公开(公告)号：US20250132119A1

公开(公告)日：2025-04-24

申请号：US19009902

申请日：2025-01-03

Applicant: NuFlare Technology, Inc.

Inventor： Kazuhiko INOUE ,  Munehiro OGASAWARA ,  Masataka SHIRATSUCHI

IPC: H01J37/147 ,  H01J37/05 ,  H01J37/153

Abstract: According to one aspect of the present invention, a multi-electron beam image acquisition apparatus, includes: a plurality of first electrostatic deflectors in two stages, each of the first electrostatic deflectors having a plurality of electrodes of quadrupoles or more, configured to deflect multiple primary electron beams collectively to scan a substrate with the multiple primary electron beams; a potential application circuit configured to apply a retarding potential to the substrate; a first determination circuit configured to determine a first phase difference of deflection directions for the plurality of first electrostatic deflectors so as to reduce aberration caused by deflection of the multiple primary electron beams according to a magnitude of the retarding potential; and a deflection control circuit configured to apply an individual potential according to the first phase difference of the deflection directions to each electrode of the plurality of first electrostatic deflectors.

公开(公告)号：US20250112019A1

公开(公告)日：2025-04-03

申请号：US18478972

申请日：2023-09-29

Applicant: FEI Company

Inventor： Alexander Henstra ,  Galen Gledhill ,  Ali Gheidari

IPC: H01J37/153 ,  H01J37/28

Abstract: Multipole elements and charged particle microscope systems including the same. In an example, an apparatus can include plurality of electrodes including a first shape subset and a second shape subset. Each electrode of the first shape subset includes an electrode active surface with a shape that is different than that of each electrode of the second shape subset. In another example, an apparatus can include a plurality of electrodes including a first side subset and a second side subset. Each electrode includes an electrode extension extending along a first lateral direction or a second lateral direction. In another example, an apparatus can include an optical column with a plurality of multipole elements that are fully contained within a first angular envelope that subtends a first angle that is at most 50 degrees while the working distance is at most 10 mm.

公开(公告)号：US20250095159A1

公开(公告)日：2025-03-20

申请号：US18470348

申请日：2023-09-19

Applicant: FEI Company

Inventor： Umesh ADIGA ,  Derek HIGGINS ,  Mark BIEDRZYCKI ,  Melanie DOUD

IPC: G06T7/136 ,  G06T7/11 ,  H01J37/153 ,  H01J37/21 ,  H01J37/22 ,  H01J37/26

Abstract: Sample regions of interest (ROIs) for use in autofocus procedures are identified based on a gradient image of the sample. ROIs with gradient values greater that a threshold are selected, and eigenvalues of the associated image matrices are determined. ROIs with suitable variation in eigenvalues such as at least two relatively large eigenvalues are associated with high contrast features orientated in multiple directions so that such ROIs are suitable for automatic focus and astigmatism correction. Suitable ROIs can also be identified based on a histogram of gradient orientations.

公开(公告)号：US12255040B2

公开(公告)日：2025-03-18

申请号：US17215995

申请日：2021-03-29

Applicant: Carl Zeiss MultiSEM GmbH

Inventor： Dirk Zeidler ,  Christof Riedesel ,  Arne Thoma ,  Georgo Metalidis ,  Joerg Jacobi ,  Stefan Schubert ,  Ralf Lenke ,  Ulrich Bihr ,  Yanko Sarov ,  Georg Kurij

IPC: H01J37/147 ,  H01J37/09 ,  H01J37/141 ,  H01J37/153 ,  H01J37/28

Abstract: A method of operating a multi-beam particle beam system includes: generating a multiplicity of particle beams such that they each pass through multipole elements that are either intact or defective; focusing the particle beams in a predetermined plane; determining excitations for the deflection elements of the multipole elements; exciting the deflection elements of the multipole elements that are intact with the determined excitations; modifying the determined excitations for the deflection elements of the multipole elements that are defective; and exciting the deflection elements of the defective multipole elements with the modified excitations. Modifying the determined excitations includes adding corrective excitations to the determined excitations. The corrective excitations are the same for all deflection elements of the defective multipole element.

公开(公告)号：US12230469B2

公开(公告)日：2025-02-18

申请号：US17566518

申请日：2021-12-30

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Albertus Victor Gerardus Mangnus ,  Maikel Robert Goosen

IPC: H01J37/153 ,  H01J37/28

Abstract: Disclosed among other aspects is a charged particle inspection system including a phaseplate configured and arranged to modify the local phase of charged particles in a beam to reduce the effects of lens aberrations. The phaseplate is made up of an array of apertures with the voltage and/or a degree of obscuration of the apertures being controlled individually or in groups.

公开(公告)号：US12198891B2

公开(公告)日：2025-01-14

申请号：US17811985

申请日：2022-07-12

Applicant: NuFlare Technology, Inc.

Inventor： Taku Yamada

IPC: H01J37/147 ,  G03F7/20 ,  H01J37/153 ,  H01J37/304 ,  H01J37/317 ,  H01L21/027

Abstract: A difference between a calculated amount of drift and an actual amount of drift is reduced. According to one aspect of the present invention, a charged particle beam writing apparatus includes a deflector adjusting an irradiation position of the charged particle beam with respect to a substrate placed on a stage, a shot data generator generating shot data from writing data, the shot data including a shot position and beam ON and OFF times for each shot, a drift corrector referring to a plurality of pieces of the generated shot data, calculating an amount of drift of the irradiation position of the charged particle beam with which the substrate is irradiated, and generating correction information for correcting an irradiation position deviation based on the amount of drift, a deflection controller controlling a deflection amount achieved by the deflector based on the shot data and the correction information, and a dummy irradiation instructor instructing execution of dummy irradiation in a writing process to irradiate with the charged particle beam in a predetermined irradiation amount at a position different from the substrate on the stage.

