An apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes a beam current measuring device and a first electrode. The beam current measuring device is retractably movable into an ion beam trajectory so as to measure an ion beam current. The first electrode is disposed immediately upstream of the beam current measuring device in an ion beam transport channel. The first electrode serves both as a suppressor electrode for repelling secondary electrons released from the beam current measuring device, back toward the beam current measuring device, and as a beam optical element other than the suppressor electrode.

A cryogen refilling system includes a reservoir assembly for holding cryogen and a delivery channel in fluid communication with the reservoir assembly for delivering cryogen from the reservoir assembly to a microscope cryogen holder. The delivery channel includes at least one control valve. The system also includes a sensor-lid assembly and a controller. The sensor-lid assembly includes a sensor assembly configured to detect a level of cryogen in the microscope cryogen holder. The controller is configured to receive sensor data from the sensor assembly, analyze the sensor data to determine whether the microscope cryogen holder requires refilling, and in response to determining that the microscope cryogen holder requires refilling, cause a valve control mechanism to open the at least one control valve of the delivery channel.

In conventional structures, a space between a dual cooling tank is vacuum insulated, and a cooling part is cooled via a highly thermally conductive material connected to an inner container. Such structures are affected by heat infiltrating into the highly thermally conductive material and the cooling part. For instance, in cases when liquid nitrogen is used as a coolant, it takes approximately 30 minutes for the temperature to reach 120 C. Even in cases when a significant amount of time has been spent, the temperature only reaches approximately 150 C., and thus falls significantly short of the temperature of liquid nitrogen, namely 196 C. Accordingly, an anti-contamination trap and a vacuum application device according to the present invention are provided with a structure in which a device-internal cooling part in the vacuum application device is cooled, and are characterized by being provided with: a cooling tank filled with a coolant for cooling a cooling part; and a cooling pipe extending from the cooling tank to the vicinity of the cooling part. The anti-contamination trap and the vacuum application device are further characterized in that: the coolant is supplied to an end of the cooling part; and a tube for releasing air bubbles inside the cooling pipe is inserted so as to extend to the cooling part.

A charged-particle beam apparatus is provided with a cathode to emit charged particle beams, an anode to propagate the charged particle beams emitted from the cathode in a sample surface direction, an aperture to propagate a charged particle beam passing through an opening at a predetermined position and of a predetermined shape, among the charged particle beams passing through the anode, in the sample surface direction, and a first electrode that is disposed between the anode and the aperture, and is set at a first electric potential of a polarity repelling a polarity of an ion generated due to collision of a charged particle beam.

The invention is directed to a charged particle beam apparatus that enables temperature maintenance in a cooling unit provided inside a vacuum application apparatus using a refrigerant. The charged particle beam apparatus includes a cooling tank that contains a refrigerant for cooling a cooling unit, a cooling pipe that supplies the refrigerant from the cooling tank to the cooling unit, and a unit that leads the refrigerant to liquefy when the refrigerant is biased to a solid.

Disclosed herein is a charged particle beam apparatus (10) includes: a sample chamber (11); a sample stage (31); an electron beam column (13) irradiating a sample S with an electron beam; and a focused ion beam column (14) irradiating the sample S with a focused ion beam. The apparatus (10) includes a displacement member (45) having: an open/close portion provided to be displaceable between an insertion position between a beam emitting end portion of the electron beam column (13) and the sample stage (31), and a withdrawal position away from the insertion position; and a contact portion provided at a contact position capable of contacting the sample S before the beam emitting end portion during operation of the sample stage (31). The apparatus (10) includes: a driving unit 42 displacing the displacement member (45); and a conduction sensor (24) detecting whether the sample is in contact with the contact portion.

A multi-beam pattern definition device for use in a particle-beam processing or inspection apparatus, which is irradiated with a beam of electrically charged particles through a plurality of apertures to form corresponding beamlets, comprises an aperture array device in which said apertures are realized according to several sets of apertures arranged in respective aperture arrangements, and an absorber array device having openings configured for the passage of at least a subset of beamlets that are formed by the apertures. The absorber array device comprises openings corresponding to one of the aperture arrangement sets, whereas it includes a charged-particle absorbing structure comprising absorbing regions surrounded by elevated regions and configured to absorb charged particles impinging thereupon at locations corresponding to apertures of the other aperture arrangements of the aperture array device, effectively confining the effects of irradiated particles and electric charge therein.

A cryogen refilling system includes a reservoir assembly for holding cryogen and a delivery channel in fluid communication with the reservoir assembly for delivering cryogen from the reservoir assembly to a microscope cryogen holder. The delivery channel includes at least one control valve. The system also includes a sensor-lid assembly and a controller. The sensor-lid assembly includes a sensor assembly configured to detect a level of cryogen in the microscope cryogen holder. The controller is configured to receive sensor data from the sensor assembly, analyze the sensor data to determine whether the microscope cryogen holder requires refilling, and in response to determining that the microscope cryogen holder requires refilling, cause a valve control mechanism to open the at least one control valve of the delivery channel.

A plasma generator is located outside the vacuum chamber and generates neutral reactive particles and charged particles. A magnet positioned outside the plasma generator deflects the charged particles, preventing some or all of them from entering the vacuum chamber, thereby preventing secondary plasma sources from forming in the vacuum chamber, while allowing neutral reactive particles to enter the vacuum chamber to reduce contamination. Associated methods are also described.

An apparatus includes a wall defining a boundary of an evacuated space and having a first side interior to the evacuated space and a second side exterior to the evacuated space, a first plate positioned on a first side of the wall and including a first magnet, a second plate positioned on a second side of the wall and including a second magnet, and a motor mechanically coupled to the second plate and configured to drive rotation of the second plate. The second magnet exerts an attractive force on the first magnet that causes rotation of the first plate in response to the rotation of the second plate.