A geological analysis system, device, and method using x-ray fluorescence and spectroscopy are provided. The geological analysis system includes a sample tray which holds the geological sample materials, and sensors including an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) unit and spectrometer. The sample tray includes chambers formed in an upper surface, ports, and passages, each providing communication between an interior of a chamber and an interior of a port. The ports are configured to be attachable to vials. The system positions the sample tray with respect to the sensors for sensing one or more properties of geological sample materials in the sample tray.

A detector includes a set of sensing elements, first section circuitry communicatively coupling a first set of sensing elements to an input of first signal processing circuitry, second section circuitry communicatively coupling a second set of sensing elements to an input of second signal processing circuitry, and interconnection circuitry communicatively coupling an output of the first signal processing circuitry to an output of the second signal processing circuitry. The interconnection circuitry may include an interconnection layer having interconnection switching elements communicatively coupled to outputs of analog signal paths of the detector. Interconnection switching elements may communicatively couple the outputs of adjacent analog signal paths. The detector may also include signal processing circuitry that includes a plurality of converters. The interconnection circuitry may be configured to selectively couple outputs of the first and second signal processing circuitry to the converters.

A back-reflection Laue apparatus and a method are provided. The apparatus includes a source for generating X-ray radiation, a collimator for collimating the X-ray radiation into an X-ray beam; a back-reflection Laue chamber for transmitting the beam therethrough towards a sample, and back-reflecting visible radiation obtained from the beam being diffracted off the sample and converted to visible radiation upon re-entering the chamber, the chamber comprising a reflection side wall having an exterior surface and a reflective interior surface for back-reflecting the visible radiation, the wall being provided with a through-hole extending from the exterior surface to the reflective interior surface; and a detector assembly for detecting the back-reflected visible radiation. The collimator has a first end connected to the source and a second end terminating between the exterior surface and the reflective interior surface of the wall, within the through-hole, the beam exiting the collimator at the second end.

A chamber cleaning method includes processing a wafer for a Cu-to-Cu bonding process using plasma in a chamber; and removing copper from the chamber. Removing copper includes forming copper oxide on an inner wall of the chamber by oxidizing copper in the chamber by a plasma treatment that uses a first gas, performing a first monitoring operation that monitors a copper contamination state in the chamber using an optical diagnostic method, removing the copper oxide by a plasma treatment that uses a second gas; and performing a second monitoring operation that monitors a copper contamination state in the chamber using the optical diagnostic method.

Apparatuses, systems, and methods for inspecting a semiconductor sample are disclosed. In some embodiments, the sample may comprise a structure having a plurality of openings in a top layer of the structure. In some embodiments, the method may comprise generating an image of the structure using a SEM; inspecting an opening of the plurality of openings by determining a dimension of the opening based on the image and determining an open-state of the opening, based on a contrast of the image; and determining a quality of the opening based on both the determined dimension and the determined open-state of the opening.

Three ROIs, ROI-c, ROI-d, and ROI-e, are set for an Lα peak and an Lβ peak reflecting an electron state of a valance band. Accumulated values in the ROI-c, ROI-d, and ROI-e are respectively normalized with reference to an accumulated value in an ROI-a, to determine a sample vector. The sample vector is compared to a plurality of compound vectors corresponding to a plurality of compounds, and a compound forming the sample is estimated based on a compound vector having the highest similarity.

A portable assessment kit for measuring metal content of an aqueous solution. The kit includes a sample container having an opening at its first end for containing a sample of the aqueous solution, a disc holder having a first end for detachably attaching the disc holder to the opening of the sample container, a pre-concentration disc for collecting metals and being arrangeable in the disc holder. The pre-concentration has a first side and a second side. The kit further includes means for pumping the sample through the opening of the sample container to the first side of the pre-concentration disc and a measurement device for measuring amount of metals in the pre-concentration disc.

A system and a method for monitoring a beam in an inspection system are provided. The system includes an image sensor configured to collect a sequence of images of a beam spot of a beam formed on a surface, each image of the sequence of images having been collected at a different exposure time of the image sensor, and a controller configured to combine the sequence of images to obtain a beam profile of the beam.

A device (1) for detecting a concentration of predetermined particles, particularly viruses, in air (3) with organic and/or inorganic aerosol particles, has a supply unit (10), an imaging unit (20), an image acquisition unit (40) and an evaluation unit (50). The supply unit (10) binds the aerosol particles as particles in a fluid (4). The imaging unit (20) operates on the functional principle of a scanning electron microscope in order to generate an enlarged image of the particles contained in the fluid (4). The image acquisition unit (40) acquires and transmits the image. The evaluation unit (50) evaluates the particles depicted in the image. The evaluation unit (50) automatically detects morphological properties of the particles depicted in the image and compares the detected morphological properties with morphological properties of the predetermined particles. Through the comparison, it determines a proportion and/or number of predetermined particles in the image and the concentration of the predetermined particles in the air (3).

Apparatuses and methods directed toward endpoint detection are disclosed herein. An example method at least includes forming a plurality of lines on a top surface of a sample; removing, a plurality of times, material from a working surface of the sample, the working surface different than the top surface; imaging, a plurality of times, the sample to at least capture the plurality of lines; and determining an endpoint based on a relative spatial characteristic between two or more lines of the plurality of lines.