A prototype raster multibeam lithography tool was constructed and is being evaluated for use as a mask writer at the 50 nm node. The photocathode illumination module (PIM) focuses a linear brush of 32 individually modulated laser beams into 300 nm full width at half maximum spots on the surface of a photocathode. The PIM has been module tested with satisfactory results and integrated into the prototype tool. A new electron-beam photocathode gun and column have also been integrated into the tool. The tool has generated a linear array of 32 electron beams which have been magnified and focused onto a YAG screen as well as demagnified and scanned across a knife edge. Preliminary results have produced 86 nm spots at the writing plane.