In a charged particle beam exposure method of applyingnot applying charged particle beams to expose a substrate by deflecting the charged particle beams to move the charged particle beams on a blanking aperture stop, the size of the charged particle beams on the blanking aperture stop is made larger than the size of the blanking aperture stop. The apparatus includes a vehicle that propels itself down the inside of the pipe. The nanopatterning technique makes use of Near-Field photolithography, where the mask used to pattern the substrate is in contact or close proximity with the substrate. The seed layer is also resistant to corrosion, providing improved sense current conduction to the sensor.