Patent ID: 7592612

Claim:
A method of controlling a beam used to generate a pattern on a target surface, said method comprising: generating a beam of charged particles and directing said beam to a mask surface; and causing said beam to be one of absorbed by and reflected from said mask surface, thereby either precluding or allowing said beam to strike said target surface based on a reflection characteristic of said mask surface, wherein said reflection characteristic is due to one of: a difference in electrical potential on said mask surface caused by an n×m (where n and m are integers and n≠m) matrix of metallic electrodes forming a plurality of pixels, wherein only active pixels of said matrix are activated to carry a current of said beam of charged particles; and a difference of an electrostatic potential on said mask surface due to a difference of work functions of two different materials, a first of said two materials being deposited as a layer covering said mask surface and a second of said two materials being selectively deposited at different locations on top of said layer of said first material.