High-throughput direct-write electron-beam exposure system and method

A method of high-throughput direct-write electron-beam exposure, comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a wafer stage, a planar electron-beam source for emitting a plurality of electron beamlets toward the stage, and a magnetic field generator for generating a magnetic field in the space between the planar electron-beam source and the wafer stage;
• (b) positioning a wafer on the wafer stage;
• and
• (c) causing the planar electron-beam source to emit a plurality of electron beamlets toward the wafer while generating a magnetic field with the magnetic field generator, the generated magnetic field being substantially evenly distributed within a plane parallel to the surface of the wafer, and being of increasing flux density, from the density in the vicinity of the planar electron-beam source, to the density in the vicinity of the wafer stage.

A method for performing high-throughput electron-beam exposure of a sensitive substrate, comprising the steps:

• (a) emitting multiple electron beamlets in a propagation direction toward a surface after substrate;
• (b) accelerating the beamlets as the beamlets propagate toward the substrate surface;
• (c) passing the beamlets through a magnetic field that increases in magnetic-flux density as the beamlets propagate nearer to the substrate surface and that is substantially uniformly distributed in a plane transverse to the propagation direction, thereby laterally compressing each beamlet;
• and
• (d) causing multiple compressed beamlets to simultaneously expose multiple respective regions of the substrate surface.