Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A multi-beam source for generating a plurality of beamlets of energetic electrically charged particles, the multi-beam source comprising:an illumination system; anda beam-forming system,wherein the illumination system is adapted to generate energetic electrically charged particles and to form said particles into a wide illuminating beam, andthe beam forming system is configured to be illuminated by the illuminating beam emerging from the illumination system and is adapted to form a plurality of beamlets of energetic particles out of the beam, said beam forming system comprising:a beam-splitting means having a plurality of apertures transparent to the energetic particles of the particle beam to form the plurality of beamlets out of the beam, andan electrical zone device, said electrical zone device comprising a composite electrode being positioned along a two-dimensional plane oriented orthogonally to an optical axis of the electrical zone device and having lateral dimensions covering at least an area permeated by the particle beam, said composite electrode being composed of a plurality of substantially planar partial electrodes, said partial electrodes being arranged adjoining to each other according to a partitioning of the surface area of the electrical zone device and said partial electrodes being adapted to be applied different electrostatic potentials, the electrical zone device further comprising a plurality of openings transparent to the energetic particles of the particle beam. 2. The multi-beam source of claim 1, wherein the beam-splitting means and the electrical zone device are arranged in consecutive order and the openings of the electrical zone device are aligned with the apertures of the beam-splitting means. 3. The multi-beam source of claim 1, wherein the beam-splitting means is integrated in the electrical zone device. 4. The multi-beam source of claim 1, wherein the plurality of beamlets produced by the multi-beam source are substantially homocentric. 5. The multi-beam source of claim 1, wherein the plurality of beamlets produced by the multi-beam source are substantially telecentric. 6. The multi-beam source of claim 1, wherein the electrically charged particles are ions. 7. The multi-beam source of claim 1, further comprising at least one additional electrode, in particular an annular electrode, said electrode being positioned in proximity of the electrical zone device but out of the plane of the composite electrode of said electrical zone device. 8. The multi-beam source of claim 7, wherein the at least one additional electrode comprises at least one multi-pole electrode, the at least one multi-pole electrode being positioned out of the plane of the composite electrode of the electrical zone device. 9. The multi-beam source of claim 1, wherein the partial electrodes of the electrical zone device are arranged such that each opening of the electrical zone device is associated with a set of partial electrodes being located adjoining to the respective opening. 10. The multi-beam source of claim 9, wherein the set of partial electrodes comprises four partial electrodes. 11. The multi-beam source of claim 1, wherein the partial electrodes of the electrical zone device are shaped as concentric rings, centered at an optical axis of the electrical zone device. 12. The multi-beam source of claim 1, wherein the partial electrodes of the electrical zone device are shaped as sectors arranged around an optical axis of the electrical zone device. 13. The multi-beam source of claim 1, wherein the partial electrodes of the electrical zone device are sector-shaped and arranged around a central area of the electrical zone device, said central area being formed by at least one further central partial electrode. 14. The multi-beam source of claim 1, wherein a resistive material is provided in the gaps between neighboring partial electrodes of the electrical zone device. 15. The multi-beam source of claim 1, wherein openings of the plurality of openings of the electrical zone device are present only within the areas of each of the partial electrodes of the electrical zone device. 16. The multi-beam source of claim 1, wherein a CMOS-layer is provided within the electrical zone device, containing electronic circuitry for controlling the partial electrodes of the electrical zone device by applying different electrostatic potentials. 17. The multi-beam source of claim 1, wherein the partial electrodes of the electrical zone device are controlled via direct wiring which is adapted to apply different electrostatic potentials to the partial electrodes. 18. The multi-beam source of claim 1, wherein said electrical zone device is at least one of said electrical zone devices. 19. The multi-beam source of claim 18, wherein at least one of said electrical zone devices is positioned immediately in front of or after a beam-splitting means as seen along the direction of the particle beam. 20. The multi-beam source of claim 18, wherein a first electrical zone device of the plurality of electrical zone devices is positioned immediately in front of the beam-splitting means as seen along the direction of the particle beam and a second electrical zone device is positioned immediately after the beam-splitting means as seen along the direction of the particle beam. 21. The multi-beam source of claim 20, wherein the partial electrodes of at least one of the plurality of electrical zone devices are arranged such that each opening of the plurality of openings of the electrical zone device is associated with a set of said partial electrodes being located adjoining to the respective opening. 22. The multi-beam source of claim 1, further comprising a blanking device for switching off the passage of selected beamlets, said blanking device having a substantially plate-like shape, comprising a plurality of openings, each opening being provided with at least one controllable deflection means for deflecting particles radiated through the opening off their nominal path. 23. The multi-beam source of claim 22, wherein the blanking device has a CMOS-layer for controlling the deflection means. 