipulator of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrodes comprise metal.
11 . The electron beam manipulator of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrodes comprise an electrically conductive coating.
12 . A method for manufacturing an electron beam manipulator, the method comprising: providing a workpiece comprising a substrate having a first surface and a second surface and an electrode layer formed relative to the first surface, the electrode layer having an electrode portion; forming a resist mask having an opening corresponding to a pattern on the workpiece, leaving an unmasked portion of the substrate; etching the unmasked portion of the substrate such that an inner wall is formed through the substrate to extend between the first surface and the second surface; removing the resist mask; and forming a first conductive layer coating the inner wall of the substrate interconnecting the first and second surfaces, wherein the electrode layer is etched such that the electrode portion includes multiple electrode portions, wherein the electrode portions comprising at least part of an interconnecting surface between the first surface and the second surface and at least part of the electrode layer so that at least part of each of the electrode portions is positioned on the first surface, adjacent electrode portions of the multiple electrode portions being separated via a gap formed by the etching, wherein the gap has a radial length longer than a radial length of at least one electrode portion.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein etching the substrate is performed by using the electrode layer as a stopper and further comprising: forming a routing resist mask covering a routing portion formed within the electrode layer; etching a dielectric material; and removing the routing resist mask.
14 . An electron beam manipulator configured to manipulate an electron beam in a projection system of an electron beam tool, the electron beam manipulator comprising: a substrate having opposing major surfaces and a through passage providing an interconnecting surface extending between the major surfaces, at least part of the interconnecting surface being formed by a plurality of electrodes configured in use to be held at a potential difference, at least part of each electrode being positioned on one of the major surfaces and two adjacent facing surfaces of adjacent electrodes of the electrodes defining a gap, and the through passage comprises a shield that is configured to shield the at least part of at least one electrode, wherein the gap has a radial length longer than a radial length of at least one electrode.
15 . The electron beam manipulator of claim 14 , wherein the through passage comprises parts of differing cross-sectional area comprising a part having smaller cross-sectional area positioned upstream of the at least one electrode in a path of the electron beam.
16 . The electron beam manipulator of claim 14 , wherein an electrode shield is configured to be upstream of at least one electrode in a path of the electron beam.
17 . The electron beam manipulator of claim 14 , wherein at least part of the electrode is positioned on one of the major surfaces, and wherein a part of the through passage is configured to shield the at least part of at least one electrode with respect to a path of the electron beam through the through passage.
18 . The electron beam manipulator of claim 14 , wherein the adjacent facing surfaces defining the gap are radially diverging or have a consistent tangential dimension along their radial length.
19 . The electron beam manipulator of claim 14 , wherein at least part of the interconnecting surface is coated with a conductive layer that extends to one of the major surfaces.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to International Application No. PCT/EP2021/054583, filed 24 Feb. 2021, and published as WO 2021/175678 A1, which claims priority of EP Application Serial No. 20161464.1, which was filed on 6 Mar. 2020. The contents of these applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. FIELD The embodiments provided herein generally relate to a charged particle beam illumination apparatus, and more particularly to a charged particle beam manipulator in a charged particle-beam illumination apparatus. BACKGROUND When manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) chips, undesired pattern defects, as a consequence of, for example, optical effects and incidental particles, inevitably occur on a substrate (i.e., wafer) or a mask during the fabrication processes, thereby reducing the yield. Monitoring the extent of the undesired pattern defects is therefore an important process in the manufacture of IC chips. More generally, the inspection and/or measurement of a surface of a substrate, or other object/material, is an import process during and/or after its manufacture. Pattern inspection tools with a charged particle beam have been used to inspect objects, for example to detect pattern defects. These tools typically use electron microscopy techniques, such as a scanning electron microscope (SEM). In a SEM, a primary electron beam of electrons at a relatively high energy is targeted with a final deceleration step in order to land on a sample at a relatively low landing energy. The beam of electrons is focused as a probing spot on the sample. The interactions between the material structure at the probing spot and the landing electrons from the beam of electrons cause electrons to be emitted from the surface, such as secondary electrons, backscattered electrons, or Auger electrons. The generated secondary electrons may be emitted from the material structure of the sample. By scanning the primary electron beam as the probing spot over the sample surface, secondary electrons can be emitted across the surface of the sample. By collecting these emitted secondary electrons from the sample surface, a pattern inspection tool may obtain an image representing characteristics of the material structure of the surface of the sample. Another application for a charged particle beam is lithography. The charged particle beam reacts with a resist layer on the surface of a substrate. A desired pattern in the resist can be created by controlling the locations on the resist layer that the charged particle beam is directed towards. There is a general need to improve the generation of a charged particle beam for use in electron microscopy as well as for other applications, such as lithography. SUMMARY The embodiments provided herein disclose a charged particle beam illumination apparatus. The charged particle beam illumination apparatus may be used to generate a multi-beam of charged particles. The charged particle beam illumination apparatus may be comprised within an inspection apparatus or a lithography apparatus. In some embodiments, an electron beam manipulator for manipulating an electron beam in an electron projection system is provided. The electron beam manipulator comprises a body having a first surface and a second surface opposing to the first surface and an interconnecting surface extending between the first surface and the second surface and forming an aperture through the body. The body comprises an electrode forming at least part of the interconnecting surface between the first surface and the second surface. In some embodiments, an electron beam manipulator device for manipulating an electron beam in an electron projection system is provided. The electron beam manipulating device comprises a first manipulator and a second manipulator. Each of the first manipulator and the second manipulator comprises a body having a first surface and a second surface opposing to the first surface and an interconnecting surface extending between the first surface and the second surface and forming an aperture through the body. The body comprises an electrode forming at least part of the interconnecting surface between the first surface and the second surface. At least part of the electrode is associated with the aperture and is positioned on the first surface. The first manipulator is positioned upstream of the second manipulator in a direction of the electron beam during operation. In some embodiments, a method for manufacturing an electron beam manipulator is provided. The method comprises providing a workpiece comprising a substrate having a first surface and a second surface and an electrode layer formed relative to the first surface, the electrode layer having an electrode portion, forming a resist mask having an opening corresponding to a pattern on the workpiece, leaving an unmasked portion of the substrate, etching the unmasked portion of the su