Patent ID: 8153996

Claim:
A pattern forming apparatus using a lithography technique comprising: a stage configured to allow a target object to be placed thereon; a plurality of columns configured to form patterns on the target object by using a charged particle beam while moving relatively to the stage; a pattern forming rule setting unit configured to set a pattern forming rule depending on a position of a broken one of the plurality of columns; a region setting unit configured to set regions so that unbroken ones of the plurality of columns respectively form a pattern in one of the regions; a plurality of control circuits each configured to control any one of the plurality of columns different from others of the plurality of columns controlled by others of the plurality of control circuits; and a pattern forming data processing unit configured to perform a converting process on pattern forming data for the regions set to output a corresponding data generated by the converting process to the control circuit of a corresponding one of the unbroken ones of the plurality of columns respectively, wherein as the plurality of columns, first to fourth columns arranged in a (2×2) array having two horizontal lines and two vertical lines are provided, the pattern forming rule setting unit, in a case that the fourth column of the first to fourth columns is broken, sets a pattern forming rule such that the first column forms a pattern in a small pattern forming region at coordinates (i, j), the second column forms a pattern in a small pattern forming region at coordinates (i, j+1), and the third column forms a pattern in a small pattern forming region at coordinates (i+2, j+1) at almost a same time, respectively, the small pattern forming regions at coordinates (i, j), (i, j+1), and (i+2, j+1) being included in a plurality of small pattern forming regions obtained by virtually dividing a pattern forming region of the target object into meshed regions, and the first column forms a pattern in a small pattern forming region at coordinates (i+1, j+1), the second column forms a pattern in a small pattern forming region at coordinates (i+1, j+2), and the third column forms a pattern in a small pattern forming region at coordinates (i+3, j+2) at almost a same time, respectively.