24. The multi-beam source of claim 1, further comprising at least one correction lens arrangement for the correction of geometric aberrations of the multi-beam source, the correction lens arrangement having a substantially plate-like shape and comprising a plurality of orifices, the orifices widening to opening spaces at the beginning or the end of the orifice as seen in the direction of the particle beam, said opening spaces configured to act as correction lenses upon receiving the respective beamlets, said opening spaces further having a width varying over the area of the correction lens arrangement, thus defining a varying correction lens strength, the correction lens arrangement being located in front of or after the electrical zone device as seen in the direction of the particle beam. 25. The multi-beam source of claim 24, wherein the correction lens arrangement is located adjacent to said electrical zone device, the electrical zone device being arranged in front of or after the correction lens arrangement as seen along the direction of the particle beam. 26. The multi-beam source of claim 1, wherein the electrical zone device is provided with a cover. 27. The multi-beam source of claim 26, wherein the cover layer is made of electrically conductive material. 28. An electrical zone device for use in a multi-beam source according to claim 1, said electrical zone device comprising a composite electrode having lateral dimensions covering the whole of the electrical zone device, said composite electrode being composed of a plurality of substantially planar partial electrodes, said partial electrodes being arranged adjoining to each other according to a partitioning of the surface area of the electrical zone device and said partial electrodes being adapted to be applied different electrostatic potentials, the electrical zone device further comprising a plurality of openings. 29. The electrical zone device of claim 28, wherein the partial electrodes of the electrical zone device are arranged such that each opening of the plurality of openings of the electrical zone device is associated with a set of partial electrodes being located adjoining to the respective opening. 30. The electrical zone device of claim 29, wherein the set of partial electrodes comprises four partial electrodes. 31. The electrical zone device of claim 28, wherein the partial electrodes are shaped as concentric rings. 32. The electrical zone device of claim 28, wherein the partial electrodes are shaped as sectors arranged around an optical axis of the electrical zone device. 33. The electrical zone device of claim 28, wherein the partial electrodes are sector-shaped and arranged around a central area of the electrical zone device, said central area being formed by at least one further central partial electrode. 34. The electrical zone device of claim 28, wherein a resistive material is provided in the gaps between neighboring partial electrodes. 35. The electrical zone device of claim 28, wherein openings of the plurality of openings of the electrical zone device are present only within the areas of each of the partial electrodes of the electrical zone device and not in the gaps between the partial electrodes. 36. The electrical zone device of claim 28, wherein a CMOS-layer is provided within the electrical zone device to allow for controlling the partial electrodes of the electrical zone device by applying different electrostatic potentials. 37. The electrical zone device of claim 28, wherein the partial electrodes are controlled via direct wiring which is adapted to apply different electrostatic potentials to the partial electrodes. 38. The electrical zone device of claim 28, further comprising a cover layer to protect subsequent structures of the electrical zone device. 39. The electrical zone device of claim 38, wherein the cover layer is made of electrically conductive material. 40. An apparatus for multi-beam lithography for irradiating a target by means of a beam of energetic electrically charged particles, comprising:the multi-beam source of claim 1 for generating a plurality of substantially telecentric/parallel beamlets out of the beam of energetic electrically charged particles, anda multi-beam optical system positioned after the multi-beam source as seen in the direction of the beam for focusing the beamlets onto the surface of the target. 41. The apparatus of claim 40, further comprising at least one blanking means for switching off the passage of selected beamlets, said blanking means having a plurality of openings, each opening corresponding to a respective aperture of the beam-splitting means of the multi-beam source, each opening being provided with a controllable deflection means for deflecting particles radiated through the opening off their path to an absorbing surface within the multi-beam lithography apparatus, said blanking means being located before the multi-beam optical system as seen in the direction of the particle beam and/or being integrated in the multi-beam optical system. 42. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the multi-beam source has a blanking device having a substantially plate-like shape, comprising a plurality of openings, each opening being provided with at least one controllable deflection means for deflecting particles radiated through the opening off their nominal path. 43. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein for each beamlet a deflection unit is provided, said deflection unit being positioned within or before the multi-beam optical system as seen in the direction of the beam, said deflection unit being adapted to correct individual imaging aberrations of its respective beamlet with respect to a desired position on the target and/or to position its respective beamlet during a writing process on the target. 44. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein an electrostatic lens array is placed within the multi-beam optical system. 45. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein for each beamlet an electrostatic lens arrangement is provided as a means to adjust the diameter of the beamlet and/or the position of the beamlet on the target.