A surface analysis apparatus includes: an ion irradiation unit configured to irradiate a surface of a solid sample with an ion stream of a specific ion species having a preset value of kinetic energy at a predetermined incident angle; an observation unit configured to observe scattered ions that originate from the ion stream and have undergone a charge transfer reaction with an atom or molecule present on a surface of the solid sample; and an information calculation unit configured to obtain information on electrical properties or physical properties on a surface of the solid sample on the basis of an observation result of the scattered ions in the observation unit. As a result, it is possible to efficiently acquire, in a short time, the distribution of the information on the electrical properties or physical properties such as the surface potential of the solid sample.

A surface analysis apparatus includes: an ion irradiation unit configured to irradiate a surface of a solid sample with an ion stream of a specific ion species having a preset value of kinetic energy at a predetermined incident angle; an observation unit configured to observe scattered ions that originate from the ion stream and have undergone a charge transfer reaction with an atom or molecule present on a surface of the solid sample; and an information calculation unit configured to obtain information on electrical properties or physical properties on a surface of the solid sample on the basis of an observation result of the scattered ions in the observation unit. As a result, it is possible to efficiently acquire, in a short time, the distribution of the information on the electrical properties or physical properties such as the surface potential of the solid sample.

A method of Particle-Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE) analysis comprises: (a) delivering a first ion beam from a first ion source and comprising ions having a first composition onto an area of a sample, wherein the kinetic energy of the ions is not greater than 50 kilo-electron-Volts (keV); (b) simultaneously with the delivering of the first ion beam onto the sample area, delivering a second ion beam from a second ion source onto the sample area, the second ion beam comprising ions having a second composition, wherein the kinetic energy of the ions of the second ion beam is not greater than 50 keV; and (c) detecting X-rays that are emitted from the sample area in response to the simultaneous delivery of the first and second ion beams thereto.

A method of Particle-Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE) analysis comprises: (a) delivering a first ion beam from a first ion source and comprising ions having a first composition onto an area of a sample, wherein the kinetic energy of the ions is not greater than 50 kilo-electron-Volts (keV); (b) simultaneously with the delivering of the first ion beam onto the sample area, delivering a second ion beam from a second ion source onto the sample area, the second ion beam comprising ions having a second composition, wherein the kinetic energy of the ions of the second ion beam is not greater than 50 keV; and (c) detecting X-rays that are emitted from the sample area in response to the simultaneous delivery of the first and second ion beams thereto.

Disclosed herein is a system for non-destructive characterization of specimens. The system includes an electron beam (e-beam) source for projecting e-beams at one or more e-beam landing energies on a specimen; an X-ray detector for sensing X-rays emitted from the specimen, thereby obtaining measurement data; and a processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to: (i) extract from the measurement data key features specified by a vector {right arrow over ()}.sub.key; and (ii) estimate values {right arrow over (p)} of one or more structural parameters characterizing the specimen, based on {right arrow over ()}.sub.key and a set of vectors of key features {{right arrow over ()}.sub.n}.sub.n=1.sup.N of ground truth (GT) reference specimens. Each of the {right arrow over ()}.sub.n is a product of measurements of emission of X-rays from a reference specimen due to impinging thereof with e-beams at each of the one or more landing energies.

Disclosed herein is a system for non-destructive characterization of specimens. The system includes an electron beam (e-beam) source for projecting e-beams at one or more e-beam landing energies on a specimen; an X-ray detector for sensing X-rays emitted from the specimen, thereby obtaining measurement data; and a processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to: (i) extract from the measurement data key features specified by a vector {right arrow over ()}.sub.key; and (ii) estimate values {right arrow over (p)} of one or more structural parameters characterizing the specimen, based on {right arrow over ()}.sub.key and a set of vectors of key features {{right arrow over ()}.sub.n}.sub.n=1.sup.N of ground truth (GT) reference specimens. Each of the {right arrow over ()}.sub.n is a product of measurements of emission of X-rays from a reference specimen due to impinging thereof with e-beams at each of the one or more landing energies.