A portable XRF analyzer includes a hand shield and a handle. In one embodiment, the XRF analyzer further comprises a power component spaced-apart from an engine component. The handle and the hand shield extend in parallel between the engine component and the power component, attaching the engine component to the power component. In another embodiment, the XRF analyzer further comprises two housing portions, each integrally formed in a single, monolithic body formed together at the same time. The two housing portions are joined together to form an XRF analyzer housing. In another embodiment, the hand shield is shorter than the handle.

The invention relates to a collimator electrode stack (70), comprising: at least three collimator electrodes (71-80) for collimating a charged particle beam along an optical axis (A), wherein each collimator electrode comprises an electrode body with an electrode aperture for allowing passage to the charged particle beam, wherein the electrode bodies are spaced along an axial direction (Z) which is substantially parallel with the optical axis, and wherein the electrode apertures are coaxially aligned along the optical axis; and a plurality of spacing structures (89) provided between each pair of adjacent collimator electrodes and made of an electrically insulating material, for positioning the collimator electrodes at predetermined distances along the axial direction. Each of the collimator electrodes (71-80) is electrically connected to a separate voltage output (151-160). The invention further relates to a method of operating a charged particle beam generator.

According to one embodiment, a rotating-anode X-ray tube assembly includes a rotating-anode X-ray tube, a housing, a coolant, a first shell, an X-ray shielding member, a second shell and an air introduction unit. The first shell is provided apart from the housing and an envelope of the rotating-anode X-ray tube, and surrounds the envelope. The X-ray shielding member is provided between the first shell and the housing and apart from the housing. The second shell is provided apart from the housing to cause an airway to be formed between the second shell and the housing. The air introduction unit produces a flow of air in the airway.

An electron beam inspection device includes: a primary electron optical system that irradiates the surface of a sample with an electron beam; and a secondary electron optical system that gathers secondary electrons emitted from the sample and forms an image on the sensor surface of a detector. An electron image of the surface of the sample is obtained from a signal detected by the detector, and the sample is inspected. A cylindrical member that is formed with conductors stacked as an inner layer and an outer layer, and an insulator stacked as an intermediate layer is provided inside a lens tube into which the secondary electron optical system is incorporated. An electron orbital path is formed inside the cylindrical member, and the members constituting the secondary electron optical system are arranged outside the cylindrical member.

A portable XRF analyzer includes a hand shield and a handle. In one embodiment, the XRF analyzer further comprises a power component spaced-apart from an engine component. The handle and the hand shield extend in parallel between the engine component and the power component, attaching the engine component to the power component. In another embodiment, the XRF analyzer further comprises two housing portions, each integrally formed in a single, monolithic body formed together at the same time. The two housing portions are joined together to form an XRF analyzer housing. In another embodiment, the hand shield is shorter than the handle.

An apparatus for processing a substrate is provided. A processing chamber is provided. A substrate support for supporting the substrate is within the processing chamber. A gas inlet provides gas into the processing chamber. An exhaust pressure system exhausts gas around a periphery of the substrate, wherein the periphery around the substrate is divided into at least three parts, wherein the exhaust pressure system controls exhaust pressure to control a velocity of the gas over the substrate, wherein the exhaust pressure system provides at independent exhaust pressure control for each part of the periphery for the at least three parts.

The invention relates to a charged particle beam generator. The generator may comprise a high voltage shielding arrangement (201) for shielding components outside the shielding arrangement from high voltages within the shielding arrangement, and a vacuum pump (220) located outside the shielding arrangement for regulating a pressure of a space within the shielding arrangement. The generator may comprise a collimator system with a cooling arrangement (405a/407a-407b/405b) comprising cooling channels inside electrodes of the collimator system.

A loading station (100, 200) for translocating a frozen sample for electron microscopy, encompassing a chamber (104, 204), open toward the top, that is fillable at least partly with a coolant, the chamber (104, 204) comprising in its side wall at least two ports (101a, 102a, 103a) each for different sample transfer devices (101, 102, 103), the ports (101a, 102a, 103a) permitting introduction of a frozen sample into the chamber (104, 204) via a selected sample transfer device and withdrawal of a frozen sample from the chamber via a respective different sample transfer device; and wherein a receptacle (108, 208) for at least two differently configured sample holders (109, 110) is arranged in the chamber (104, 204), the at least two sample holders (109, 110) being detachably fastenable to at least one of the sample transfer devices (101) for introduction of the frozen sample into the chamber (104, 204) and for withdrawal of the frozen sample from the chamber (104, 204).

The invention relates to a charged particle lithography system for exposing a target. The system includes a charged particle beam generator for generating a charged particle beam; an aperture array (6) for forming a plurality of beamlets from the charged particle beam; and a beamlet projector (12) for projecting the beamlets onto a surface of the target. The charged particle beam generator includes a charged particle source (3) for generating a diverging charged particle beam; a collimator system (5a,5b,5c,5d; 72;300) for refracting the diverging charged particle beam; and a cooling arrangement (203) for removing heat from the collimator system, the cooling arrangement comprising a body surrounding at least a portion of the collimator system.

A method of mitigating the effects of environmental pressure variation while using a charged particle microscope is described. The charged particle microscope equipped with a barometric pressure sensor and an automatic controller configured to use the signal from the barometric sensor as an input to a control procedure to compensate for a relative positional error between the charged particle beam and the specimen holder.