A charged particle microscope and a method of operating a charged particle microscope are disclosed. The microscope employs a source for producing charged particles, and a source lens below the source to form a charged particle beam which is directed onto a specimen by a condenser system. A detector collects radiation emanating from the specimen in response to irradiation of the specimen by the beam. The source lens is a compound lens, focusing the beam within a vacuum enclosure using both a magnetic lens having permanent magnets outside the enclosure to produce a magnetic field at the beam, and a variable electrostatic lens within the enclosure.

To provide a lightweight and highly rigid stage device that can move in X and Y directions and a Z direction, and a charged particle beam device including the stage device. A stage device includes a chuck that is loaded with a sample, an XY stage that moves in X and Y directions, and a Z stage that moves in a Z direction. The Z stage includes: an inclined part that is fixed to the XY stage and includes an inclined surface inclined with respect to an XY plane; a movement part that moves on the inclined surface; and a table that is fixed to the movement part and is provided with the a plane parallel to the XY plane.

An electron microscope system and a method of measuring an aberration of the electron microscope system are disclosed. A method of controlling an aberration of an electron microscope includes obtaining a dispersed energy distribution for electrons at a diffraction plane of the electron microscope and placing an aperture at a selected location of the dispersed energy distribution in the diffraction plane. The method measures displacement of an image of the aperture in an image plane of the electron microscope for the selected location of the aperture. The method determines an aberration coefficient of the electron microscope from the measured displacement and the selected location of the aperture and alters a parameter of an element of the electron microscope to control the aberration of the electron microscope based at least in part on the determined aberration coefficient.

An electron microscope system and a method of measuring an aberration of the electron microscope system are disclosed. A method of controlling an aberration of an electron microscope includes obtaining a dispersed energy distribution for electrons at a diffraction plane of the electron microscope and placing an aperture at a selected location of the dispersed energy distribution in the diffraction plane. The method measures displacement of an image of the aperture in an image plane of the electron microscope for the selected location of the aperture. The method determines an aberration coefficient of the electron microscope from the measured displacement and the selected location of the aperture and alters a parameter of an element of the electron microscope to control the aberration of the electron microscope based at least in part on the determined aberration coefficient.

Disclosed is a composite beam apparatus capable of suppressing the influence of charge build-up, or electric field or magnetic field leakage from an electron beam column when subjecting a sample to cross-section processing with a focused ion beam and then performing finishing processing with another beam. The Composite beam apparatus includes: an electron beam column irradiating an electron beam onto a sample; a focused ion beam column irradiating a focused ion beam onto the sample to form a cross section; a neutral particle beam column having an acceleration voltage set lower than that of the focused ion beam column, and irradiating a neutral particle beam onto the sample to perform finish processing of the cross section, wherein the electron beam column, the focused ion beam column, and the neutral particle beam column are arranged such that the beams of the columns cross each other at an irradiation point.

A secondary projection imaging system in a multi-beam apparatus is proposed, which makes the secondary electron detection with high collection efficiency and low cross-talk. The system employs one zoom lens, one projection lens and one anti-scanning deflection unit. The zoom lens and the projection lens respectively perform the zoom function and the anti-rotating function to remain the total imaging magnification and the total image rotation with respect to the landing energies and/or the currents of the plural primary beamlets. The anti-scanning deflection unit performs the anti-scanning function to eliminate the dynamic image displacement due to the deflection scanning of the plural primary beamlets.

A device including an imaging-type or a projection-type ion detection system and being capable of performing observation or inspection at high speed with an ultrahigh resolution in a sample observation device using an ion beam is provided. The device includes a gas field ion source that generates an ion beam, an irradiation optical system that irradiates a sample with the ion beam, a potential controller that controls an accelerating voltage of the ion beam and a positive potential to be applied to the sample and an ion detection unit that images or projects ions reflected from the sample as a microscope image, in which the potential controller includes a storage unit storing a first positive potential allowing the ion beam to collide with the sample and a second positive potential for reflecting the ion beam before allowing the ion beam to collide with the sample.

A device including an imaging-type or a projection-type ion detection system and being capable of performing observation or inspection at high speed with an ultrahigh resolution in a sample observation device using an ion beam is provided. The device includes a gas field ion source that generates an ion beam, an irradiation optical system that irradiates a sample with the ion beam, a potential controller that controls an accelerating voltage of the ion beam and a positive potential to be applied to the sample and an ion detection unit that images or projects ions reflected from the sample as a microscope image, in which the potential controller includes a storage unit storing a first positive potential allowing the ion beam to collide with the sample and a second positive potential for reflecting the ion beam before allowing the ion beam to collide with the sample.

In a charged particle beam apparatus is provided with an optical image capturing apparatus having an angle different from that of a column, a sample may collide with other components when the sample is faced toward the optical image capturing apparatus. The charged particle beam apparatus includes a stage configured to place a sample thereon and to move the sample inside a sample chamber; a column configured to observe the sample by irradiating a charged particle beam on the sample; a first image capturing apparatus configured to observe a surface of the sample irradiated with the charged particle beam from an angle different from that of the column; and a control unit configured to, when observing the sample via the first image capturing apparatus, separate the sample from the column and to tilt the sample through the stage to face toward the first image capturing apparatus.

An electron microscope system and a method of measuring an aberration of the electron microscope system are disclosed. An aperture filters an electron beam at a diffraction plane of the electron microscope to pass through electrons having a selected energy and momentum. A displacement of an image of the passed electrons is measured at a detector in an image plane of the electron microscope. An aberration coefficient of the electron microscope is determined from the measured displacement and at least one of the energy and momentum of the passed electrons. The measured aberration can be used to alter a parameter of the electron microscope or an optical element of the electron microscope to thereby control the overall aberration of the electron microscope.