An ion beam treatment or implantation system includes an ion source emitting a plurality of parallel ion beams having a given spacing. A first lens magnet having a non-uniform magnetic field receives the plurality of ion beams from the ion source and focuses the plurality of ion beams toward a common point. The system may optionally include a second lens magnet having a non-uniform magnetic field receiving the ion beams focused by the first lens magnet and redirecting the ion beams such that they have a parallel arrangement having a closer spacing than said given spacing in a direction toward a target substrate.

A charged particle beam apparatus with reduced frequency of lens resetting operations and thus with improved throughput. The apparatus includes an electron source configured to generate an electron beam, an objective lens to which coil current is adapted to be applied to converge the electron beam on a sample, a focal position adjustment device configured to adjust the focal position of the electron beam, a detector configured to detect electrons from the sample, a display unit configured to display an image of the sample in accordance with a signal from the detector, a storage unit configured to store information on the hysteresis characteristics of the objective lens, and an estimation unit configured to estimate a magnetic field generated by the objective lens on the basis of the coil current, the amount of adjustment of the focal position by the focal position adjustment device, and the information on the hysteresis characteristics.

A charged particle beam device includes an electron source which generates an electron beam, an objective lens which is applied with a coil current to converge the electron beam on a sample, a control unit which controls the current to be applied to the objective lens, a hysteresis characteristic storage unit which stores hysteresis characteristic information of the objective lens, a history information storage unit which stores history information related to the coil current, and an estimation unit which estimates a magnetic field generated by the objective lens on the basis of the coil current, the history information, and the hysteresis characteristic information.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a charged-particle beam device capable of moving a field-of-view to an exact position even when moving the field-of-view above an actual sample. In order to attain this objective, a charged-particle beam device is proposed comprising an objective lens whereby a charged-particle beam is focused and irradiated onto a sample: a field-of-view moving deflector for deflecting the charged-particle beam; and a stage onto which the sample is placed. The charged-particle beam device is equipped with a control device which controls the lens conditions for the objective lens in such a manner that the charged-particle been focuses on the sample which is to be measured; moves the field-of-view via the field-of-view moving deflector while maintaining the lens conditions; acquires a plurality of images at each position among a reference pattern extending in a specified direction; and uses the plurality of acquired images to adjust the signal supplied to the field-of-view moving deflector.

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.

An ion beam treatment or implantation system includes an ion source emitting a plurality of parallel ion beams having a given spacing. A first lens magnet having a non-uniform magnetic field receives the plurality of ion beams from the ion source and focuses the plurality of ion beams toward a common point. The system may optionally include a second lens magnet having a non-uniform magnetic field receiving the ion beams focused by the first lens magnet and redirecting the ion beams such that they have a parallel arrangement having a closer spacing than said given spacing in a direction toward a target substrate.

The present invention relates to a method for examining a beam of charged particles, including the following steps: producing persistent interactions of the beam with a sample at a plurality of positions of the sample relative to the beam and deriving at least one property of the beam by analyzing the spatial distribution of the persistent interactions at the plurality of positions.

Disclosed are a charged particle beam apparatus wherein the charged particle beam apparatus can efficiently performs finish processing of a sample and acquisition of a high-precision SEM image of a processing surface of the sample in a short time, and a sample processing observation method using the same.

The charged particle beam apparatus includes: a gallium ion beam column radiating a gallium ion beam toward a sample to form a cross-section of the sample; an electron beam column having a semi-in-lens type objective lens and radiating an electron beam toward the sample; a gas ion beam column radiating a gas ion beam toward the sample to perform finish processing of the cross-section of the sample, wherein the gas ion beam has a beam diameter larger than a maximum diameter of the cross-section of the sample.

Disclosed herein are tools and methods for subtractively patterning metals. These tools and methods may permit the subtractive patterning of metal (e.g., copper, platinum, etc.) at pitches lower than those achievable by conventional etch tools and/or with aspect ratios greater than those achievable by conventional etch tools. The tools and methods disclosed herein may be cost-effective and appropriate for high-volume manufacturing, in contrast to conventional etch tools.

A charged particle beam apparatus with reduced frequency of lens resetting operations and thus with improved throughput. The apparatus includes an electron source configured to generate an electron beam, an objective lens to which coil current is adapted to be applied to converge the electron beam on a sample, a focal position adjustment device configured to adjust the focal position of the electron beam, a detector configured to detect electrons from the sample, a display unit configured to display an image of the sample in accordance with a signal from the detector, a storage unit configured to store information on the hysteresis characteristics of the objective lens, and an estimation unit configured to estimate a magnetic field generated by the objective lens on the basis of the coil current, the amount of adjustment of the focal position by the focal position adjustment device, and the information on the hysteresis characteristics.