Patent ID: 8148702

Claim:
A system for the illuminating a substrate with individually shaped controllable particle beams comprising: a particle beam source emitting a particle beam; a first multiple-format multiple-diaphragm aperture array capable of generating beamlets with different cross sections generating separate particle beamlets; an illumination system shaping and deflecting a particle beam illuminating the first diaphragm array; a condenser lens system; a second multiple-format multiple-diaphragm aperture array capable of generating beamlets with different cross sections having diaphragm apertures adapted to the first diaphragm array using an imaging scale, the first diaphragm array being imaged by the condenser lens system on the second diaphragm array; an outlet aperture diaphragm at a first beam crossover, wherein the second diaphragm array is between the outlet aperture diaphragm and the first diaphragm array; a reduction optics comprising at least one stage for reduced imaging of the beamlets passed by the second diaphragm array onto the substrate; and a multi-beam deflector system for individual deflection of the beamlets comprising at least three multi-beam deflector arrays: a first multi-beam deflector array between the first diaphragm array and the second diaphragm array generating by individual deflection of the beamlets different cross sections of the beamlets after the beamlets pass the second diaphragm array, a second multi-beam deflector array adjacent to the second diaphragm array deflecting beamlets in partial crossovers and capable of blanking individual beamlets by directing them at the outlet aperture diaphragm or the second diaphragm array, and a third multi-beam deflector array at a distance from the second diaphragm array of between 10% and 20% of the distance between the second diaphragm array and a second beam crossover directing the beamlets to different positions on the substrate.