Nanometric-Scale Electron Beam Lithography

This chapter focuses on electronbeam microlithography. Emphasis is on system design and the various ways of exploiting the interaction between focusing and deflecting fields. A comprehensive comparison of the various approaches is given, as well as a detailed study of the author's own contribution to the field, namely, the swinging objective (immersion) lens. This is a further development in the design philosophy that began with Ohiwa's moving obejctive lens. The work described in this chapter is specifically centered on a detailed experimental and theoretical study of a high-voltage nanometer-scale electron beam lithography system. A system, called Nanowriter, has been designed and constructed to give a large scan field size without compromising the ability to write nanometer-scale structures. Lithography experiments have been carried out to delineate nanometer. A proposal for a future nanometer electron beam system with a high brightness field emission source and swinging objective immersion lens is described.