JP2002305141A - Apparatus and method for electron beam exposure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electron beam exposure apparatus which stores a very small amount of exposure data and processes an extremely small amount of data. SOLUTION: This electron beam exposure apparatus is equipped with individual exposure data storage parts, which store shot position data indicating shot positions, as positions of a shot pattern that an electron beam should be exposed in divided partial exposure areas smaller than the width of possible reflection of the electron beam by a reflection part; an irradiation position calculating part which reads the shot position data, included in partial exposure areas, to be irradiated with the electron beam out of the individual exposure data storage part, and computes irradiation position data showing positions to be irradiated with the electron beam according to relative position between a stage position as the position of a wafer stage and the position of the partially exposure region and relative positions between the positions of the partially exposure region and the shot position; and a deflection control unit which controls the reflection part according to the irradiation position data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an electron beam exposure apparatus and an exposure method. In particular, the present invention relates to an electron beam exposure apparatus capable of extremely reducing the processing of exposure data required for exposure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an electron beam exposure apparatus for exposing a pattern on a wafer using an electron beam, there is an electron beam exposure apparatus using a plurality of electron beams. In a conventional electron beam exposure apparatus that performs exposure processing on a wafer by using a plurality of electron beams, the region where each electron beam is to be exposed on the wafer is different. That is, in a conventional electron beam exposure apparatus using a plurality of electron beams, a control system for controlling each electron beam in an exposure process adjusts each electron beam according to an exposure pattern in a region to be exposed on a wafer. Exposure data is generated for each electron beam, and the exposure data generated for each electron beam is stored. That is, the conventional electron beam exposure apparatus has an exposure data storage unit for storing exposure data for controlling each electron beam for each electron beam, and further reads out different exposure data for each electron beam individually.

[0003]

With the recent miniaturization of semiconductor devices, the number of elements in one semiconductor device has been extremely increased, and the exposure data for exposing one semiconductor device has been reduced to the number of elements. Increase in proportion.
For example, one shot has a data amount of 6 bytes and 1
When the number of shots of 4 gigashots is required to expose one semiconductor device, the amount of exposure data required to expose one semiconductor device is 24 gigabytes.

As described above, the conventional electron beam exposure apparatus generates different exposure data for each electron beam,
It is necessary to store each exposure data individually. In particular, when the size of the semiconductor device and the interval between the electron beams do not match, one semiconductor device is provided over a plurality of regions on the wafer to be exposed to the plurality of electron beams. It is necessary to have completely different exposure data. In particular, with the recent diversification of semiconductor devices, the sizes of semiconductor devices exposed by an electron beam exposure apparatus are various.

Further, as the diameter of wafers for forming semiconductor devices has been increased, the number of required electron beams has also increased. For example, in the case described above, when exposing a wafer using 150 electron beams, 3400 gigabytes of exposure data is required. In this case, the amount of data processed by the electron beam exposure apparatus is enormous, it is difficult to process exposure data at high speed, and it is extremely difficult to improve throughput, which is indispensable for mass-producing semiconductor devices.

Further, it is desired to provide an inexpensive electron beam exposure apparatus to the market in order to use the electron beam exposure apparatus in mass production of semiconductor devices. However, the conventional electron beam exposure apparatus requires an enormous amount of storage elements such as a hard disk and a semiconductor memory, which is an even greater barrier to the practical application of the electron beam exposure apparatus to mass-produced devices. .

Further, the column, which is a path through which each electron beam passes, is formed by precision machining or the like, and may include a processing error. Therefore, when a large number of electron beams are used, the intervals at which the columns are provided are not always equal. In such a case, it is more difficult to generate exposure data for each electron beam.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electron beam exposure apparatus and an exposure method that can solve the above-mentioned problems. This object is achieved by a combination of features described in the independent claims. The dependent claims define further advantageous embodiments of the present invention.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electron beam exposure apparatus for exposing a pattern on a wafer by using a plurality of electron beams, wherein the electron beam generates a plurality of electron beams. A beam generating unit, a deflecting unit for independently deflecting a plurality of electron beams, a wafer stage on which a wafer is mounted, and an individual exposure area which is an area to be exposed by each electron beam in an exposure area to be exposed on the wafer A plurality of individual exposures each storing shot position data indicating a shot position which is a position of a shot pattern to be exposed by the electron beam in a partial exposure region which is included in the partial exposure region which is smaller than a deflection width in which the deflection unit can deflect the electron beam. A data storage unit, partial area data indicating a partial exposure area in each individual exposure area, and a predetermined position in the partial exposure area; The individual layout data storage unit for storing partial area position data indicating the partial area position is,
Based on the partial area data, the shot position data included in the partial exposure area to be exposed by the electron beam is read from the individual exposure data storage unit, and the relative position between the stage position, which is the position of the wafer stage, and the partial area position, and An irradiation position calculation unit that calculates irradiation position data indicating a position to be irradiated with the electron beam based on a relative position between the partial region position and the shot position, and a deflection control unit that controls a deflection unit based on the irradiation position data. And an electron beam exposure apparatus characterized by comprising:

The individual exposure area has a plurality of stripe exposure areas including a plurality of partial exposure areas, and the individual layout data storage section stores stripe area data indicating the stripe exposure area included in the individual exposure area, and stripes. Further stores stripe position data indicating a stripe position that is a predetermined position in the exposure region, the irradiation position calculation unit reads shot position data from the individual exposure data storage unit further based on the stripe region data, and Further based on the relative position between the stripe position and the relative position between the stripe position and the partial region position,
It is preferable to calculate irradiation position data.

The individual exposure data storage section further stores shot shape data indicating the shape of the shot pattern, reads out the shot shape data from the individual exposure data storage section, and stores a plurality of shot shape data based on the shot shape data. Preferably, the apparatus further comprises electron beam shaping means for independently shaping the respective cross-sectional shapes of the electron beams, and further includes a plurality of first shaping openings for shaping the cross-sectional shapes of the plurality of electron beams. A first forming member having: a second forming member having a second forming opening for forming a plurality of electron beams formed in the first forming member;
It is preferable to have a shaping / deflecting unit that independently deflects the plurality of electron beams that have passed through the first opening, and a shaping / deflecting control unit that controls the shaping / deflecting unit based on shot shape data.

Further, the second forming member may further have a plurality of block forming openings which are openings having different shapes, and the individual exposure data storage section may set a time for exposing the shot pattern to the wafer. An exposure switching unit that further stores the exposure time data shown and independently switches whether or not to irradiate each electron beam to the wafer; and an exposure timing control unit that controls the irradiation switching unit according to the timing based on the shot time data. May be provided.

