| Electron Beam Lithography (EBL) is one of the most important and most widely used methods for nano-fabrication. The primary advantage of electron beam lithography is its high resolution, and its ability to expose nanometer features without a mask. On the other hand, one of the key limitations of electron beam lithography is throughput. Slow blanking speed is one of the major bottlenecks for the system speed. In this dissertation, I will first review the prior literature of high speed blanking. Thorough theoretical and experimental studies are done on the existing designs. Physical models are built and analytical ray tracing is performed. Based on the analytical studies, a large scale numerical simulation is programmed to simulate and predict blanker performance. Carefully designed experiments are performed on CNSE VB300 system to characterize the existing blanker unit. The experimental results show great consistency with the theoretical and simulation predictions. Based on these results, an innovative blanker design, quadruple-deflection blanker, is proposed. It is shown in analytical and simulation studies that the new design eliminates beam motion error, and it is capable of supporting high quality high speed electron beam lithography. A thorough review on throughput issue of electron beam lithography is presented to estimate the impact of the new blanker design. Finally, mechanical and electronic design of a new blanker unit is discussed in great detail. |
