A stage apparatus for a particle-beam apparatus is disclosed. A particle beam apparatus may comprise a conductive object and an object table, the object table being configured to support an object. The object table comprises a table body and a conductive coating, the conductive coating being provided on at least a portion of a surface of the table body. The conductive object is disposed proximate to the conductive coating and the table body is provided with a feature proximate to an edge portion of the conductive coating. Said feature is arranged so as to reduce an electric field strength in the vicinity of the edge portion of the conductive coating when a voltage is applied to both the conductive object and the conductive coating.

We describe a super-resolution optical microscopy technique in which a sample is located on or adjacent to the planar surface of an aplanatic solid immersion lens and placed in a cryogenic environment.

A microscopy system includes a gas cluster beam system configured for generating a beam of gas clusters directed toward a sample to irradiate a sample and mill away successive surface layers from the sample, a scanning electron microscope system configured for irradiating the successive surface layers of the sample with an electron beam and for imaging the successive surface layers of the sample in response to the irradiation of the surface layer, and a processor configured for generating a three dimensional image of the sample based on the imaging of the successive layers of the sample.

An object of the invention is to accurately correct a deviation in position or angle between observation regions in an imaging device that acquires images of a plurality of sample sections. The imaging device according to the invention identifies a correspondence relationship between the observation regions between the sample sections using a feature point on a first image, corrects a deviation between the sample sections using a second image in a narrower range than the first image, and after reflecting a correction result, acquires a third image having a higher resolution than the second image (see FIG. 6B).

Disclosed herein is a method comprising: depositing a first amount of electric charges into a region of a sample, during a first time period; depositing a second amount of electric charges into the region, during a second time period; while scanning a probe spot generated on the sample by a beam of charged particles, recording from the probe spot signals representing interactions of the beam of charged particles and the sample; wherein an average rate of deposition during the first time period and an average rate of deposition during the second time period are different.

A phase analyzer includes a data acquisition unit that acquires spectrum imaging data in which a position on a sample is associated with a spectrum of a signal from the sample; a phase analysis unit that performs phase analysis based on the spectrum imaging data; a display control unit that displays results of the phase analysis on a first screen; and a condition reception unit that receives an operation for changing a condition for the phase analysis, when the condition reception unit has received the operation for changing the condition, the phase analysis unit performing phase analysis under the changed condition, the display control unit displaying on a second screen the results of the phase analysis performed under the changed condition and when a predetermined operation has been performed, the display control unit reflecting on the first screen the results of the phase analysis displayed on the second screen.

The present disclosure discloses a transmission electron microscope in-situ chip and a preparation method thereof. The transmission electron microscope in-situ chip includes a transmission electron microscope high-resolution in-situ gas phase heating chip, a transmission electron microscope high-resolution in-situ liquid phase heating chip and a transmission electron microscope in-situ electrothermal coupling chip. The transmission electron microscope high-resolution in-situ gas phase heating chip and the transmission electron microscope high-resolution in-situ liquid phase heating chip are respectively suitable for gas samples and liquid samples, and the transmission electron microscope in-situ electrothermal coupling chip realizes the multi-functional embodiment of electrothermal coupling. The three transmission electron microscope in-situ chips have the advantages of high resolution and low sample drift rate.

The present invention provides an apparatus of charged-particle beam e.g. an electron microscope comprising an in-column plasma generator for selectively cleaning BSE detector and BF/DF detector. The plasma generator is located between a lower pole piece of objective lens and the BF/DF detectors, but outside trajectory area of the charged-particles from the sample stage to the BF/DF detector.

The invention relates to a preparation system and method for preparing a sample for electron microscopy, the preparation system comprising: a liquid handling system (0) comprising a dispensing head (1), wherein said liquid handling system (0) is configured to aspirate and dispense a volume of a sample via the dispensing head (1), a support structure (2) that is configured to accommodate the sample, a temperature-controlled stage (4) that is configured to keep said support structure (2) at a pre-defined temperature, a first adapter (3) configured to hold said support structure (2), and a transfer mechanism (60) that is configured to be connected to the first adapter (3) holding the support structure (2) and to move said support structure (2) into a container (8) containing a liquid cryogen (80) so that the sample on the support structure (2) contacts the cryogen (80).

A method for preparing a sample for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) comprises providing a substrate having a patterned area on its surface that is defined by a particular topography. A conformal layer of contrasting material is deposited on the topography by depositing a layer of the contrasting material on a local target area of the substrate, spaced apart from the patterned area via Electron Beam Induced Deposition (EBID). The deposition parameters, the thickness of the layer deposited in the target area, and the distance of the target area to the patterned area are selected so that a conformal layer of the contrasting material is formed on the topography of the patterned area. A protective layer is subsequently deposited. The protective layer does not damage the topography in the patterned area because the patterned area is protected by the conformal layer.