The individual layout data storage section stores partial area data indicating a predetermined partial exposure area in the stripe exposure area, and the number of partial exposure areas to be exposed by the electron beam continuously arranged from the predetermined partial area. Is further stored, and the irradiation position calculation unit, based on the partial area data and the partial area number data,
The shot position data included in the partial exposure area may be read to calculate the irradiation position data.

The predetermined partial exposure region may be a partial exposure region located at the outermost periphery in a stripe exposure region including the predetermined partial exposure region.

The individual layout data storage section further stores address data indicating an address of the individual exposure data storage section in which partial area data indicating a predetermined partial exposure area is stored. The partial area data may be read from the individual exposure data storage based on the data and the partial area number data.

In addition, the apparatus further includes an exposure data storage section for storing shot position data and partial area data included in the partial exposure area in the individual exposure area, and the individual exposure data storage section is included in the individual exposure area from the exposure data storage section. Shot position data and partial area data to be read out and stored, and in this case, at least one exposure data storage unit may be further provided.

In the case where a plurality of electron beams can expose a predetermined partial exposure region, an individual beam corresponding to an electron beam having the largest area capable of exposing a predetermined partial exposure region among the plurality of electron beams. The layout data storage unit may store partial area data and a partial area position indicating a predetermined partial exposure area. In the partial exposure area, the length of the stripe exposure area in the short direction is determined by the deflection unit. The partial exposure area may be formed so as to have a length substantially equal to the deflection distance at which the beam can be deflected, and so that one side of the partial exposure area is substantially an integral number of the deflection distance.

The wafer stage continuously moves the wafer to expose a partial exposure area along the longitudinal direction of the stripe exposure area. When the wafer stage is moving continuously, a predetermined electron beam is emitted by the predetermined electron beam. A stripe exposure region that is not on the same straight line as a stripe exposure region exposed by another electron beam that is adjacent to the electron beam in the longitudinal direction may be exposed.

Each of the individual layout data storages stores an ideal irradiation position to be irradiated with the electron beam and a real irradiation position to be actually irradiated with the electron beam in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the stripe exposure region. Based on the distance from the irradiation position, partial area data included in a stripe exposure area to be exposed to a predetermined electron beam and another electron beam may be stored.

The electron beam having the largest distance between the ideal irradiation position and the irradiation position in a predetermined direction substantially perpendicular to the continuous movement direction is moved in the direction opposite to the predetermined direction in the individual exposure area to be exposed by the electron beam. The stripe exposure region located at the end may be irradiated first, and among the plurality of individual layout data storage units, at least one individual layout data storage unit includes a plurality of individual layout data storage units included in at least one stripe exposure region. Of the partial exposure area,
Some partial area data may be stored.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an exposure method for exposing a pattern on a wafer using a plurality of electron beams, wherein the step of generating a plurality of electron beams and the step of placing the wafer on a wafer stage. Steps and the exposure area to be exposed on the wafer, each electron beam is included in the individual exposure area which is an area to be exposed, and the deflection unit is decomposed into a partial exposure area which is an area smaller than the deflection width capable of deflecting the electron beam And storing shot position data indicating the position of the shot pattern to be exposed by the electron beam in the partial exposure area, for each partial exposure area, and partial area data indicating the partial exposure area in each individual exposure area, And storing partial region position data indicating a partial region position that is a predetermined position in the partial exposure region. Based on the partial area data, the shot position data included in the partial exposure area to be exposed by the electron beam is read from the individual exposure data storage unit, and the relative position between the stage position, which is the position of the wafer stage, and the partial area position, and Calculating irradiation position data indicating a position to be irradiated with the electron beam based on a relative position between the partial region position and the shot position; and independently deflecting the plurality of electron beams based on the irradiation position data, respectively. And an exposure method characterized by comprising:

Note that the above summary of the present invention does not list all of the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these features may also constitute the present invention.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the present invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the claimed invention and have the features described in the embodiments. Not all combinations are essential to the solution of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an electron beam exposure apparatus 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The electron beam exposure apparatus 100 includes an exposure unit 150 that performs a predetermined exposure process on the wafer 44 with an electron beam, and a control system 140 that controls the operation of each component included in the exposure unit 150.

The exposure section 150 generates a plurality of electron beams inside the housing 8 and forms an electron beam forming means 110 for shaping the cross-sectional shape of the electron beam as desired, and determines whether to irradiate the wafer 44 with the plurality of electron beams. And an electron optical system including a wafer projection system 114 for adjusting the direction and size of the image of the pattern transferred to the wafer 44. The exposure unit 150 includes a stage system including a wafer stage 46 on which the wafer 44 on which a pattern is to be exposed is mounted, and a wafer stage driving unit 48 for driving the wafer stage 46.

The electron beam shaping means 110 has a plurality of electron guns 10 for generating a plurality of electron beams and a plurality of openings for shaping the cross-sectional shape of the irradiated electron beam by passing the electron beam. A first forming member 14 and a second forming member 22, a first multi-axis electron lens 16 for independently focusing a plurality of electron beams and adjusting a focus of the plurality of electron beams, and a plurality of light beams passing through the first forming member 14; A first shaping / deflecting unit 18 and a second shaping / deflecting unit 20 for independently deflecting the electron beam. The first shaping deflecting unit 18 and the second shaping deflecting unit 20 include a plurality of deflectors provided around a path (hereinafter, referred to as a column) through which each electron beam passes.

The irradiation switching means 112 independently focuses the plurality of electron beams, adjusts the focal points of the plurality of electron beams, and deflects the plurality of electron beams independently. A blanking electrode array 26 for independently switching whether each electron beam is irradiated on the wafer 44 or not for each electron beam.
And an electron beam shielding member 28 that includes a plurality of openings through which the electron beam passes and shields the electron beam deflected by the blanking electrode array 26. In another example, blanking electrode array 26 may be a blanking aperture array device.

The wafer projection system 114 independently focuses a plurality of electron beams and reduces the irradiation diameter of the electron beam, and the third multi-axis electron lens 34 independently focuses the plurality of electron beams. A fourth multi-axis electron lens 36 for adjusting the focus of the electron beam, a deflecting unit 38 for deflecting the plurality of electron beams to desired positions on the wafer 44 independently for each electron beam, and an object for the wafer 44. A fifth multi-axis electron lens 52 that functions as a lens and independently focuses a plurality of electron beams;

The control system 140 includes an overall control unit 130 and an individual control unit 120. The individual control unit 120 includes an electron beam control unit 80, a multi-axis electron lens control unit 82, a shaping deflection control unit 84, and a blanking electrode array control unit 86.
And a deflection controller 92 and a wafer stage controller 96. The general control unit 130 is, for example, a workstation, and performs general control of each control unit included in the individual control unit 120. The electron beam control unit 80 controls the electron gun 10. The multi-axis electron lens controller 82 supplies the first multi-axis electron lens 16, the second multi-axis electron lens 24, the third multi-axis electron lens 34, the fourth multi-axis electron lens 36, and the fifth multi-axis electron lens 52. To control the current.