公开(公告)号：US12176179B2

公开(公告)日：2024-12-24

申请号：US18474982

申请日：2023-09-26

Applicant: FEI Company

Inventor： Maarten Bischoff ,  Peter Christiaan Tiemeijer ,  Tjerk Gerrit Spanjer ,  Stan Johan Pieter Konings

IPC: H01J37/153 ,  H01J37/147 ,  H01J37/20 ,  H01J37/22 ,  H01J37/28

Abstract: A method for reducing throughput time in a sample image acquisition session in transmission electron microscopy comprises: providing an electron microscope comprising a sample component, a beam generator, an adjusting component, and a filtering component; securing a sample by using the sample component; generating an electron beam by using the beam generator; generating an image beam by directing the beam to the sample component; adjusting at least one of the beam and the image beam by using the adjusting component to obtain at least one modified image beam, wherein the adjusting is performed in such a way, that off-axial aberration of the modified image beam is minimized; and filtering the modified image beam via the filtering component to reduce resolution-deteriorating effect of chromatic aberration on the modified image beam resulting from the adjusting of the at least one of the beam and the image beam.

公开(公告)号：US20240371597A1

公开(公告)日：2024-11-07

申请号：US18654627

申请日：2024-05-03

Applicant: Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH

Inventor： Dirk Preikszas ,  Juergen Pommerenke

IPC: H01J37/153 ,  H01J37/141

Abstract: A multipole element for creating a magnetic multipole field or for creating an electric-magnetic multipole field for a particle beam system such as a scanning electron microscope, for example, comprises: a tube surrounding a central axis of the multipole element; an external space assembly arranged outside of the tube and a vacuum space assembly arranged within the tube. The external space assembly comprises: a magnetically conductive circumferential pole piece surrounding the tube; a plurality of magnetically conductive supports arranged so as to be distributed around the central axis and extending from the circumferential pole piece up to an outer wall surface of the tube; and a plurality of coils. The vacuum space assembly comprises a plurality of magnetically conductive pole pieces arranged so as to be distributed around the central axis and extending from the tube in the direction of the central axis.

公开(公告)号：US20240355577A1

公开(公告)日：2024-10-24

申请号：US18683071

申请日：2022-08-11

Applicant: ELDICO SCIENTIFIC AG

Inventor： Gunther STEINFELD ,  Harald NIEBEL ,  Christiaan VAN DEN BERG ,  Alexander VAN VEEN ,  Tomi TUOHIMAA

IPC: H01J37/21 ,  H01J37/14 ,  H01J37/147 ,  H01J37/153 ,  H01J37/26 ,  H01J37/295

CPC classification number: H01J37/21 ,  H01J37/14 ,  H01J37/1474 ,  H01J37/153 ,  H01J37/265 ,  H01J37/2955 ,  H01J2237/002 ,  H01J2237/0453 ,  H01J2237/1532

Abstract: A charged-particle beam device for charged-particle crystallography of a crystalline sample comprises a charged-particle source for generating a charged-particle beam to be radiated onto a sample and a charged-particle-optical system downstream the charged-particle source, which is configured to form in a diffraction mode a substantially parallel charged-particle beam at a predefined sample position and in an imaging mode a focused charged-particle beam having a focus at the predefined sample position. The charged-particle-optical system comprises a charged-particle zoom lens system consisting of a first magnetic lens, a second magnetic lens downstream the first magnetic lens and a third magnetic lens downstream the second magnetic lens, wherein at least the second magnetic lens, preferably each one of the first, the second and the third magnetic lens has a variable focal length. The charged-particle-optical system further comprises a single beam limiting aperture with a fixed aperture diameter arranged at a fixed position between the second magnetic lens and the third magnetic lens for limiting the diameter of the charged-particle beam at the sample position. The charged-particle-optical system is configured such that the diameter of the charged-particle beam at the sample position is in a range between 100 nanometer and 1000 nanometer, in particular between 220 nanometer and 250 nanometer, in the diffraction mode, and in a range between 10 nanometer and 200 nanometer in the imaging mode.

公开(公告)号：US12094684B1

公开(公告)日：2024-09-17

申请号：US16532459

申请日：2019-08-05

Applicant: Mochii, Inc.

Inventor： Christopher Su-Yan Own ,  Matthew Francis Murfitt

IPC: H01J37/28 ,  G01N23/2252 ,  H01J37/153 ,  H01J37/285

CPC classification number: H01J37/28 ,  G01N23/2252 ,  H01J37/153 ,  H01J37/285 ,  H01J2237/221 ,  H01J2237/2482 ,  H01J2237/2807

Abstract: A compact charged-particle-beam microscope, weighing less than about 50 kg and having a size of less than about 1 m×1 m×1 m, is provided for imaging a sample. The microscope has a vacuum chamber to maintain a low-pressure environment, a stage to hold a sample in the vacuum chamber, a charged-particle beam source to generate a charged-particle beam, charged-particle beam optics to converge the charged-particle beam onto the sample, and one or more beam scanners to scan the charged-particle beam across the sample. A charged-particle detector is provided to detect charged-particle radiation emanating from the sample and generate a corresponding charged-particle-detection signal. At least one energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer (EDS) is provided to detect x-rays emanating from the sample and generate a corresponding x-ray-detection signal. A controller analyzes the charged-particle-detection signal and the x-ray-detection signal to generate an image of the sample and a histogram of x-ray energies for at least a portion of the sample.