A transmission electron microscope includes an electron beam source emitting an electron beam and an illumination optical system for directing the emitted electron beam at a sample. The illumination optical system has a first condenser lens, a second condenser lens, a third condenser lens, a fourth condenser lens, an objective lens, and a condenser aperture disposed at the position of the second condenser lens. The third condenser lens and the fourth condenser lens cooperate to make the position of the condenser aperture and a sample plane conjugate to each other. The first condenser lens and the second condenser lens cooperate to make the electron beam source and a front focal plane of the objective lens conjugate to each other while the conjugate relationship between the position of the condenser aperture and the sample plane is maintained by the third and fourth condenser lenses.

A scanning electron microscope. The scanning electron microscope may include a sliding vacuum seal between the electron optical imaging system and the sample carrier with a first plate having a first aperture associated with the electron optical imaging system and resting against a second plate having a second aperture associated with the sample carrier. The first plate and/or the second plate includes a groove circumscribing the first and/or second aperture. The scanning electron microscope may include a detector movable relative to the electron beam. The scanning electron microscope may include a motion control unit for moving a sample carrier along a collision free path.

A scanning electron microscope objective lens system is disclosed, which includes: a magnetic lens, a deflection device, a deflection control electrode, specimen to be observed, and a detection device; in which, The opening of the pole piece of the magnetic lens faces to the specimen; the deflection device is located in the magnetic lens, which includes at least one sub-deflector; the deflection control electrode is located between the detection device and the specimen, and the deflection control electrode is used to change the direction of the primary electron beam and the signal electrons generating from the specimen; the detection device comprises the first sub-detector for detecting the back-scattered electrons and the second sub-detector for detecting the second electrons. A specimen detection method is also disclosed.

A charged particle beam device includes: a plasma generation device attached to a sample chamber through a connecting member; a guide including a hollow portion configured to guide a plasma generated by the plasma generation device in a direction toward a stage; a first voltage source configured to apply a voltage to the stage; and a second voltage source configured to adjust the plasma generation device and the guide to a predetermined potential, in which the guide is disposed to avoid an opening of an objective lens through which a charged particle beam passes and to position a tip of the guide between the objective lens and the stage.

In one embodiment, a charged particle beam writing apparatus includes a writer writing a pattern on a substrate placed on a stage by irradiating the substrate with a charged particle beam, a height detector detecting a surface height of a mark on the stage, an irradiation position detector detecting an irradiation position of the charged particle beam on the mark surface by irradiation with the charged particle beam focused at the surface height of the mark, a drift correction unit calculating an amount of drift of the charged particle beam on the mark surface from the irradiation position detected by the irradiation position detector, and generating correction information for correcting a shift in irradiation position caused by a drift on the substrate surface based on the amount of drift, and a writing control unit correcting the irradiation position of the charged particle beam by using the correction information.

A multi-beam apparatus for observing a sample with high resolution and high throughput is proposed. In the apparatus, a source-conversion unit forms plural and parallel images of one single electron source by deflecting plural beamlets of a parallel primary-electron beam therefrom, and one objective lens focuses the plural deflected beamlets onto a sample surface and forms plural probe spots thereon. A movable condenser lens is used to collimate the primary-electron beam and vary the currents of the plural probe spots, a pre-beamlet-forming means weakens the Coulomb effect of the primary-electron beam, and the source-conversion unit minimizes the sizes of the plural probe spots by minimizing and compensating the off-axis aberrations of the objective lens and condenser lens.

A scanning electron microscope. The scanning electron microscope may include a sliding vacuum seal between the electron optical imaging system and the sample carrier with a first plate having a first aperture associated with the electron optical imaging system and resting against a second plate having a second aperture associated with the sample carrier. The first plate and/or the second plate includes a groove circumscribing the first and/or second aperture. The scanning electron microscope may include a detector movable relative to the electron beam. The scanning electron microscope may include a motion control unit for moving a sample carrier along a collision free path.

A multi-beam charged particle system includes: a vacuum enclosure having an opening covered by a door; a particle source configured to generate charged particles, wherein the particle source is arranged within the vacuum enclosure; at least one multi-aperture plate module including at least one multi-aperture plate and a base; and a transfer box having an opening covered by a door. The at least one multi-aperture plate includes a plurality of apertures. The base is configured to hold the at least one multi-aperture plate. The base is configured to be fixed relative to the vacuum enclosure such that the multi-aperture plate module is arranged in an interior of the vacuum enclosure such that, during operation of the particle beam system, particles traverse the plural multi-aperture plates through the apertures of the plates.

A low voltage scanning electron microscope is disclosed, which includes: an electron source configured to generate an electron beam; an electron beam accelerator configured to accelerate the electron beam; a compound objective lens configured to converge the electron beams accelerated by the electron beam accelerator; a deflection device arranged between the inner wall of the magnetic lens and the optical axis of the electron beam and configured to deflect the electron beam; a detection device comprising a first sub-detection device for receiving secondary and backscattered electrons from the specimen, a second sub-detection device for receiving backscattered electrons, and a control device for changing the trajectories of the secondary electrons and the backscattered electrons; an electrostatic lens comprising the second sub-detection device, a specimen stage, and a control electrode for reducing the moving speed of the electron beam and changing the moving directions of the secondary and the backscattered electrons.

An aberration corrector includes: a first multipole, a second multipole, a third multipole, and a fourth multipole arranged along an optical axis A; a first transfer lens system arranged between the first multipole and the second multipole; a second transfer lens system arranged between the second multipole and the third multipole; and a third transfer lens system arranged between the third multipole and the fourth multipole, wherein each of the first multipole, the second multipole, the third multipole, and the fourth multipole generates a three-fold symmetric field.