The shaping / deflecting control unit 84 includes the first shaping / deflecting unit 1.
8 and the second shaping deflector 20 are controlled. The blanking electrode array control unit 86 controls the voltage applied to the deflection electrodes included in the blanking electrode array 26. The deflection control unit 92 controls the voltage applied to the deflection electrodes of the plurality of deflectors included in the deflection unit 38. The wafer stage control unit 96 controls the wafer stage drive unit 48 to move the wafer stage 46 to a predetermined position.

In this embodiment, the electron beam control unit 8
0, the shaping deflection control unit 84, the blanking array electrode control unit 86, and the deflection control unit 92 constitute a column control system for independently controlling the electron beam passing through each column.
Each control unit included in the column control system may be provided for each column.

FIG. 2 shows an example of irradiation positions of a plurality of electron beams to be irradiated on the wafer 44 and individual exposure regions to be irradiated by each electron beam. In this embodiment, the wafer stage 46 continuously moves the wafer 44 in a predetermined direction, and moves stepwise in a direction substantially perpendicular to the predetermined direction. In FIG. 2, the direction in which the wafer stage 46 moves continuously is the y-axis direction, and the direction in which the wafer stage 46 moves stepwise is x.
In the axial direction.

The column position 202 indicates a position where each column cell is arranged. The individual exposure area 200 indicates an area to be exposed by each electron beam. Each column cell is preferably provided so that a plurality of electron beams are irradiated on the wafer in a grid pattern. More preferably, the plurality of electron beams are applied at intervals of substantially an integral multiple or approximately a fraction of the length of one side of a region where one chip is formed on the wafer.

FIG. 3 shows the individual exposure area 200. Each individual exposure area 200 has a plurality of stripe exposure areas 204. The stripe exposure area 204 is preferably a rectangular area. Further, it is preferable that the stripe exposure region 204 is a region having a predetermined length in the x-axis direction and provided from one end to the other end of the individual exposure region 200 in the y-axis direction. The predetermined length is preferably a length that allows the electron beam to be exposed while the wafer stage 46 continuously moves in the y-axis direction.
In this embodiment, the stripe exposure region 204 has a length that allows the deflecting unit 38 to deflect each electron beam in the x-axis direction.

Then, the wafer stage 46 continuously moves the wafer 44 in a predetermined direction along the y-axis, thereby exposing a predetermined stripe exposure area 204. After exposing the predetermined stripe exposure area 204, the wafer stage 46 moves the wafer 44 by a predetermined distance in the x-axis direction. The predetermined distance is set in the stripe exposure area 20.
It is preferable that the distance is substantially equal to the length in the x-axis direction of No. 4. Then, the wafer stage 46 exposes the stripe region 204 adjacent to the predetermined stripe region 204 by continuously moving the wafer 44 in the y-axis direction in a direction opposite to the predetermined direction. Above, the wafer stage 4
6 repeats the operation of continuously moving the wafer 44 in the y-axis direction and the operation of moving the wafer 44 stepwise in the x-axis direction,
The individual exposure area 200 is exposed. In another example, the wafer stage 46 may expose the plurality of stripe exposure areas 204 by moving the wafer 44 in a certain direction.

FIG. 4 shows the stripe exposure area 204. Each stripe exposure area 204 is
4 has a plurality of partial exposure areas 206 obtained by decomposing an exposure area, which is an area to be exposed, into an area smaller than a deflection distance at which the deflection unit 38 can deflect the electron beam. Partial exposure area 20
Numeral 6 is preferably a rectangular area, and the length of one side is preferably substantially an integral number of the deflection distance. In this embodiment, the individual exposure area 200 is square, and the partial exposure area 206 has a similar shape to the individual exposure area 200.

FIG. 5 shows the partial exposure area 206. Each partial exposure area 206 applies an electron beam to the wafer 44.
Each time the electron beam is irradiated on the wafer 44 by the irradiation switching means for switching whether or not to irradiate the wafer 4, the wafer 4
4 has a shot pattern 208 which is a pattern to be exposed. The shot pattern 208 is determined by decomposing the exposure pattern to be exposed on the wafer based on the cross-sectional shape of the electron beam that can be formed by the electron beam forming means. The electron beam exposes a shot pattern 208 to be exposed in a predetermined partial exposure area 206,
It is preferable to expose a shot pattern 208 to be exposed in another partial exposure area 206. Further, there may be a partial exposure region 206 having no shot pattern 208 in the stripe exposure region 204.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the configuration of the control system 140. The overall control unit 130 includes a central processing unit 170 that controls the entire control system 140, an exposure data storage unit 172 that stores exposure data, and a layout data storage unit 174 that stores individual layout data. Deflection controller 9
2 has a plurality of individual deflection controllers 256 for controlling a deflector for deflecting each electron beam. The individual deflection control unit 256 includes an individual exposure data storage unit 258 for storing at least a part of the exposure data stored in the exposure data storage unit 172, and an individual exposure area 200 for exposing the wafer 44 with an electron beam to be controlled. An individual layout data storage unit 260 that stores individual layout data corresponding to
Exposure data stored in the individual exposure data storage unit 258;
The individual layout data stored in the individual layout data storage unit 260, the irradiation position of the electron beam based on the stage position of the wafer stage 46, and the irradiation position for calculating control data for controlling the deflection unit 38 based on the irradiation position. The calculation unit 262 and the control data
Digital-to-analog (D / A) conversion to analog voltage data corresponding to the voltage applied to the deflection electrode included in the device
And a conversion unit 264.

It is preferable that each individual deflection controller 256 shares the same exposure data stored in the exposure data storage 172. In addition, each individual deflection control unit 256
Preferably, the column data to be controlled by each individual deflection control unit 256 is read from the layout data storage unit 174 and stored in the individual layout data storage unit 260. In another example, the control system 140 may include a plurality of exposure data storage units 172. At this time, each exposure data storage section 172 preferably stores the same exposure data, and a plurality of individual deflection control sections 256 preferably read exposure data from one exposure data storage section 172. For example, four individual deflection control units 256 may read data from one exposure data storage unit 172.

Next, an example of data stored in the exposure data storage section 172 and the layout data storage section 174 will be described.

