A method of operating a charged particle beam system, the method comprises extracting a particle beam from a source; performing a first accelerating of the particles of the beam; forming a plurality of particle beamlets from the beam after the performing of the first accelerating; performing a second accelerating of the particles of the beamlets; performing a first decelerating of the particles of the beamlets after the performing of the second accelerating; deflecting the beamlets in a direction oriented transverse to a direction of propagation of the particles of the beamlets after the performing of the first decelerating; performing a second decelerating of the particles of the beamlets after the deflecting of the beamlets; and allowing the particles of the beamlets to be incident on an object surface after the performing of the second decelerating.

A method of monitoring compliance with filter specification during the implantation of ions into a substrate reading a signature of the filter and comparing the read signature with filter signatures stored in a database to identify properties of the filter including at least one of a maximum allowable temperature of the filter and a maximum allowable accumulated ion dose of the filter. The temperature and/or the accumulated ion dose of the filter is measured while ions are implanted into the substrate by an ion beam passing through the filter. The implantation is terminated when the measured temperature or accumulated ion dose of the filter reaches or exceeds the maximum allowable threshold.

A method for evaluating a specimen includes positioning a detector in an inserted position in which a first distance between a tip of the detector and a plane extending along a surface of the specimen is less than a distance between the plane and a tip of charged particle beam optics. While maintaining the detector at the inserted position, the surface of the specimen is scanned by a primary beam that exits from the tip of the charged particle beam optics. The detector detects x-ray photons and/or charged particles emitted or reflected from the specimen as a result of scanning the specimen with the primary beam. After completion of the scanning, the detector is positioned at a retracted position in which a second distance between the tip of the detector and the plane exceeds a distance between the tip of the charged particle beam optics and the plane.

The present invention provides a charged particle beam device capable of predicting the three-dimensional structure of a sample, without affecting the charge of the sample. The present invention provides a charged particle beam device characterized in that a first distance between the peak and the bottom of a first signal waveform obtained on the basis of irradiation with a charged particle beam having a first landing energy, and a second distance between the peak and the bottom of a second signal waveform obtained on the basis of irradiation with a charged particle beam having a second landing energy different from the first landing energy are obtained, and the distance between the peak and the bottom at a landing energy (zero, for instance) different from the first and second landing energies is obtained on the basis of the extrapolation of the first distance and the second distance.

Provided herein are approaches for controlling a charged particle beam using a series of electrodes including a plurality of different shapes. In one approach, an electrostatic optical element includes a first set of electrodes having a first electrode shape for parallelizing and deflecting the charged particle beam using a first set of electrodes having a first electrode shape, such as a concave or convex profile. The electrostatic optical element further includes a second set of electrodes adjacent the first set of electrodes for accelerating or decelerating the charged particle beam along a beamline, wherein the second set of electrodes include a cylindrical shape. In one approach, a power supply is electrically connected to the first and second sets of electrodes, the power supply arranged to enable independent voltage/current control.

A method of monitoring compliance with filter specification during the implantation of ions into a substrate reading a signature of the filter and comparing the read signature with filter signatures stored in a database to identify properties of the filter including at least one of a maximum allowable temperature of the filter and a maximum allowable accumulated ion dose of the filter. The temperature and/or the accumulated ion dose of the filter is measured while ions are implanted into the substrate by an ion beam passing through the filter. The implantation is terminated when the measured temperature or accumulated ion dose of the filter reaches or exceeds the maximum allowable threshold.

A charged particle device projects charged-particle beams along beampaths towards a sample location. The device comprises: a charged-particle lens assembly for manipulating the beams and a controller. The lens assembly comprises plates each having an aperture array for passage of beampaths. The plates are at different plate locations along the beampaths. The controller controls the charged-particle device such that charged particles of the beams have different energy values at the different plate locations along the beampaths. The lens assembly comprises a corrector comprising an individual correctors configured to perform aberration correction at respective apertures independently of each other. The corrector is associated with the plate at the plate location at which the energy value is smallest, the strength of an electric field adjacent to the plate is greatest and/or a ratio of the energy value to strength of an electric field adjacent to the plate is smallest.

Methods and apparatus for modulating a particle pulse include a succession of Hermite-Gaussian optical modes that effectively construct a three-dimensional optical trap in the particle pulse's rest frame. Optical incidence angles between the propagation of the particle pulse and the optical pulse are tuned for improved compression. Particles pulses that can be modulated by these methods and apparatus include charged particles and particles with non-zero polarizability in the Rayleigh regime. Exact solutions to Maxwell's equations for first-order Hermite-Gaussian beams demonstrate single-electron pulse compression factors of more than 100 in both longitudinal and transverse dimensions. The methods and apparatus are useful in ultrafast electron imaging for both single- and multi-electron pulse compression, and as a means of circumventing temporal distortions in magnetic lenses when focusing ultra-short electron pulses.

A particle-optical arrangement comprises a charged-particle source for generating a beam of charged particles; a multi-aperture plate arranged in a beam path of the beam of charged particles, wherein the multi-aperture plate has a plurality of apertures formed therein in a predetermined first array pattern, wherein a plurality of charged-particle beamlets is formed from the beam of charged particles downstream of the multi-aperture plate, and wherein a plurality of beam spots is formed in an image plane of the apparatus by the plurality of beamlets, the plurality of beam spots being arranged in a second array pattern; and a particle-optical element for manipulating the beam of charged particles and/or the plurality of beamlets; wherein the first array pattern has a first pattern regularity in a first direction, and the second array pattern has a second pattern regularity in a second direction electron-optically corresponding to the first direction, and wherein the second regularity is higher than the first regularity.

A method for evaluating a specimen includes positioning a detector in an inserted position in which a first distance between a tip of the detector and a plane extending along a surface of the specimen is less than a distance between the plane and a tip of charged particle beam optics. While maintaining the detector at the inserted position, the surface of the specimen is scanned by a primary beam that exits from the tip of the charged particle beam optics. The detector detects x-ray photons and/or charged particles emitted or reflected from the specimen as a result of scanning the specimen with the primary beam. After completion of the scanning, the detector is positioned at a retracted position in which a second distance between the tip of the detector and the plane exceeds a distance between the tip of the charged particle beam optics and the plane.