A modular ultra-high vacuum (UHV) electron microscope for investigating a sample, according to the present disclosure includes a UHV chamber configured to reach and maintain an ultra-high vacuum within the UHV chamber, a UHV stage to hold the sample being investigated, a charged particle source configured to emit an electron beam toward the sample, and an optical column configured to direct the plurality of electrons to be incident on the sample. The modular UHV electron microscopes further include a carousel vacuum bay configured to reach and maintain an UHV independently of the UHV chamber, and which is connected to the UHV chamber via a port and contains at least one device manipulator. Each of the device manipulators comprise an attachment site for a microscope device, and are configured to, selectively translate attached microscope devices between the carousel vacuum bay and the UHV chamber via the valve.

Methods and apparatus for etching a high aspect ratio feature in a stack on a substrate are provided. The feature may be formed in the process of forming a 3D NAND device. Typically, the stack includes alternating layers of material such as silicon oxide and silicon nitride or silicon oxide and polysilicon. WF.sub.6 is provided in the etch chemistry, which substantially reduces or eliminates problematic sidewall notching. Advantageously, this improvement in sidewall notching does not introduce other tradeoffs such as increased bowing, decreased selectivity, increased capping, or decreased etch rate.

Provided herein are methods and apparatus for processing a substrate by exposing the substrate to plasma to simultaneously (i) etch features in an underlying material (e.g., which includes one or more dielectric materials), and (ii) deposit a upper mask protector layer on a mask positioned over the dielectric material, where the upper mask protector layer forms on top of the mask in a selective vertically-oriented directional deposition. Such methods and apparatus may be used to achieve infinite etch selectivity, even when etching high aspect ratio features.

In an embodiment, a method for nitriding a substrate is provided. The method includes flowing a nitrogen-containing source and a carrier gas into a plasma processing source coupled to a chamber such that a flow rate of the nitrogen-containing source is from about 3% to 20% of a flow rate of the carrier gas; generating an inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) in the plasma processing source by operating an ICP source, the ICP comprising a radical species formed from the nitrogen-containing source, the carrier gas, or both; and nitriding the substrate within the chamber, wherein nitriding includes operating a heat source within the chamber at a temperature from about 150° C. to about 650° C. to heat the substrate; maintaining a pressure of the chamber from about 50 mTorr to about 2 Torr; introducing the ICP to the chamber; and adjusting a characteristic of the substrate by exposing the substrate to the radical species.

The present disclosure discloses a carrier device, a semiconductor apparatus, and a residual charge detection method. The disclosed carrier device is configured to carry a wafer in a semiconductor apparatus. The carrier device includes an electrostatic carrier plate and at least three positioning members, wherein the electrostatic carrier plate includes a carrying surface configured to carry the wafer; the at least three positioning members are arranged around the carrying surface at intervals along a circumferential direction of the carrying surface, each positioning member is provided with a position limiting segment, and the at least three position limiting segments form a position limiting space above the carrying surface. An opening size of the position limiting space increases along a direction away from the carrying surface. The above-mentioned solution can solve the problem that a position deviation of the wafer is relatively large due to incomplete charge removal of the wafer.

A vacuum container is configured so that an opening on one side and an opening on another side in the longitudinal direction of a cylindrical insulating body are sealed with an emitter unit and a target unit respectively; and a vacuum chamber is provided on the inner peripheral side of the insulating body. The emitter unit is provided with: a moving body located on the one side in the longitudinal direction in the vacuum chamber and supported so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction via a bellows; and a guard electrode located on the outer peripheral side of the moving body. An emitter section having an electron generating section is formed at a tip section of the moving body on the other side in the longitudinal direction by subjecting the surface of the tip section to film formation processing.

The disclosure relates to a low energy electron microscopy. The electron microscopy includes a vacuum chamber; an electron gun used to emit electron beam; a diffraction chamber; an imaging device; a sample holder used to fix two-dimensional nanomaterial sample; a vacuum pumping device; and a control computer. The electron beam transmits the sample to form a transmission electron beam and diffraction electron beam. The control computer includes a switching module to switch the work mode between a large beam spot diffraction imaging mode and small beam spot diffraction imaging mode.

A plasma processing apparatus including: a processing chamber in which a sample is plasma-processed; a radio frequency power supply configured to supply a radio frequency power for generating plasma; a first radio frequency power supply ; a second radio frequency power supply configured to supply, a second radio frequency power having a frequency higher than a frequency of the first radio frequency power supplied; and a control device configured to control the first radio frequency power supply and the second radio frequency power supply such that the supply of one radio frequency power is stopped while the other radio frequency power is supplied, in which the frequency of the first radio frequency power and the frequency of the second radio frequency power are defined based on a full width at half maximum of a peak value of an ion energy distribution with respect to the frequency.

To stabilize an emitted electron beam, a thermoelectric field emission electron source includes: an electron source having a needle shape; a metal wire to which the electron source is fixed and configured to heat the electron source; a stem fixed to an insulator and configured to energize the metal wire; a first electrode having a first opening portion and arranged such that a tip of the electron source protrudes from the first opening portion; a second electrode having a second opening portion; and an insulating body configured to position the first electrode and the second electrode such that a central axis of the first opening portion and a central axis of the second opening portion coincide with each other, and to provide electrical insulation between the first and second electrodes, so as to provide a structure that reduces an amount of gas released when the first electrode is heated.

Improved is the reliability of sample analysis performed using a charged particle beam apparatus.

The charged particle beam apparatus includes region setting means for setting an irradiation region for irradiating a sample with an electron beam and an irradiation prohibited region for prohibiting the irradiation of the sample with the electron beam using a low-magnification image of the sample captured under low vacuum. In addition, the charged particle beam apparatus includes captured image acquisition means for selectively irradiating the irradiation region with the electron beam with the inside of a sample chamber under high-vacuum and acquiring a high-vacuum SEM image of the irradiation region based on the secondary or backscattered electrons emitted from the irradiation region.