FIG. 7 shows data stored in the exposure data storage section 172 and the layout data storage section 174.
FIG. 7A shows an example of the exposure data stored in the exposure data storage unit 172. When exposing a repeated pattern to the wafer 44, the exposure data storage section 172 preferably stores exposure data included in a unit pattern in the repeated pattern. In the present embodiment, the exposure data is exposure data necessary in an exposure area where one electronic device formed on the wafer 44 is formed. The exposure data includes a plurality of partial exposure data that is data for exposing a plurality of partial exposure regions 206 included in the exposure region. The partial exposure data includes a partial area number that is data for identifying the partial exposure area 206, and shot data that is data for exposing a shot pattern 208 included in the partial exposure area 206. Further, it is preferable that the partial exposure region 206 be configured so that all the shot patterns 208 are included in any one of the partial exposure regions 206.

The shot data is shot position data,
Includes shot shape data and shot time data.
Preferably, the shot data further includes shot identification data for identifying each shot data.

The shot position data indicates a position at which the shot pattern 208 is exposed on the wafer 44. The shot position data desirably indicates the relative position of the shot pattern 208 in the partial exposure area 206 including the shot pattern 208. In the present embodiment, the shot position data indicates a relative position from the center position of the partial exposure area 206.

The shot shape data indicates the shape of the shot pattern 208 to be exposed on the wafer 44. The shot pattern 208 preferably has a rectangular shape having one side substantially parallel to the x-axis direction and one side substantially parallel to the y-axis direction. In this embodiment, the shot shape data is data defining the length of one side substantially parallel to the x-axis direction and the length of one side substantially parallel to the y-axis direction. Shot time data is
The irradiation time for irradiating the wafer 44 with the electron beam to expose the shot pattern 208 is shown.

The exposure data storage section 172 divides the exposure data into partial exposure areas smaller than the deflection width that can be deflected by the deflecting section 38 and stores the divided data. Exposure data stored in the storage unit 172 can be shared. That is, since each column control system does not need to have exposure data for each electron beam, it is possible to greatly reduce storage devices such as memories necessary for the electron beam exposure apparatus. As a result, the cost of the electron beam exposure apparatus can be significantly reduced. Further, the exposure data storage unit 172 stores shot data in units of partial exposure areas.
The number of times that exposure data is developed into shot data and the number of times that exposure data is transferred can be significantly reduced. That is, since the exposure data can be processed extremely efficiently, the speed of the exposure processing can be greatly improved.

FIG. 7B shows the layout data storage unit 1.
7 shows an example of a plurality of individual layout data stored in the storage unit 74. The layout data storage unit 174 stores individual layout data corresponding to each electron beam. That is, the individual layout data includes data for exposing the individual exposure area 200, which is an area exposed by each electron beam.

The individual layout data is stored in the individual exposure area 2
00 includes stripe exposure data which is data for exposing the stripe exposure region 204 included in the image data. The stripe exposure data is stored in each stripe exposure area 20.
4, a stripe position number indicating a stripe position which is a predetermined position in the stripe exposure region 204, and a stripe exposure region 20.
4 includes the partial area data indicating the partial exposure area 206 included in FIG. The predetermined position preferably indicates the position of the stripe exposure region 204 in the individual exposure region 200. In the present embodiment, the predetermined position is the center position of the stripe exposure area 204 and the individual exposure area 20
The relative position of the center position with respect to 0 is shown.

The partial area data includes, for a plurality of chips formed on the wafer 44, a chip number for identifying a chip including the partial exposure area 206, a partial area number for identifying the partial exposure area 206, and The partial exposure area 206 includes partial area position data indicating a partial area position that is a predetermined position. The predetermined position corresponds to the partial exposure region 20 in the stripe exposure region 204.
Preferably position 6 is indicated. In the present embodiment, the predetermined position is the center position of the partial exposure area 206,
The relative position of the center position with respect to the stripe position is shown.

The individual layout data includes partial area designating data for designating a predetermined partial exposure area 206 included in each stripe exposure area 204, and the individual layout data are arranged continuously from the partial area designating data. Preferably further includes partial area number data indicating the number of partial exposure areas 206 to be exposed. At this time, the predetermined partial exposure area 206 is
4 is preferably a partial exposure area arranged on the outermost periphery.

Since the individual layout data includes partial area number data, the individual layout data storage 26
0 does not need to store the partial area numbers of all the exposure areas to be exposed by the electron beam. Therefore, the amount of data to be stored in the individual layout data storage section 260 can be significantly reduced. Therefore, the irradiation position calculation unit 262
However, the time for calculating the irradiation position of the electron beam can be reduced, and the throughput of the electron beam exposure apparatus can be improved.

The operation of the electron beam exposure apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, the plurality of electron guns 10 generate a plurality of electron beams. The first forming member 14 is formed by passing a plurality of electron beams generated by the plurality of electron guns 10 and applied to the first forming member 14 through a plurality of openings provided in the first forming member 14. I do. In another example, a plurality of electron beams may be generated by further including means for dividing the electron beam generated in the electron gun 10 into a plurality of electron beams.

The first multi-axis electron lens 16 independently focuses a plurality of rectangularly shaped electron beams and forms the second shaped member 2.
The focus of the electron beam for 2 is adjusted independently for each electron beam. The shaping / deflecting control unit 84 controls the first shaping / deflecting unit 18 and the second shaping / deflecting unit 20 so that the second shaping member 22 shapes the electron beam into a rectangular shape based on the shot shape data. It is preferable that the shaping deflection control unit 84 operates according to a reference clock for operating the column control system.

The first shaping / deflecting unit 18 includes the shaping / deflecting control unit 8
On the basis of the instruction from 4, the plurality of electron beams formed into a rectangular shape in the first forming member 14 are independently deflected so as to irradiate a desired position on the second forming member. The second shaping / deflecting unit 20 deflects the plurality of electron beams deflected by the first shaping / deflecting unit 18 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the second shaping member 22 based on an instruction from the shaping / deflecting control unit 84. And irradiates the second molded member 22. Then, the second forming member 22 including the plurality of openings having a rectangular shape transmits a plurality of electron beams having a rectangular cross-sectional shape applied to the second forming member 22 to the wafer 44.
Is further shaped into an electron beam having a desired cross-sectional shape to be irradiated.

The second multi-axis electron lens 24 independently focuses a plurality of electron beams, and adjusts the focus of the electron beams on the blanking electrode array 26 independently.
The plurality of electron beams whose focus has been adjusted by the second multi-axis electron lens 24 pass through a plurality of apertures included in the blanking electrode array 26.

The blanking electrode array control unit 86 controls whether or not to apply a voltage to a blanking electrode provided near each aperture in the blanking electrode array 26. The blanking electrode array control unit 86
Generates a reference clock for operating the column control system. Then, the blanking electrode array control unit 86
Controls the time for applying a voltage to each blanking electrode by delaying the reference clock for each blanking electrode based on the shot time data. And
The blanking electrode array 26 switches whether or not to irradiate the electron beam onto the wafer 44 based on the instruction from the blanking electrode array control unit 86.

