The present invention relates to an electron beam apparatus including a monochromator in which cylindrical electrostatic lenses for deflecting a path of an electron beam in the lenses are arranged symmetrically and an aperture including a plurality of selectable slits is disposed therebetween to be able to select an electron beam having a specified energy range. The electron beam apparatus has a monochromator having high resolution and excellent stability and maintainability by disposing slits and circular openings in one aperture part in parallel arrangement, thereby improving spatial resolution and energy resolution.

An electrodynamic mass analysis system which has the capability of filtering unwanted species from an extracted ion beam without the use of a mass analyzer magnet is disclosed. The electrodynamic mass analysis system includes an ion source and an electrode disposed outside the ion source. The ion source and the electrode are biased relative to one another so as to emit pulses of ions. Each of these pulses enters a tube where each ion travels at a speed related to its mass. Thus, ions of the same mass travel in clusters through the tube. Ions reach the distal end of the tube separated temporally and spatially from one another based on their mass. The ions then enter a deflector, which is energized so as to allow the cluster of ions having the desired mass to pass through a resolving aperture disposed at the exit of the deflector.

When an electrode (29) such as a grid applied with a negative voltage is installed in front of an objective lens (23), low energy electrons among secondary electrons (25) generated from a sample (24) by an electron beam or the like is reflected by the electrode to come into a detector (22) installed in the sample (24) side, while electrons of higher energy are not detected, since they are not reflected by the electrode. Accordingly, since only the electrons of lower energy of the secondary electrons can be detected by discriminating the secondary electrons by the energy, it is possible to obtain a detection signal, e.g., rich in the information on the surface state of the sample.

An electrodynamic mass analysis system which has the capability of filtering unwanted species from an extracted ion beam without the use of a mass analyzer magnet is disclosed. The electrodynamic mass analysis system includes an ion source and an electrode disposed outside the ion source. The ion source and the electrode are biased relative to one another so as to emit pulses of ions. Each of these pulses enters a tube where each ion travels at a speed related to its mass. Thus, ions of the same mass travel in clusters through the tube. Ions reach the distal end of the tube separated temporally and spatially from one another based on their mass. The ions then enter a deflector, which is energized so as to allow the cluster of ions having the desired mass to pass through a resolving aperture disposed at the exit of the deflector.

An apparatus may include an electrodynamic mass analysis (EDMA) assembly disposed downstream from the convergent ion beam assembly. The EDMA assembly may include a first stage, comprising a first upper electrode, disposed above a beam axis, and a first lower electrode, disposed below the beam axis, opposite the first upper electrode. The EDMA assembly may also include a second stage, disposed downstream of the first stage and comprising a second upper electrode, disposed above the beam axis, and a second lower electrode, disposed below the beam axis. The EDMA assembly may further include a deflection assembly, disposed between the first stage and the second stage, the deflection assembly comprising a blocker, disposed along the beam axis, an upper deflection electrode, disposed on a first side of the blocker, and a lower deflection electrode, disposed on a second side of the blocker.

An apparatus, including an electrodynamic mass analysis (EDMA) assembly. The EDMA assembly may include a first upper electrode, disposed above a beam axis; and a first lower electrode, disposed below the beam axis, opposite the first upper electrode, the EDMA assembly arranged to receive a first RF voltage signal at a first frequency. The apparatus may include a deflection assembly, disposed downstream to the EDMA assembly, the deflection assembly comprising a blocker, disposed along the beam axis. The apparatus may include an energy spread reducer (ESR), disposed downstream to the deflection assembly, the energy spread reducer arranged to receive a second RF voltage signal at a second frequency, twice the first frequency. The ESR may include an upper ESR electrode, disposed above the beam axis; and a lower ESR electrode, disposed below the beam axis.

A method of operating a Post Column Filter (PCF) in a Scanning/Transmission Electron Microscope, and a Post Column Filter configured to operate according to the method. In an embodiment, the method includes receiving, at an entrance plane, an incoming beam of electrons; dispersing, by an energy dispersive element, the incoming beam of electrons into an energy dispersed beam of electrons; disposing a first plurality of quadrupoles between the entrance plane and a slit plane; operating the PCF in an EELS mode; and operating the PCF in an EFTEM mode. Operating the PCF in an EELS mode includes exciting one or more quadrupoles of the first plurality of quadrupoles at a first excitation level, wherein the first excitation level does not enlarge the energy dispersion of the energy dispersed beam of electrons; and forming an image of the energy dispersed beam of electrons on the image plane, the image being an EELS spectrum. Operating the PCF in the EFTEM mode includes including a slit at the slit plane in an optical path; exciting one or more quadrupoles of the first plurality of quadrupoles at a second excitation level, the second excitation level different from the first excitation level; forming an energy dispersed focus of the energy dispersed beam of electrons on the slit at the slit plane; and enlarging the energy dispersion of the energy dispersed beam of electrons caused by the energy dispersive element based on the one or more first plurality quadrupoles excited at the second excitation level.

An apparatus which has the capability of filtering unwanted species from an extracted ion beam without the use of a mass analyzer magnet is disclosed. The apparatus includes an ion source having chamber walls that are biased by an RF voltage. The use of RF extraction causes ions to exit the ion source at different energies, where the energy of each ion species is related to its mass. The extracted ion beam can then be filtered using only electrostatic energy filters to eliminate the unwanted species. The electrostatic energy filter may act as a high pass filter, allowing ions having an energy above a certain threshold to reach the workpiece. Alternatively, the electrostatic energy filter may act as a low pass filter, allowing ions having an energy below a certain threshold to reach the workpiece. In another embodiment, the electrostatic energy filter operates as a bandpass filter.

An apparatus which has the capability of filtering unwanted species from an extracted ion beam without the use of a mass analyzer magnet is disclosed. The apparatus includes an ion source having chamber walls that are biased by an RF voltage. The use of RF extraction causes ions to exit the ion source at different energies, where the energy of each ion species is related to its mass. The extracted ion beam can then be filtered using only electrostatic energy filters to eliminate the unwanted species. The electrostatic energy filter may act as a high pass filter, allowing ions having an energy above a certain threshold to reach the workpiece. Alternatively, the electrostatic energy filter may act as a low pass filter, allowing ions having an energy below a certain threshold to reach the workpiece. In another embodiment, the electrostatic energy filter operates as a bandpass filter.

An ion beam irradiation apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes an ion source, a mass separator, and an energy filter. The mass separator sorts dopant ions having a specific mass number and valence from an ion beam extracted from the ion source, and outputs the dopant ions. The energy filter is formed to define a beam passing region for allowing the ion beam to pass therethrough, and configured to have a given filter potential in response to application of a voltage thereto to separate passable ions capable of passing through the beam passing region and non-passable ions incapable of passing through the beam passing region, from each other by a difference in ion energy. The given filter potential is set such that the dopant ions are included in the passable ions, and a portion of unwanted ions which cannot be separated from the dopant ions by the mass separator are included in the non-passable ions.