A method, including: recording plural images of an object by scanning plural particle beams across the object and detecting signals generated by the particle beams, wherein the plural particle beams are generated by a multi-beam particle microscope; determining plural regions of interest; determining plural image regions in each of the recorded images; determining plural displacement vectors; and determining image distortions based on image data of the recorded images and the determined displacement vectors.

A pitch walk inspection method includes obtaining a scanning electron microscope (SEM) image for a line and space (L/S) pattern formed by a multi-patterning technology (MPT), where L/S pattern includes a plurality of lines and spaces that are alternately arranged; detecting a main pitch of the L/S pattern in the SEM image; dividing a graph of the main pitch into graphs of component pitches, based on the MPT; performing a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) on each graph of the component pitches; multiplying a phase and an intensity graph of the FFT of each of the graphs of the component pitches with each other and obtaining compensated FFT phase graphs; and calculating a pitch walk for the L/S pattern by obtaining differences between phase peak values of the compensated FFT phase graphs.

A method for analyzing a sample with a charged particle beam including directing the beam toward the sample surface; milling the surface to expose a second surface in the sample in which the end of the second surface distal to ion source is milled to a greater depth relative to a reference depth than the end of the first surface proximal to ion source; directing the charged particle beam toward the second surface to form one or more images of the second surface; forming images of the cross sections of the multiple adjacent features of interest by detecting the interaction of the electron beam with the second surface; assembling the images of the cross section into a three-dimensional model of one or more of the features of interest. A method for forming an improved fiducial and determining the depth of an exposed feature in a nanoscale three-dimensional structure is presented.

A method and a system are for sparse sampling utilizing a programmatically randomized signal for modulating a carrier signal. The system includes a compound sparse sampling pattern generator that generates at least one primary carrier signal, and at least one secondary signal. The at least one secondary signal modulates the at least one primary signal in a randomized fashion.

A method, a non-transitory computer readable medium and a three-dimensional evaluation system for providing three dimensional information regarding structural elements of a specimen. The method can include illuminating the structural elements with electron beams of different incidence angles, where the electron beams pass through the structural elements and the structural elements are of nanometric dimensions; detecting forward scattered electrons that are scattered from the structural elements to provide detected forward scattered electrons; and generating the three dimensional information regarding structural elements based at least on the detected forward scattered electrons.

A microscopy system includes a gas cluster beam system configured for generating a beam of gas clusters directed toward a sample to irradiate a sample and mill away successive surface layers from the sample, a scanning electron microscope system configured for irradiating the successive surface layers of the sample with an electron beam and for imaging the successive surface layers of the sample in response to the irradiation of the surface layer, and a processor configured for generating a three dimensional image of the sample based on the imaging of the successive layers of the sample.

First shape data representing a three-dimensional shape of a sample unit including a sample is generated based on a result of three-dimensional shape measurement of the sample. Second shape data representing a three-dimensional shape of a structure which exists in a sample chamber is generated. Movement of the sample unit is controlled based on the first shape data and the second shape data such that collision of the sample unit with the structure does not occur.

Methods and apparatuses for capturing volume information of microscopic samples include a microscope system having at least one particle beam column, by which a beam of focused, charged particles can be generated, and an in-situ microtome, i.e., a microtome integrated in the microscope system. The method cam include a) providing a sample including a volume of interest (VOI); b) setting a cut surface lying within the sample; c) defining the set cut surface as processing surface; d) exposing the cut surface by virtue of ablating sample material by cutting with the in-situ microtome; and e) processing the sample with the particle beam, wherein the start point of the processing is disposed on the exposed processing surface.

A system includes a multi-beam particle microscope for imaging a 3D sample layer by layer, and a computer system with a multi-tier architecture is disclosed. The multi-tier architecture can allow for an optimized image processing by gradually reducing the amount of parallel processing speed when data exchange between different processing systems and/or of data originating from different detection channels takes place. A method images a 3D sample layer by layer. A computer program product includes a program code for carrying out the method.

Disclosed herein is a method for non-destructive hybrid acousto-optic and scanning electron microscopy-based metrology. The method includes: (i) obtaining acousto-optic and scanning electron microscopy measurement data of an inspected structure on a sample; (ii) processing the measurement data to extract values of key measurement parameters corresponding to the acousto-optic measurement data and the scanning electron microscopy measurement data, respectively; and (iii) obtaining estimated values of one or more structural parameters of the inspected structure by inputting the extracted values into an algorithm, which is configured to jointly process the extracted values to output estimated values of the one or more structural parameters.