The electron beam not deflected by the blanking electrode array 26 passes through the third multi-axis electron lens 34. Then, the third multi-axis electron lens 34 reduces the diameter of the electron beam passing through the third multi-axis electron lens 34. The reduced electron beam is supplied to the electron beam shielding member 2.
8 through the opening. Further, the electron beam shielding member 28 shields the electron beam deflected by the blanking electrode array 26. The electron beam that has passed through the electron beam shielding member 28 enters a fourth multi-axis electron lens 36. Then, the fourth multi-axis electron lens 36 independently focuses the incident electron beams, and adjusts the focus of the electron beams with respect to the deflection unit 38, respectively. The electron beam whose focus has been adjusted by the fourth multi-axis electron lens 36 enters the deflection unit 38.

Subsequently, in order to irradiate a desired position on the wafer 44 with the electron beam incident on the deflecting unit 38, the deflecting unit 38
A description will now be given of the operation of deflecting the electron beam.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a method for calculating the irradiation position of the electron beam. Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 6 to 8, the stage position 21 where the wafer stage 46 is at a predetermined position
In the case where the value is 0, the irradiation position of the shot pattern 208 to be exposed next is calculated, so that the deflection unit 38
The operation of deflecting the electron beam to the irradiation position will be described.

First, the wafer stage control section 96 notifies the irradiation position calculation section 262 of the stage position 210 of the wafer stage 46. The stage position 210 is preferably a position of each column or each electron beam relative to the wafer 44. In addition, the irradiation position calculation unit 262
Based on the individual layout data stored in the individual layout data storage unit 260, the relative position between the stage position 210 and the stripe position 212 of the stripe exposure area 204 including the shot pattern 208 to be exposed by the electron beam is calculated. I do. Further, the irradiation position calculation unit 262
Calculates the relative position between the stripe position 212 and the partial region position 214 of the partial exposure region 206 including the shot pattern 208 to be exposed, based on the individual layout data. Then, the irradiation position calculation unit 262
The relative position between the partial area position 214 and the shot pattern 208 is calculated based on the shot data of the partial exposure area 206 including the shot pattern 208 read from the individual exposure data storage unit 258.

The irradiation position calculator 262 calculates the position of the stage 2
10, the relative position between the stripe position 212, the relative position between the stripe position 212 and the partial region position 214, and the relative position between the partial region position 214 and the shot pattern 208.
20 shot patterns based on their relative positions
A shot vector 216 indicating the direction in which the electron beam should be deflected and the distance in which the electron beam should be deflected to expose 8 is calculated. The irradiation position calculation unit 262 determines that the deflecting unit 38 determines the shot pattern 2 based on the shot vector 216.
Deflection data indicating the amount of deflection for deflecting the electron beam to expose 08 is calculated. The deflection data is preferably data indicating a voltage applied to a deflection electrode provided around a column through which the electron beam passes in the deflection unit 38. The D / A conversion unit 264 converts the received deflection data into an analog voltage value to be applied to the deflection electrode, and supplies the analog data to the deflection unit 38.

A plurality of deflectors included in the deflecting unit 38 are controlled by an electron beam formed based on shot shape data to expose a shot pattern 208 to a predetermined position on the wafer 44 based on an instruction from the deflection control unit 92. To deflect.
The fifth multi-axis electron lens 52 adjusts the focus of each electron beam passing through the fifth multi-axis electron lens 52 on the wafer 44. The electron beam is applied to the wafer 44
Is irradiated to a desired position to be irradiated with respect to the wafer 44.
The shot pattern 208 is exposed at a predetermined position.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the partial area position 214 and the shot pattern 208 in the partial exposure area 206. The irradiation position calculation unit 262 determines the partial exposure area 206 to be irradiated with the electron beam based on the individual layout data, and then includes the partial exposure area 206 based on the shot data stored in the individual exposure data storage unit 258. In order to expose the shot patterns (208-1 to 208-8) to be exposed, the shot pattern 208 included in the predetermined partial exposure area 206 is exposed by sequentially determining the irradiation position of the electron beam. After that, the irradiation position calculation unit 262
Reads out shot data corresponding to another partial exposure area specified based on the individual layout data from the individual exposure data storage unit 258. Then, similarly, the shot pattern included in the other partial exposure area is exposed.

During the exposure process, the wafer stage driving section 48
Preferably, the wafer stage is moved in a certain direction based on an instruction from the wafer stage control unit 96. Then, according to the movement of the wafer 44, each electron beam is
The partial exposure area 206 to be exposed included in the stripe exposure area 204 is exposed by the above-described operation. Then, the wafer stage 46 moves the wafer 44 in the x-axis direction substantially the same width as the width of the stripe exposure region 204 in the x-axis direction, and then continuously moves the wafer 44 in the direction opposite to the fixed direction. Exposes other stripe exposure areas. The above operation is repeated, and each electron beam exposes the corresponding individual exposure area 200, so that the wafer 4
A desired pattern can be exposed to the predetermined region of No. 4.

The electron beam exposure apparatus 100 according to the present invention
Since the exposure data is stored in units of partial exposure areas, the size of the electronic device provided on the wafer does not match the interval between the electron beams, or the layout (arrangement) of the electronic device provided on the wafer. Even when the interval does not match the interval between the electron beams, it is not necessary to generate and store the exposure data corresponding to all regions on the wafer to be exposed by each electron beam for each electron beam. Therefore, the data required for each electron beam to expose the wafer can be generated very easily. Further, since the capacity of the storage unit for storing the exposure data can be significantly reduced, the cost of the electron beam exposure apparatus can be extremely reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the electronic device can be reduced.

FIG. 10 shows the positions of the columns, which are the paths through which the electron beams pass, and the individual exposure areas 200 to which the electron beams passing through each column expose. FIG. 10 (a)
On the straight line indicated by the line A in FIG. 2, the ideal column position 2 which is the position of the column when the column is ideally provided.
02 'and the actual column position 202 where each column is actually provided.

FIG. 10B shows an individual exposure area 200 to be exposed by each electron beam and a stripe exposure area 204 included in the individual exposure area 200. An electron beam passing through each actual column position (202a, 202b, 202c) is applied to a corresponding individual exposure area (200a, 200b, 2c).
00c) is exposed.

Each column is preferably provided in a grid pattern with respect to the wafer 44 (see FIG. 2). In this case, it is desirable that a plurality of columns forming each row be provided on the same straight line. When each column is provided at the ideal column position (202a '202b' 202c '), the ideal irradiation position, which is the irradiation position of the electron beam passing through the column to the wafer 44, is the ideal column position (202a' 202b). '202c').

