A method of detecting the position of a chrome-on-glass reticle in an electron beam lithography apparatus which includes an electron beam source in an electron beam housing, further comprised of a control system for controlling the angle of deflection of said electron beam, and a circuit substrate secured to the bottom of said electron beam housing, comprising the steps of:
- positioning a calibration plate under said electron beam housing said calibration plate having an overlying conductive layer and a grid of spaced nonconductive points of known geometry formed into said conductive layer, one of said nonconducting points comprising an origination point, said origination point of said grid being aligned with the center line of said optics housing;
- varying said deflection angle to deflect said electron beam from one of said nonconductive points of said grid to the next until said beam strikes a desired point, said desired point being spaced a specified distance from said origination point, the angle of deflection of said beam with respect to the center line of said optics housing when said beam strikes said desired point comprising a normal deflection angle;
- measuring the distance between at least three sensor plates disposed on the bottom of said substrate and said calibration plate, each of said sensor plates being coupled to an associated measuring capacitor circuit, each of said sensor plates comprising the driven plate of a measuring capacitor and said calibration plate comprising the grounded plate of each of said measuring capacitors, each of said measuring capacitor circuits generating a measuring capacitor signal representative of the distance between each sensor plate and said calibration plate;
- processing each of said measuring capacitor signals into information defining the position of said calibration plate with respect to said sensors, said position of said calibration plate comprising a calibrated position for said reticle;
- positioning said reticle under said electron beam housing and aligning an origination point on said reticle with said center line of said housing;
- measuring the distance between each of said sensors and said reticle wherein each of said sensors comprises the driving plate of a measuring capacitor and said reticle comprises the grounded plate of said measuring
- capacitors, each of said measuring capacitors generating a measuring capacitor signal representative of the distance between each sensor plate and said reticle;
- processing each of said measuring capacitor signals into information defining the position of said reticle with respect to said sensors, said position comprising a reticle position;
- comparing said reticle position with said calibrated position to determine the deviation of said reticle from said calibrated position;
- and
- adjusting the angle of deflection of said electron beam from said normal deflection angle to a corrected deflection angle in response to said deviation information so that said electron beam is deflected said specified distance from said origination point on said reticle to strike said desired point on said reticle.