Articles you may be interested inNanostructuring of free-standing, dielectric membranes using electron-beam lithography J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 31, 06F402 (2013); 10.1116/1.4820019 Advanced photolithographic mask repair using electron beams J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 23, 3101 (2005); 10.1116/1.2062428High-speed and high-precision deflectors applied in electron beam lithography system based on scanning electron microscopy In situ electron-beam lithography on GaAs substrates using a metal alkoxide resist High-resolution electron-beam-assisted deposition and etching is an enabling technology for current and future generation photomask repair. NaWoTec in collaboration with Carl Zeiss NTS (formerly LEO Electron Microscopy) has developed a mask repair tool capable of processing a wide variety of mask types, such as quartz binary masks, phase shift masks, extreme ultraviolet masks, and e-beam projection stencil masks. Specifications currently meet the 65 nm device node requirements, and tool performance is extendible to 45 nm and below. The tool combines LEO's ultra-high-resolution Supra scanning electron microscope platform with NaWoTec's proprietary e-beam deposition and etching technology, gas delivery system, and mask repair software. In this article, we focus on tool performance results; that is, the reproducibility and accuracy of repair of clear and opaque programmed defects on Cr binary and MoSi phase shift masks. These masks have in the past been difficult to repair due to beam position instability caused by charging of the insulating quartz areas. We have found and implemented a solution to this charging problem and have demonstrated in spec repair of various defect types. The extendibility of e-beam-based repair technology to future lithography nodes, both in terms of the required resolution and the ability to repair next generation lithography mask types, will also be addressed.

In cooperation with Zeiss/LEO GmbH, a monoenergetic positron source has been integrated in the electron optical system of a scanning electron microscope by help of a magnetic prism. The electron optics serves both to image the specimen with electrons and to form a positron microbeam that allows local positron-annihilation measurements with a resolution in the micron range. The fatigue damage profile along the cross section of a copper plate after a three-point bending test has been investigated. The obtained S-parameter profile coincides well with the expected fatigue damage distribution.

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Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2004 in Savannah, Georgia, USA, August 1–5, 2004.

An energy filtering transmission electron microscope (EFTEM) has the advantage that, unlike a conventional TEM, it can also utilize the spectroscopic information carried by inelastically scattered electrons, thus making optimum use of all the available information. The design of an EFTEM featuring an Ω‐type imaging electron‐energy‐loss spectrometer that is integrated into the imaging beam path is described, and its modes of use and possible applications discussed.