公开(公告)号：US20220148849A1

公开(公告)日：2022-05-12

申请号：US17523228

申请日：2021-11-10

Applicant: FEI Company

Inventor： Peter Christiaan Tiemeijer

IPC: H01J37/244 ,  H01J37/09

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a method of determining an energy width of a charged particle beam, comprising the steps of providing a charged particle beam, directing said beam towards a specimen, and forming an energy-dispersed beam from a flux of charged particles transmitted through the specimen. As defined herein, the method comprises the steps of providing a slit element in a slit plane, and using said slit element for blocking a part of said energy-dispersed beam, as well as the step of modifying said energy-dispersed beam at the location of said slit plane in such a way that said energy dispersed beam is partially blocked at said slit element. The unblocked part of said energy-dispersed beam is imaged and an intensity gradient of said imaged energy-dispersed beam is determined, with which the energy width of the charged particle beam can be determined.

公开(公告)号：US11114271B2

公开(公告)日：2021-09-07

申请号：US16692851

申请日：2019-11-22

Applicant: FEI Company

Inventor： Alexander Henstra ,  Peter Christiaan Tiemeijer ,  Marcel Niestadt

IPC: H01J37/153 ,  H01J37/26

Abstract: Correctors for correcting axial aberrations of a particle-optical lens in a charged particle microscope system, according to the present disclosure include a first primary multipole that generates a first primary multipole field when a first excitation is applied to the first primary multipole, and a second primary multipole that generates a second primary multipole field when a second excitation is applied to the second primary multipole. The first primary multipole is not imaged onto the second primary multipole such that a combination fourth-order aberration is created. The correctors further include a secondary multipole for correcting the fourth-order aberration and the sixth-order aberration. Such correctors may further include a tertiary multipole for correcting an eighth-order aberration.

公开(公告)号：US10971326B2

公开(公告)日：2021-04-06

申请号：US16572114

申请日：2019-09-16

Applicant: FEI Company

Inventor： Ali Mohammadi-Gheidari ,  Peter Christiaan Tiemeijer ,  Erik Rene Kieft ,  Gerard Nicolaas Anne van Veen

IPC: H01J37/153 ,  H01J37/09 ,  H01J37/10 ,  H01J37/28 ,  H01J37/147 ,  H01J37/20

Abstract: A multi-electron beam imaging apparatus is disclosed herein. An example apparatus at least includes an electron source for producing a precursor electron beam, an aperture plate comprising an array of apertures for producing an array of electron beams from said precursor electron beam, an electron beam column for directing said array of electron beams onto a specimen, where the electron beam column is configured to have a length less than 300 mm, and where the electron beam column comprises a single individual beam crossover plane in which each of said electron beams forms an intermediate image of said electron source, and a single common beam crossover plane in which the electron beams in the array cross each other.

公开(公告)号：US10559448B2

公开(公告)日：2020-02-11

申请号：US16210531

申请日：2018-12-05

Applicant: FEI Company

Inventor： Alexander Henstra ,  Peter Christiaan Tiemeijer

IPC: H01J37/10 ,  H01J37/147 ,  H01J37/21 ,  H01J37/22 ,  H01J37/26 ,  H01J49/06 ,  H01J49/44

Abstract: A method of using a Transmission Charged Particle Microscope comprising: A specimen holder, for holding a specimen; A source, for producing a beam of charged particles; An illuminator, for directing said beam so as to irradiate the specimen; An imaging system, for receiving a flux of charged particles transmitted through the specimen and directing it onto a sensing device; A controller, for controlling at least some operational aspects of the microscope, in which method the sensing device is chosen to be an EELS/EFTEM module comprising: An entrance plane; An image plane, where in EELS mode an EELS spectrum is formed and in EFTEM mode an EFTEM image is formed; A slit plane between said entrance plane and image plane, where in EFTEM mode an energy dispersed focus is formed; A dispersing device, between said entrance plane and slit plane, for dispersing an incoming beam into an energy-dispersed beam with an associated dispersion direction; A first series of quadrupoles between said dispersing device and slit plane; A second series of quadrupoles between said slit plane and image plane, which dispersing device and quadrupoles are arranged along an optical axis, whereby, for a Cartesian coordinate system (X,Y,Z) in which said optical axis is disposed along Z, said dispersion direction is defined as being parallel to X, comprising the following steps: In said first quadrupole series, exciting one or more quadrupoles so as to deflect an off-axis non-dispersive YZ ray leaving said dispersing device onto a path paraxial to said optical axis from said slit plane to said image plane; In said second quadrupole series, exciting either: (a) A single quadrupole; or (b) A pair of adjacent quadrupoles, so as to focus said energy-dispersed beam onto said image plane.

