The new JEOL JBX-8100FS series spot beam lithography system is designed for higher throughput and lower operating costs. The JBX-8100FS writes ultrafine patterns at a faster rate of speed while minimizing idle time, especially during the exposure process, thus increasing throughput. This new, high precision compact e-beam tool is suitable for a wide range of applications from research to production, while its small footprint and low power consumption reduce cost of ownership.

Main Features

• Small footprint
  The area required for the standard system is 4.9 m (W) x 3.7 m (D) x 2.6 m (H), much smaller than the conventional systems.

• Low power consumption
  Power needed for normal operation is approximately 3 kVA, reduced to 1/3 of the conventional systems.

• High throughput
  The system has two exposure modes, high resolution and high throughput modes, supporting different types of patterning from ultra fine processing to small to mid size production. It has minimized the idle time during exposure while increasing the maximum scanning speed by 1.25 to 2.5 times to 125 MHz (the world’s highest level) for high speed writing.

• Version
  The JBX-8100FS is available in 2 versions: G1 (entry model) and G2 (full option model). Optional accessories can be added to the G1 model as needed.

• New Functions
  An optional optical microscope is available to enable examination of patterns on the sample without exposing resist to light. A signal tower is provided as standard for visual monitoring of system operation.

• Laser positioning resolution
  Stage positions are measured and controlled in 0.6 nm steps as standard, and in 0.15 nm steps with an optional upgrade.

• System control
  Versatile Linux® operating system combined with a new graphic user interface provides ease in operation. The data preparation program supports both Linux® and Windows®.

The JBX-8100FS is an electron-beam lithography system designed to write nanometer to submicron sized patterns using a spot beam.

Write Modes Specifications

Note: High Throughput will be almost exclusively used, contact Bill Rowe if you think you need HR mode.

Features

• ZrO/W emitter 

• 4-stage electron-beam focusing system

• Accelerating voltage: 100 kV

• Writing: Vector scan (within a subfield) and Step-and-repeat (electronically between subfields and physically between fields).

• Beam scanning speed: ≤125 MHz

• Scan speed modulation: 256 rank / 0.05 nsec resolution

• Mainfield/Positioning DAC: 20-bit

• Subfield/Scanning DAC: 14-bit

• Focus range: ±100 μm

• Max wafer size: 200 mm

• Max writing area: 150 mm x 150 mm

• Movable area: 190 mm x 170 mm

• Stage positioning resolution: λ/1024 (~0.6 nm)

• Beam current stability: 0.2% pp/hr

• Beam position stability: ≤60 nm pp/hr (HT) / ≤10 nm pp/hr (HR)

• Substrate thickness compatibility: 225 μm to 1.3 mm

• Deflection amplitude correction and objective-lens focus correction, using the substrate height detector

• Smallest features size: 4.2 nm (demonstrated by JEOL in Development of the JBX-8100FS Electron Beam Lithography System).

The JBX-8100FS is mounted on a TMC Quiet Island with STACIS III antivibration supports. Transmission is minimized at high frequencies, and unlike older anti-vibration supports, is reduced at low (<10 Hz) frequencies as well.

The JEOL system is calibrated by staff every 7 - 21 days, with separate calibration necessary for each condition file (current). These are typically stable for 1-3 weeks. As part of this process, column shift and tilt is adjusted (similar to an SEM), current is measured (and adjusted via the column zoom lenses, if necessary), wobble is checked and minimized (via the objective aperture, again similar to an SEM), focus and astigmatism is adjusted (via the objective lens strength and stigmator correction values), and the DAILYCAL file is run to ensure everything passes.

Some particularly relevant measurements are shown below:

• Current: specified as nominal values. As part of the exposure, the machine will measure the current (by default, every 20 minutes) and automatically adjust the exposure dose based on this. As such, drifts in current will not directly affect the writing quality, but may affect user experience on the system.

  • How is this measured?

    • The system moves to the Faraday cup and takes, takes a number of instantaneous measurements of the current, and averages them together.

  • Upper specification limit: the nominal current itself

    • Via the dose equation, too high of a staff set current may cause the machine to need a clock speed higher than 125 MHz if a user chooses a typical clock speed very close to the limit (e.g. typically >=120 MHz). This would result in an error message when trying to create the magazine file. From the user standpoint, this could only be remedied by increasing the minimum dose (not usually desirable, as this may overdose your pattern) or increasing the shot pitch (which may or may not result in different pattern results, but is also generally not desirable because of the unknown effect on your results). As a result, staff endeavor to keep the actual current below the nominal current at all times.

  • Lower specification limit: 10% less than the nominal current

    • Too low of a current (within reason) will not in anyway harm the pattern, but the write will take longer than expected. If the write is limited by the beam on time, 10% lower current (90% of the specified current) will take ~11% longer to write (100%/90% ≅ 1.11). This is considered a reasonable error, but longer than ~11% may unexpectedly prolong the write, and thus staff will endeavor to keep the actual current not lower than 10% lower than the nominal current.

• Calibration measured beam size: The beam size in the X and Y directions measured by the system on a “clean” spot of the AE mark used by staff for calibration. This will always be larger than the true size of the beam, and is only useful in the context explained here.

  • How is this measured?

JBX-8100FS Performance Test Report - Purdue

Training for JBX-8100FS - Purdue

STACIS III Anti-vibration Platform for JBX-8100FS IOC report - Purdue

Beam Diameter of JBX-8100FS - Purdue

BEAMER Manual

JEOL

JEOL USA Semiconductor Equipment Documents - Electron Beam Lithography

Yukinori Aida, "Development of the JBX-8100FS Electron Beam Lithography System", JEOL News 53(1), 59 (2018).

(Web Version)

Georgia Tech

100 kV Electron Beam Lithography System: JBX-9300FS

"JEOL JBX-9300FS Electron Beam Lithography System Training", Georgia Tech

Yale

YINQE EBL - Manuals and Documentation

YINQE EBL - Software Downloads

YINQE EBL - Electron-Beam Lithography Training

University of Washington

Run Time Estimator

Schedule File Compiling

Cornell

JEOL 6300

JEOL 9500

JEOL Alignment Marks

Shot Pitch and Write Time Calculator - XLS

University of Michigan

JEOL JBX-6300FS

University of Minnesota

Vistec EBPG5000 (with good process resources)

Electron Properties

Accelerating Voltage Calculator

Properties of Electrons

Electron Beam properties

"Quality control of JEOL JBX-9500FSZ e-beam lithography system in a multi-user laboratory", T. Greibe et al, Microelectronic Engineering 155, 25-28 (2016).

"5-nm-Order Electron-Beam Lithography for Nanodevice Fabrication," K. Yamazaki and H. Namatsu, japanese Journal of Applied Physics 43, 3767 (2004).
This paper explains why the measured beam size on the knife edge mark (AE mark) is so much larger than the actual beam size. It further discusses some ultrasmall patterns in HSQ

Contact Justin Wirth if you are interested in partnering with BNC to evaluate these resists and develop standard processes of broad usefulness to the BNC research community. 

AZ nLOF 2000

AllResist

AR-P 6200 and AR-N 7520 are of particular interest:

FAQ: E-Beam Resists

AR-P 6200:

Nanostructures

Developer Comparison

High Contrast Developer