PREVAIL: Operation of the electron optics proof-of-concept system

A proof-of-concept (POC) system was built to prove the electron optics concept of PREVAIL as a viable technology for next generation lithography (NGL), and is described elsewhere (H. C. Pfeiffer et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technology B, these proceedings; W. Stickel et al. ibid., these proceedings). The primary objective of the PREVAIL POC system is the embodiment of the curvilinear variable-axis lens (CVAL) optics which provides superior performance in terms of minimum geometric aberrations over unusually large deflection distances off the system axis (see Stickel et al.). Another major benefit of the CVAL is the minimization of the Coulomb interaction blur, since this approach permits the reduction of the column length to the smallest practical dimensions. The implementation of the PREVAIL CVAL requires a much higher degree of complexity than that of probe-forming systems, even of those which incorporate variable-axis immersion lenses [M. A. Sturans et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 8, 1682 (1990)] in the projec...