公开(公告)号：US10224174B1

公开(公告)日：2019-03-05

申请号：US15803642

申请日：2017-11-03

Applicant: FEI Company

Inventor： Bert Henning Freitag ,  Peter Christiaan Tiemeijer ,  Maarten Bischoff

IPC: H01J37/147 ,  H01J37/26 ,  H01J37/10

Abstract: A method, includes, with an illumination system, directing a first charged particle beam along a particle-optical axis to a specimen position, with an imaging system, receiving a second charged particle beam from the specimen position and directing the second charged particle beam to a detector, recording a first output of the detector, varying an excitation of an optical element of the imaging system with a controller so as to rotate the second charged particle beam at the detector through a yaw angle about the particle-optical axis, and recording a second output of the detector at the yaw angle.

公开(公告)号：US10157727B2

公开(公告)日：2018-12-18

申请号：US15448445

申请日：2017-03-02

Applicant: FEI Company

Inventor： Alexander Henstra ,  Peter Christiaan Tiemeijer

IPC: H01J37/26 ,  H01J37/147 ,  H01J37/08

Abstract: A method of operating a charged particle microscope comprising the following steps: Providing a specimen on a specimen holder; Using a source to produce a beam of charged particles; Passing said beam through an illuminator comprising: A source lens, with an associated particle-optical axis; A condenser aperture, which is disposed between the source lens and specimen and is configured to define a footprint of said beam upon the specimen; Irradiating the specimen with the beam emerging from said illuminator; Using a detector to detect radiation emanating from the specimen in response to said irradiation, and producing an associated image, specifically comprising the following steps: Choosing a set of emission angles from said source; For each emission angle in said set, selecting a corresponding sub-beam that emits from the source at that emission angle, and storing a test image formed by that sub-beam, thereby compiling a set of test images corresponding to said set of emission angles; Analyzing said set of test images to evaluate illuminator aberrations generated prior to said condenser aperture.

公开(公告)号：US20180254168A1

公开(公告)日：2018-09-06

申请号：US15448445

申请日：2017-03-02

Applicant: FEI Company

Inventor： Alexander Henstra ,  Peter Christiaan Tiemeijer

IPC: H01J37/26 ,  H01J37/147 ,  H01J37/08

CPC classification number: H01J37/265 ,  H01J37/08 ,  H01J37/1472 ,  H01J37/153 ,  H01J2237/1534

Abstract: A method of operating a charged particle microscope comprising the following steps: Providing a specimen on a specimen holder; Using a source to produce a beam of charged particles; Passing said beam through an illuminator comprising: A source lens, with an associated particle-optical axis; A condenser aperture, which is disposed between the source lens and specimen and is configured to define a footprint of said beam upon the specimen; Irradiating the specimen with the beam emerging from said illuminator; Using a detector to detect radiation emanating from the specimen in response to said irradiation, and producing an associated image, specifically comprising the following steps: Choosing a set of emission angles from said source; For each emission angle in said set, selecting a corresponding sub-beam that emits from the source at that emission angle, and storing a test image formed by that sub-beam, thereby compiling a set of test images corresponding to said set of emission angles; Analyzing said set of test images to evaluate illuminator aberrations generated prior to said condenser aperture.

