Patent ID: 7883831

Claim:
A method for lithographic patterning of a plurality of identical structures onto a target substrate, said method comprising: providing a template mask, wherein the template mask bears a template structure pattern comprising a plurality of identical template structures, and wherein the template mask is used for lithographic patterning of the target substrate; utilizing a broad beam of energetic radiation to illuminate the template mask to form a structured beam of energetic radiation, wherein the template structure pattern is imaged onto the target substrate by the structured beam of energetic radiation; positioning the target substrate after the template mask as seen in the optical path of the structured beam of energetic radiation, wherein the target substrate comprises material sensitive to exposure of said energetic radiation, wherein the exposure with respect to the sequence of image positions superposes into a spatial distribution of exposure dose on the target substrate, and wherein said distribution defines the structures thus patterned on the target substrate according to the exposure-dependent characteristic of said sensitive material; and producing a pattern image on the target substrate, wherein the pattern image is produced by moving the structured beam across the target substrate through a sequence of image positions, and wherein the movement is produced by inclining the template mask and the target substrate relative to the axis of the beam while the template mask and the target substrate are held in fixed relative position.