Charged-particle exposure apparatus with electrostatic zone plate

1. A particle-beam projection processing apparatus for irradiating a target by means of a beam of energetic electrically charged particles, comprising:

an illumination system for generating and forming said energetic particles into an illuminating beam which is substantially tele/homocentric and sufficiently wide,

a pattern definition system located after the illumination system as seen along the direction of the beam, said pattern definition system being adapted to position an aperture arrangement composed of apertures transparent to the energetic particles in the path of the illuminating beam, thus forming a patterned beam emerging from the aperture arrangement,

a projection system positioned after the pattern definition system and adapted to project the patterned beam onto a target to be positioned after the projection system, and

at least one plate electrode means, each of said at least one plate electrode means i) having openings corresponding to the apertures of the pattern definition system and ii) comprising a composite electrode composed of a plurality of partial electrodes, said plurality of partial electrodes being formed in a single layer and co-located on a surface area of said plate electrode means and arranged adjoining each other according to a partitioning of the surface area of the plate electrode means into non-overlapping sub-areas, the plurality of partial electrodes being adapted to be applied different electrostatic potentials, the composite electrode as a whole having lateral dimensions covering the area permeated by the beam portion that images the aperture arrangement in the pattern definition system.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one or all of said plate electrode means are comprised in the pattern definition system, and the composite electrode as a whole has lateral dimensions covering the area reserved for the aperture arrangement in the pattern definition system.

3. A pattern definition device for a particle-beam projection processing apparatus comprising an aperture arrangement composed of apertures transparent to energetic particles,

comprising at least one plate electrode means, each of said at least one plate electrode means i) having openings for the apertures of the pattern definition device and ii) comprising a composite electrode composed of a plurality of partial electrodes, said plurality of partial electrodes being formed in a single layer and co-located on a surface area of said plate electrode means and arranged adjoining each other according to a partitioning of the surface area of the plate electrode means into non-overlapping sub-areas, the plurality of partial electrodes being adapted to be applied different electrostatic potentials, the composite electrode as a whole having lateral dimensions covering the area reserved for the aperture arrangement in the pattern definition device.

4. A plate electrode means for a particle-beam projection processing apparatus with a pattern definition device having an aperture arrangement composed of apertures transparent to energetic particles of an illuminating beam,

said plate electrode means having openings corresponding to the apertures of the aperture pattern arrangement and comprising a composite electrode composed of a plurality of partial electrodes, said plurality of partial electrodes being formed in a single layer and co-located on a surface area of said plate electrode means and being arranged adjoining one another according to a partitioning of the surface area of the plate electrode means into non-overlapping sub-areas, the plurality of partial electrodes being adapted to be applied different electrostatic potentials, the composite electrode as a whole having lateral dimensions covering the area permeated by the beam portion that images the aperture arrangement.

5. The plate electrode means of claim 4 , adapted to be positioned in an electrode arrangement having at least one additional electrode, in particular an annular electrode, said electrode being positioned out of plane of the composite electrode, as seen along the optical axis.

6. The plate electrode means of claim 5 , wherein the at least one additional electrode comprises at least one multipole electrode, the at least one multi-pole electrode positioned out of plane of the composite electrode, as seen along the optical axis.

7. The plate electrode means of claim 4 , adapted to be positioned immediately in front of or after the remaining components of the pattern definition device, as seen along the direction of the beam.

8. The plate electrode means of claim 4 , adapted to be used in a particle-beam apparatus having a projection system which comprises at least two consecutive projector stages, namely at least one non-final projector stage and one final projector stage, where the plate electrode means is located at or close to the location of an intermediate image of the aperture pattern as formed by a non-final stage of the projection system.

9. The plate electrode means of claim 4 , wherein the partial electrodes are positioned along a two-dimensional plane oriented orthogonal to the optical axis.

10. The plate electrode means of claim 4 , wherein the partial electrodes are shaped as concentric rings.

11. The plate electrode means of claim 4 , wherein the partial electrodes are shaped as sectors arranged around an optical axis of the plate electrode means.

12. The plate electrode means of claim 4 , wherein the sector-shaped partial electrodes are arranged around a central area of the plate electrode means, said central area being formed by at least one further partial electrode.

13. The plate electrode means of claim 4 , comprising a common electrode arranged in parallel beneath the partial electrodes, the common electrode being separated from the partial electrodes by an insulating spacer layer.

14. The plate electrode means of claim 4 , comprising an insulating, dielectric material provided in the gap between neighboring partial electrodes.

15. The plate electrode means of claim 4 , comprising a resistive material provided in the gap between neighboring partial electrodes.

16. The plate electrode means of claim 4 , wherein openings corresponding to the apertures of the pattern definition system are present only within the areas of each of the partial electrodes.

17. The plate electrode means of claim 4 , adapted to be positioned after the pattern definition device (or as its last element) to correct for image distortions by forming an electrostatic lens in combination with an annular electrostatic lens element of the projection system, in order to shift the virtual image by deflection in an out-of-focus plane.

18. The plate electrode means of claim 4 , wherein the partial electrodes are made of an electrically conductive material.

19. The plate electrode means of claim 5 , adapted to be positioned in place of or after the location of an intermediate image formed in the projection system, to correct for image distortions by locally shifting the virtual image of the intermediate image by deflection in an out-of-focus plane.

20. The plate electrode means of claim 4 , adapted to be positioned in place of or after the location of an intermediate image formed in the projection system, to produce a negative focal length at the position or near the intermediate image by forming an electrostatic lens in combination with an annular electrostatic lens element of the projection system on either or both sides of the plate electrode means.