公开(公告)号：US20180233322A1

公开(公告)日：2018-08-16

申请号：US15435018

申请日：2017-02-16

Applicant: FEI Company

Inventor： Ali Mohammadi Gheidari ,  Luigi Mele ,  Peter Christiaan Tiemeijer ,  Gerard Nicolaas Anne van Veen ,  Hendrik Nicolaas Slingerland

IPC: H01J37/22 ,  H01J37/20 ,  H01J37/244

CPC classification number: H01J37/222 ,  H01J37/20 ,  H01J37/243 ,  H01J37/244 ,  H01J2237/2441 ,  H01J2237/24535

Abstract: A method of operating a charged particle microscope comprising the following steps: Providing a specimen on a specimen holder; Using a source to produce a beam of charged particles that is subject to beam current fluctuations; Employing a beam current sensor, located between said source and specimen holder, to intercept a part of the beam and produce an intercept signal proportional to a current of the intercepted part of the beam, the beam current sensor comprising a hole arranged to pass a beam probe with an associated probe current; Scanning said probe over the specimen, thereby irradiating the specimen with a specimen current, with a dwell time associated with each scanned location on the specimen; Using a detector to detect radiation emanating from the specimen in response to irradiation by said probe, and producing an associated detector signal; Using said intercept signal as input to a compensator to suppress an effect of said current fluctuations in said detector signal, wherein: The beam current sensor is configured as a semiconductor device with a sensing layer that is oriented toward the source, in which: Each charged particle of said intercepted part of the beam generates electron/hole pairs in said sensing layer; Generated electrons are drawn to an anode of the semiconductor device; Generated holes are drawn to a cathode of the semiconductor device, thereby producing said intercept signal.

公开(公告)号：US09991087B2

公开(公告)日：2018-06-05

申请号：US14860586

申请日：2015-09-21

Applicant: FEI Company

Inventor： Erwin Fernand de Jong ,  Sorin Lazar ,  Peter Christiaan Tiemeijer ,  Rudolf Geurink

IPC: H01J37/05 ,  H01J37/21 ,  H01J37/244 ,  H01J37/26 ,  H01J37/20 ,  H01J37/285

CPC classification number: H01J37/05 ,  H01J37/20 ,  H01J37/21 ,  H01J37/244 ,  H01J37/26 ,  H01J37/285 ,  H01J2237/0455 ,  H01J2237/057 ,  H01J2237/24485 ,  H01J2237/2802

Abstract: An imaging system for directing a flux of charged particles transmitted through a specimen onto a spectroscopic apparatus, wherein the flux is dispersed by a dispersing device into an energy-resolved array of spectral sub-beams propagating substantially parallel to a propagation axis. An adjustable aperture device defines an aperture in a path of the array so as to select a subset of the array to be admitted to a detector, which aperture is delimited in a dispersion direction perpendicular to the propagation axis to allow independent adjustment of both of: a width of the aperture parallel to the dispersion direction; and a position of a center of the aperture relative to the propagation axis.

公开(公告)号：US08766214B2

公开(公告)日：2014-07-01

申请号：US13919656

申请日：2013-06-17

Applicant: FEI Company

Inventor： Brian Roberts Routh, Jr. ,  Peter Christiaan Tiemeijer ,  Bart Jozef Janssen ,  Thomas G. Miller ,  David Foord ,  Ivan Lazić

IPC: H01J37/26 ,  H01J37/28 ,  H01J37/295

CPC classification number: H01J37/28 ,  B82Y35/00 ,  G01Q10/04 ,  H01J37/26 ,  H01J37/295 ,  H01J37/3056 ,  H01J2237/2067 ,  H01J2237/208 ,  H01J2237/226 ,  H01J2237/2442 ,  H01J2237/24455 ,  H01J2237/2447 ,  H01J2237/2611 ,  H01J2237/2614 ,  H01J2237/31749

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of preparing and imaging a sample using a particle-optical apparatus, equipped with an electron column and an ion beam column, a camera system, a manipulator. The method comprises the steps of deriving a first ptychographic image of the sample from a first electron image, thinning the sample, and forming a second ptychographic image of the sample. In an embodiment of the invention the seed image used for the second image is the first ptychographic image. In another embodiment the second ptychographic image is the image of the layer removed during the thinning. In another embodiment the inner potential of the sample is determined and dopant concentrations are determined.

Abstract translation: 本发明涉及使用装备有电子柱和离子束柱的粒子光学装置，相机系统，机械手来制备和成像样品的方法。 该方法包括以下步骤：从第一电子图像导出样本的第一ptychographic图像，使样本变薄，并形成样品的第二ptychographic图像。 在本发明的实施例中，用于第二图像的种子图像是第一图像图像。 在另一个实施例中，第二ptychographic图像是在稀化期间去除的层的图像。 在另一个实施方案中，确定样品的内部电位并确定掺杂剂浓度。