However, the openings that form the columns and are provided in the multi-axis electron lens and the like through which the electron beam passes are formed by precision machining or a semiconductor process, and are located at positions where the openings are to be formed. A gap may occur. When a shift occurs in an opening or the like forming each column, a position where each column is actually provided is shifted from an ideal column position (202a '202b' 202c '). That is, the wafer 4 of the electron beam passing through each column
The irradiation position for No. 4 is the actual column position (202a, 20a).
2b, 202c), a deviation from the ideal irradiation position occurs.

Hereinafter, an example of the operation in which the three electron beams passing through the columns arranged on the line A in the above-described case expose the individual exposure area 200 corresponding to each electron beam will be specifically described. I do. In FIG. 10A, the actual column position 202a is the ideal column position 202a '.
Plus 60 micrometers (μm) in the x-axis direction from
The actual column position 202b is shifted from the ideal column position 202b 'by minus 120 [mu] m in the x-axis direction, and the actual column position 202c is at the ideal column position 202c'. The actual column position 202 may be calculated in advance based on the pattern exposed on the wafer, exposing a predetermined pattern on the wafer, and stored in advance.

The distance over which the deflecting unit 38 can deflect the electron beam is 80 μm. Each individual exposure area 200 is a rectangular area having a side of 22 mm (mm), and the width of each stripe exposure area 204 is 80 μm. That is,
Each individual exposure region 200 has an area equal to 275 stripe exposure regions 204. Further, each stripe exposure region 204 has a plurality of partial exposure regions 206 each having a side of 10 μm. That is, each stripe exposure area 204
Has eight partial exposure regions 206 in the x-axis direction and 2200 in the y-axis direction.

In this embodiment, each individual exposure area 200 is an area where one chip is formed, and a partial exposure area 206 is an area obtained by dividing the one chip. The exposure data stored in the exposure data storage section 172 is exposure data for each individual exposure area 200, that is, data for exposing one chip formed on the wafer 44.

First, the central processing unit 170 decomposes the individual exposure area 200, which is an area for one chip, into partial exposure areas. In this case, the individual exposure area 200 is desirably decomposed so that all the partial exposure areas 206 have the same size. In another example, the individual exposure area 200 may be broken down to include individual exposure areas 206 of different sizes. Further, the individual exposure area 200 may be decomposed so as to include the partial exposure area 206 including the partial exposure data only in a part of the partial exposure area 206.

Next, the central processing unit 170 determines the actual column position (202a, 202b, 202) of each column given in advance.
Based on c), individual layout data is generated by allocating the partial exposure area 206 to each stripe exposure area 204, and stored in the layout data storage unit 174. In this case, the central processing unit 170 first determines all electron beams based on the actual column position (202a, 202b, 202c) and the deviation of the actual column position 202 from the ideal column position 202 'in the x-axis direction. Is a stripe exposure area necessary to expose the individual exposure area 200, that is, the wafer stage 46
The number of movements to be moved stepwise in the axial direction is calculated.

More specifically, the difference between the position of the actual column position 202 and the position of the ideal column position 202 ′ in the direction opposite to the direction in which the wafer stage 46 moves the wafer 44 stepwise, that is, in the positive direction of the x-axis ( Offset) is the maximum offset Oxmax, which is the offset of the column at which the maximum
The minimum offset Oxmi which is the offset of the column in which the offset is maximum in the negative direction of the x-axis direction.
Assuming that n is an interval between adjacent ideal column positions 202 ′ and P is a width of the stripe exposure region 204 in the x-axis direction, the number of movements N is determined by the following equation. N = (L + Oxmax-Oxmin) / P

Each electron beam irradiates the wafer 44 at one or both of the outside of the individual exposure region 200 in the x-axis direction of the individual exposure region 200 when another electron beam is irradiating the stripe exposure region 204. May not be. That is, while the wafer stage 46 continuously moves in the y-axis direction N times, the number of stripe exposure regions that can be exposed is N stripes, and the number of stripe exposure regions is included in each individual exposure region 200. None of the stripe exposure areas 204 may be included. Stripe exposure area 204 not included in each individual exposure area 200
The number M of the dummy stripe regions, which is the number of the stripe exposure regions 204 corresponding to the total area, is determined by the following equation. M = (Oxmax−Oxmin) / P

In this embodiment, the number of movements N is 278,
That is, while the wafer stage 46 continuously moves in the y-axis direction N times, the number of stripe exposure regions that can be exposed is 278 stripes, and the number M of dummy stripe regions is 3 stripes.

Subsequently, the central processing unit 170 determines the stripe exposure region 204 to be irradiated with the electron beam first among the stripe exposure regions 204 included in all the individual exposure regions 200. Specifically, the central processing unit 170 first irradiates the electron beam passing through the column having the maximum offset to the stripe exposure region 204 provided at the end of the corresponding individual exposure region 200 in the negative direction of the x-axis. It is desirable that the individual exposure region 200 and the N stripe exposure regions 204 be associated with each other.

In this example, since the actual column position 202a has the maximum offset, the central processing unit 170 individually sets the electron beam passing through the column so as to first expose the stripe exposure area (204a-1). The exposure region 200 is associated with the N stripe exposure regions 204 (see FIG. 10B).

More specifically, the central processing unit 170 determines that the end of the stripe exposure area (204a-1) and the end of the individual exposure area 200a in the negative direction of the x-axis coincide with each other.
The individual exposure area 200a and the stripe exposure area (204a
-1 to 204a-278). That is, the individual exposure region 200a is a stripe exposure region (204a-1 to 204a-27) where all the partial exposure regions are exposed.
5), and a stripe exposure region (204a-276 to 204a-) which is not exposed by the electron beam passing through the column outside the individual exposure region 200a.
278).

The individual exposure area 200b to which the electron beam passing through the column provided at the actual column position 202b exposes
And the stripe exposure area (204b-1 to 204b-2)
78) means the individual exposure area 200a and the actual column position 20
Correspondence is made based on the correspondence with 2a. Specifically, the n-th (n is an integer) stripe exposure area (204
b-n) is located at a distance (Oxmax-Oxmin) between the actual column position 202a and the actual column position 202b in the x-axis direction with respect to the stripe exposure region (204a-n). In this embodiment, Oxmax-Oxmi
n is 180 μm, and the stripe exposure area (20
4b-n) is shifted by 180 μm in the negative direction of the x-axis with respect to the stripe exposure area (204a-n).
That is, the individual exposure area 200b is
06 is exposed in a stripe exposure area (204b-4 to 204b-4).
204b-277) and stripe exposure regions (204b-3, 204b) located at both ends of the individual exposure region 200b.
-278). In addition, the individual exposure area 200
Outside of b, there are unexposed stripe exposure regions (204b-1, 204b-2) and other portions of the stripe exposure regions (204b-3, 204b-278).

