Patent ID: 6326633
Filing Date: 2001-12-04
Classification: B82Y,H01J

Abstract:
A method for performing a microlithographic transfer of a pattern, defined by a reticle, to a substrate using a charged particle beam, the method comprising:(a) generating a charged-particle illumination beam forming a gun crossover in the vicinity of which the illuminating beam has a uniform intensity profile;(b) shaping the illumination beam to have a hollow profile of beam intensity at a contrast aperture;(c) directing the illumination beam to a patterned reticle so as to illuminate a region of the reticle with the illumination beam and form an imaging beam from charged particles of the illumination beam passing through the illuminated region of the reticle, the illumination beam illuminating the region of the reticle having a uniform transverse intensity distribution in the vicinity of a crossover image formed by the illumination beam; and(d) projecting the imaging beam onto a substrate having a sensitized surface so as to imprint the reticle pattern on the sensitized surface.