eMET: development of a 50 keV electron projection multibeam mask exposure tool for the 16nm hp technology node and below

In 2009 substantial experience was obtained with projection electron and ion multi-beam test systems providing 43-thousand programmable beams of 12.5 nm beam size. Grey scale and redundancy exposure was demonstrated with 20 nm hp resolution. The results were in excellent agreement with design and expectations. Based on this experience, an electron-optical column for an electron Mask Exposure Tool (eMET) has been designed for the 16 nm hp technology node and below. An advanced Aperture Plate System (APS) is being developed for eMET providing ca. 256-thousand programmable 50 keV e-beams of 20nm and 10nm beam size. The development starts with the realization of a proof-of-concept system (eMET POC) for which a low cost but very precise vacuum stage will be made available. The potential eMET writing speed as governed by APS and data path speed is > 40 cm2/h when writing with 20nm-sized beams on a 10 nm grid, and > 10 cm2/h when writing with 10nm-sized beams on a 5 nm grid.