In the present invention, a charged particle beam device has a charged particle source (1), a first condenser lens (4) arranged downstream from the charged particle source (1), an aperture (5) arranged downstream from the first condenser lens (4), and a second condenser lens (6) arranged downstream from the aperture (5), wherein, when a sample (12) is to be irradiated at a second charged particle beam amount which is greater than a first charged particle beam amount, the first and second condenser lenses are controlled such that a charged particle beam is formed downstream from the aperture (5), and such that the focal point of the second condenser lens does not vary between the first charged particle beam amount and the second charged particle beam amount.

The present disclosure relates to apparatus and methods for assessing samples using a plurality of charged particle beams. In one arrangement, at least a subset of a beam grid of a plurality of charged particle beams and respective target portions of a sample surface are scanned relative to each other to process the target portions. Signal charged particles from the sample are detected to generate detection signals. A sample surface topographical map is generated that represents a topography of the sample surface by analyzing the detection signals.

A plasma processing apparatus includes a mounting table, an acquisition unit, a calculation unit, and an elevation control unit. The mounting table mounts thereon a target object as a plasma processing target. The elevation mechanism vertically moves a focus ring surrounding the target object. The acquisition unit acquires state information indicating a measured state of the target object. The calculation unit calculates a height of the focus ring at which positional relation between an upper surface of the target object and an upper surface of the focus ring satisfies a predetermined distance based on the state of the target object that is indicated by the state information acquired by the acquisition unit. The elevation control unit controls the elevation mechanism to vertically move the focus ring to the height calculated by the calculation unit.

In one embodiment, a charged particle beam writing method includes deflecting a charged particle beam at a position with a deflection offset added so that a zero-state of any deflection voltage is excluded from a range of deflection voltages applied to a plurality of electrodes of an electrostatic positioning deflector, irradiating a substrate with the charged particle beam, and changing a quadrant of the deflection offset at a predetermined timing or based on a drift amount of the charged particle beam, the quadrant being relative to an origin of deflection voltage at which all deflection voltages are zero.

A charged particle assessment tool includes: an objective lens configured to project a plurality of charged particle beams onto a sample, the objective lens having a sample-facing surface defining a plurality of beam apertures through which respective ones of the charged particle beams are emitted toward the sample; and a plurality of capture electrodes adjacent respective ones of the beam apertures and configured to capture charged particles emitted from the sample.

In an example, a method includes adjusting one or more optical elements such that a deflector plane of a beam deflector is conjugate to a diffraction plane and recording a diffracted beam pattern at the diffraction plane. In another example, a method includes directing a charged particle beam to a specimen. transitioning a beam blanker between blanked and unblanked states, and recording a beam pattern with a detector. The beam pattern includes one or more beam pattern features that are substantially stationary in a detector plane as the beam blanker transitions between the unblanked and blanked state. In another example, a CPM system includes a charged particle source, a beam deflector at a deflector plane, and a detector. The CPM system is configured such that a charged particle beam exhibits a beam crossover at the deflector plane and such that the deflector plane is imaged onto the detector.

The invention relates to a method for operating a particle beam apparatus for imaging, processing and/or analysing an object. For example, the particle beam apparatus is embodied as an electron beam apparatus and/or an ion beam apparatus. The invention furthermore relates to a computer program product and to a system comprising a particle beam apparatus for carrying out the method. The method comprises providing first structure data and second structure data; determining a target arrangement for a first device; providing at least one movement path; modelling the movement path of the first device within the particle beam apparatus; carrying out a check to determine whether the modelling of the movement path has the result that at least one first surface arrangement of the first device and at least one second surface arrangement of the at least one second device, when carrying out a movement process, (i) have at least one common point or (ii) are at a shortest distance but do not have a common point, wherein the shortest distance is smaller than a predefinable minimum distance; and, depending on the result of the check, displaying a message, discarding a movement process, changing a speed of the movement process, aborting the movement process, switching the movement process to a further movement process and/or carrying out the movement process of the first device using a movement device for moving the first device.