Similarly, the individual exposure region 200c exposed by the electron beam passing through the column provided at the actual column position 202c is a stripe exposure region (204c-2 to 204c-275) where all the partial exposure regions 206 are exposed. )
And a part of the stripe exposure regions (204c-1, 204c-276) located at both ends of the individual exposure region 200c. Further, outside the individual exposure area 200c,
Stripe exposure areas not exposed (204c-277,
204c-278) and a stripe exposure area (204
c-1, 204c-276).

After defining the stripe exposure region 204, the central processing unit 170 allocates a partial exposure region 206 to each stripe exposure region 204. At this time, when the predetermined partial exposure region 206 is located over the boundary between one individual exposure region and another individual exposure region, an electron beam for exposing one of the individual exposure regions is exposed. It is desirable to assign the partial exposure area 206 to the stripe exposure area 206. In this case, the central processing unit 170
It is preferable to allocate the predetermined partial exposure region 206 to an individual exposure region having a large area including the predetermined partial exposure region 206.

The central processing unit 170 is a sequence in which, after allocating the partial exposure area 206 to each stripe exposure area 204, each electron beam exposes the individual exposure area 200 based on the stripe exposure area and the partial exposure area. Generate individual layout data. The individual layout data indicates the stripe exposure region 204 to be exposed by the electron beam and the partial exposure region 206 to be exposed in the stripe exposure region 204 by associating the individual exposure region 200 with the stripe exposure region 204 described above. Including data. Subsequently, each electron beam is applied to the corresponding individual exposure area 200 based on the individual layout data.
Exposure is started for.

First, the wafer stage 46 moves the wafer 44 to a position where the electron beam to be exposed on the individual exposure region 200a exposes the stripe exposure region (204a-1). At this time, the electron beam to be exposed in the individual exposure area 200b and the individual exposure area 200c is located at a position to expose the stripe exposure area (204b-1) and the stripe exposure area (204c-1), respectively. Then, the wafer stage 46 moves the wafer 44 in the positive y-axis direction. The wafer stage 46 moves the wafer 4 in the y-axis direction.
The electron beam to be exposed in the individual exposure region 200a is exposed to the entire stripe exposure region (204a-1) while the electron beam to be exposed in the individual exposure region 200b is The electron beam which does not expose the stripe exposure region (204b-1) and exposes the individual exposure region 200c is exposed to the partial exposure region 206 included in the individual exposure region 200c of the stripe exposure region (204c-1). That is, the partial exposure region 206 within a range of 20 μm from the boundary with the adjacent stripe exposure region (204c-2) is exposed.

Each electron beam is applied to a stripe exposure area (2
After exposing the wafers 04a-1, 204b-1, and 204c-1), the wafer stage 46 moves the wafer 44 in the x-axis direction by a distance substantially equal to the width of the stripe exposure region 204 in the x-axis direction. Each electron beam is applied to a stripe exposure area (204a-2, 204b-2, 204c-
The wafer 44 moves to a position where the exposure can be performed in 2). Then, the wafer stage 46 performs the same operation as the above-described operation while continuously moving the wafer 44 in the negative y-axis direction to sequentially expose the stripe exposure regions 204 based on the individual layout data. In this case, the plurality of electron beams may expose the stripe exposure region 204 that is shifted from each other in the x-axis direction, that is, the stripe exposure region 204 that is not on the same axis.

The electron beam exposure apparatus 100 sets a stripe exposure area and a partial exposure area for each electron beam based on the position of each column even if the position of each column deviates from an ideal position. Since the assignment can be made, the pattern can be exposed on the wafer very efficiently with a very small number of data processing.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiment. Various changes or improvements can be added to the above embodiment. It should be noted that such modified or improved embodiments may be included in the technical scope of the present invention.
It is clear from the description of the claims.

[0088]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the processing of exposure data required for exposure in an electron beam exposure apparatus can be extremely reduced. Also,
The capacity of the storage unit that stores the exposure data can be significantly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an electron beam exposure apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an example of irradiation positions of a plurality of electron beams irradiating a wafer 44 and individual exposure regions to be irradiated with each electron beam.

FIG. 3 shows an individual exposure area 200.

FIG. 4 shows a stripe exposure area 204;

FIG. 5 shows a partial exposure area 206.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the configuration of a control system 140.

FIG. 7 shows data stored in an exposure data storage unit 172 and a layout data storage unit 174.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a method for calculating an irradiation position of an electron beam.

FIG. 9 shows a partial area position 21 in a partial exposure area 206.
4 and an example of the shot pattern 208 are shown.

FIG. 10 shows the position of a column, which is a path through which an electron beam passes, and an individual exposure area 200 to which the electron beam passing through each column exposes.

[Explanation of symbols]

8, casing 10, electron beam generating section 14, first forming member 16, first multi-axis electron lens 18, first forming and deflecting section 20, second forming and deflecting section 22, second forming Member 24 Second multi-axis electron lens 26 Blanking electrode array 28 Electron beam shielding member 34 Third multi-axis electron lens 36 Fourth
Multi-axis electron lens 38 Deflection unit 44 Wafer 46 Wafer stage 48 Wafer stage drive unit 52 Fifth multi-axis electron lens 80 Electron beam control unit 82 Multi-axis electron lens control unit 84 forming deflection control unit 86 blanking electrode array control unit 92 deflection control unit 96 wafer stage control unit 100 electron beam exposure apparatus 120
Individual control system 130 ··· Overall control unit 140 ··· Control system 150 ··· Exposure unit 170 ··· Central processing unit 172 ··· Exposure data storage unit 174 ··· Layout data storage unit 200 ···
Individual exposure area 202 Column position 204 Stripe exposure area 206 Partial exposure area 208 Shot pattern 210 Stage position 212 Stripe position 214 Partial area position 216 Shot vector 256 Individual Deflection control unit 258 individual exposure data storage unit 260 individual layout data storage unit 262
..Irradiation position calculator 264.D / A converter

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (Reference) H01J 37/305 H01L 21/30 541D 541W 541J (72) Inventor Hiroshi Yasuda 1-32-1 Asahimachi, Nerima-ku, Tokyo F-term in Advantest Co., Ltd. (Reference) 2H097 AA03 AB05 BA10 BB10 CA01 CA16 KA01 KA29 LA10 5C033 GG03 5C034 BB01 BB04 BB05 BB07 5F056 CA05 CB11 CB22

