Electron beam exposure mask, electron beam exposure method, method of fabricating semiconductor device, and electron beam exposure apparatus

DETAILED DESCRIPTION An object of the present invention is to provide an electron beam exposure mask which makes it possible to perform electron beam exposures of required pattern even when some of its defined masks are defective, thereby allowing a substantial improvement in mask production yield.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an electron beam exposure method and an electron beam exposure apparatus in which such an exposure mask is used to enable exposures of required pattern.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device fabrication method which allows the fabrication of semiconductor devices and the like through the use of such an electron beam exposure method.
An electron beam exposure mask according to the present invention comprises a main mask having a plurality of first defined masks, and one or more compensation masks having one or more non-defective second defined masks.
Each second defined mask has a pattern configuration to be formed in a defective among the first defined masks.
In electron beam exposures by using such an electron beam exposure mask, even when some of the first defined masks are defective, the defective defined masks can be replaced with the non-defective second defined masks for pattern exposure.
Therefore, all the defined masks in the main mask need not be composed of non-defective defined masks alone.
This eliminates the need to fabricate a main mask consisting of non-defective defined masks.
Accordingly, the exposure mask is improved in substantial production yield, whereby the turnaround time of the exposure mask can be reduced for lower costs.
The nature, principle, and utility of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts are designated by like reference numerals or characters.