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. An electron beam exposure apparatus for exposing a pattern on a wafer using a plurality of electron beams, comprising: an electron beam generator for generating the plurality of electron beams; and independently deflecting the plurality of electron beams. A deflecting unit, a wafer stage on which the wafer is placed, and an exposure area to be exposed on the wafer, wherein each of the electron beams is included in an individual exposure area that is an area to be exposed. A plurality of individual exposure data storage units that store shot position data indicating shot positions that are positions of shot patterns to be exposed by the electron beam in a partial exposure region that is a region smaller than a deflectable deflection width; Partial area data indicating the partial exposure area in the individual exposure area, and a predetermined position in the partial exposure area An individual layout data storage unit that stores partial area position data indicating a certain partial area position; and, based on the partial area data, the shot position data included in the partial exposure area to be exposed by the electron beam. The electron beam should be read out from the exposure data storage unit based on the relative position between the stage position, which is the position of the wafer stage, and the partial region position, and the relative position between the partial region position and the shot position. An electron beam exposure apparatus, comprising: an irradiation position calculation unit that calculates irradiation position data indicating a position; and a deflection control unit that controls the deflection unit based on the irradiation position data. 2. The individual exposure area includes a plurality of stripe exposure areas including the plurality of partial exposure areas, and the individual layout data storage unit includes a stripe indicating the stripe exposure area included in the individual exposure area. Further storing area data and stripe position data indicating a stripe position that is a predetermined position in the stripe exposure area, the irradiation position calculation unit further stores the shot position data based on the stripe area data, The irradiation position data is read from an exposure data storage unit, and the irradiation position data is calculated further based on a relative position between the stage position and the stripe position and a relative position between the stripe position and the partial region position. Item 7. An electron beam exposure apparatus according to Item 1. 3. The individual exposure data storage unit further stores shot shape data indicating the shape of the shot pattern, reads out the shot shape data from the individual exposure data storage unit, and stores the shot shape data in the shot shape data. 2. The electron beam exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an electron beam shaping means for independently shaping respective cross-sectional shapes of the plurality of electron beams based on the plurality of electron beams. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electron beam shaping unit includes a plurality of first beam shaping units that shape a cross-sectional shape of the plurality of electron beams.
A first forming member having a forming opening; a second forming member having a second forming opening for forming the plurality of electron beams formed in the first forming member; and the second forming member having passed through the first opening. The electron beam according to claim 3, further comprising: a shaping / deflecting unit that independently deflects the plurality of electron beams; and a shaping / deflecting control unit that controls the shaping / deflecting unit based on the shot shape data. Exposure equipment. 5. The electron beam exposure apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second forming member further has a plurality of block forming openings which are openings having different shapes. 6. The individual exposure data storage unit further stores exposure time data indicating a time for exposing the shot pattern on the wafer, and independently determines whether or not each of the electron beams is irradiated on the wafer. 2. The electron beam exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an irradiation switching unit for switching, and an exposure timing control unit that controls the irradiation switching unit according to the timing based on the shot time data. 7. The individual layout data storage section, wherein the partial area data indicating the predetermined partial exposure area in the stripe exposure area and the electron beam arranged continuously from the predetermined partial area are exposed. The partial position number data indicating the number of the partial exposure regions to be stored is further stored, and the irradiation position calculation unit calculates the shot position data included in the partial exposure region based on the partial region data and the partial region number data. 3. An electron beam exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said irradiation position data is calculated. 8. The electron beam according to claim 7, wherein the predetermined partial exposure region is the partial exposure region located at the outermost periphery in the stripe exposure region including the predetermined partial exposure region. Exposure equipment. 9. The individual layout data storage unit further stores address data indicating an address of the individual exposure data storage unit in which the partial area data indicating the predetermined partial exposure area is stored. The electron beam exposure apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the calculation unit reads the partial area data from the individual exposure data storage unit based on the address data and the partial area number data. 10. An exposure data storage section for storing the shot position data and the partial area data included in the partial exposure area in the individual exposure area, wherein the individual exposure data storage section includes the exposure data storage section 2. The electron beam exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shot position data and the partial area data included in the individual exposure area are read from and stored. 11. The method according to claim 11, wherein the exposure data storage unit is at least one
The electron beam exposure apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising: 12. When the plurality of electron beams can expose the predetermined partial exposure region, the electron beam having the largest area capable of exposing the predetermined partial exposure region out of the plurality of electron beams. 2. The electron beam exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the individual layout data storage unit corresponding to the beam stores the partial area data indicating the predetermined partial exposure area and the partial area position. 13. The partial exposure region, wherein a length of the stripe exposure region in the lateral direction is substantially equal to a deflection distance at which the deflecting portion can deflect the electron beam, and the partial exposure region Is a substantially integer fraction of the deflection distance.
3. The electron beam exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the electron beam exposure apparatus is formed so as to be: 14. The wafer stage, wherein the wafer is continuously moved so as to expose the partial exposure area along a longitudinal direction of the stripe exposure area, and when the wafer stage is continuously moving,
The predetermined electron beam exposes the stripe exposure region that is not on the same straight line as the stripe exposure region exposed by another electron beam adjacent to the predetermined electron beam in the longitudinal direction. An electron beam exposure apparatus according to claim 1. 15. The individual layout data storage section stores an ideal irradiation position to be irradiated with the electron beam in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the stripe exposure area, and an actual irradiation position of the electron beam. And storing the partial area data included in the stripe exposure area to be exposed by the predetermined electron beam and the another electron beam, based on a distance from an actual irradiation position where the laser beam is irradiated. 15. The electron beam exposure apparatus according to 14. 16. The electron beam having the largest distance between the ideal irradiation position and the irradiation position in a predetermined direction substantially perpendicular to the continuous movement direction is applied to the individual exposure area to be exposed by the electron beam. 15. The electron beam exposure apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the first exposure is performed on the stripe exposure area located at an end opposite to the predetermined direction. 17. The method according to claim 17, wherein at least one of the plurality of individual layout data storage units includes at least one of the plurality of partial exposure regions included in at least one of the stripe exposure regions. 3. An electron beam exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein partial area data is stored. 18. An exposure method for exposing a pattern on a wafer using a plurality of electron beams, the method comprising: generating the plurality of electron beams; placing the wafer on a wafer stage; A step of decomposing the electron beam into a partial exposure area that is included in an individual exposure area that is an area to be exposed in the exposure area to be exposed and that is smaller than a deflection width in which the deflecting unit can deflect the electron beam. And, shot position data indicating the position of the shot pattern to be exposed by the electron beam in the partial exposure area,
Storing each partial exposure area; storing partial area data indicating the partial exposure area in each of the individual exposure areas; and storing partial area position data indicating a partial area position that is a predetermined position in the partial exposure area. Reading the shot position data included in the partial exposure area to be exposed by the electron beam from the individual exposure data storage unit based on the partial area data, and setting a stage position as a position of the wafer stage. Calculating irradiation position data indicating a position to be irradiated with the electron beam, based on a relative position between the partial region position and the relative position between the partial region position and the shot position; and the irradiation position data. Independently deflecting the plurality of electron beams based on Exposure method according to claim.