A charged particle beam apparatus covering a wide range of detection angles of charged particles emitted from a sample includes an objective lens for converging charged particle beams emitted from a charged particle source and a detector for detecting charged particles emitted from a sample. The objective lens includes inner and outer magnetic paths which are formed so as to enclose a coil. A first inner magnetic path is disposed at a position opposite to an optical axis of the charged particle beams. A second inner magnetic path, formed at a slant with respect to the optical axis of the charged particle beams, includes a leading end. A detection surface of the detector is disposed at the outer side from a virtual straight line that passes through the leading end and that is parallel to the optical axis of the charged particle beams.

The present invention overcomes a trade-off between throughput, SNR, and spatial resolution in a charged particle beam device. Accordingly, a computer 18 sets at least one of a charged particle optical system and a detection system so as to modulate the intensity of signal charged particles or an electromagnetic wave detected by a detector 12 at a prescribed frequency. The charged particle optical system scans a specimen with a charged particle beam. The computer 18 generates an image or a signal profile by associating an irradiation position of the charged particle beam with a DC component of a signal acquired through synchronous detection of a detection signal from the detector at the irradiation position with a reference signal having a prescribed frequency.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a scintillator for a charged particle beam device and a charged particle beam device which achieve both an increase in emission intensity and a reduction in afterglow intensity. This scintillator for a charged particle beam device is characterized by comprising a substrate (13), a buffer layer (14) formed on a surface of the substrate (13), a stack (12) of a light emitting layer (15) and a barrier layer (16) formed on a surface of the buffer layer (14), and a conductive layer (17) formed on a surface of the stack (12) and by being configured such that the light emitting layer (15) contains InGaN, the barrier layer (16) contains GaN, and the ratio b/a of the thickness b of the barrier layer (16) to the thickness a of the light emitting layer (15) is 11 to 25.

Provided is a charged particle beam device and a charged particle beam device calibration method capable of correcting an influence of characteristic variation and noise with high accuracy. Control units execute a first calibration of correcting a characteristic variation between a plurality of channels in detectors and signal processing circuits by using a setting value of a control parameter for each of the plurality of channels in a state in which a primary electron beam is not emitted. The control units further execute a second calibration of correcting a characteristic variation between the plurality of channels in scintillators or the like by using the setting value of the control parameter for each of the plurality of channels in a state in which the primary electron beam is emitted.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a charged-particle beam apparatus capable of performing various types of signal discriminations according to the shape and the size of a sample. The present invention proposes a charged-particle beam apparatus for irradiating a sample disposed in a vacuum vessel with a charged particle beam. The charged-particle beam apparatus is provided with: a first light-generating surface for generating light on the basis of the collision of charged particles released from the sample; a light-guiding member for guiding the generated light to the outside of the vacuum vessel while maintaining the generation distribution of the light generated at the first light-generating surface; a photodetector for detecting the light guided by the light-guiding member to the outside of the vacuum vessel; and a light-transmission restricting member for restricting transmission of the light guided by the light-guiding member between the photodetector and the light-guiding member.

One embodiment relates to apparatus for correcting aberrations introduced when an electron lens images a specimen. A specimen is illuminated, and a cathode objective lens accelerates emitted or scattered electrons. The resulting electron beam is deflected by a magnetic beam separator that disperses the incoming electron beam according to its energy. The dispersed beam is focused at the reflection plane of an electron mirror. After this focusing, and a second deflection by the beam separator, the beam dispersion is removed. The dispersion-free beam is reflected in a second electron mirror which corrects aberrations of the cathode objective lens. The beam separator then deflects the beam towards projection optics which form a magnified, aberration-corrected image. When energy filtering is needed, a knife-edge plate is inserted between the beam separator and first electron mirror to remove electrons outside the selected range. Other embodiments are disclosed.

An electron microscope apparatus includes a detection unit that detects reflected electrons reflected from a sample when the sample is irradiated with primary electrons emitted by a primary electron generation unit (electron gun), an image generation unit that generates an image of a surface of the sample with the reflected electrons based on output from the detection unit, and a processing unit that generates a differential waveform signal of the image generated by the image generation unit, processes the image by using information of the differential waveform signal, and measures a dimension of a pattern formed on the sample.

A measurement device that comprises a photoelectric conversion element and a signal processing part that receives, from the photoelectric conversion element, detected pulses that include dark pulses and signal pulses that are outputted in accordance with inputted photons. The signal processing part performs amplitude discrimination on the detected pulses on the basis of a pre-acquired dark pulse amplitude distribution for the photoelectric conversion element.

An electron beam inspection system is disclosed, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The inspection system may include an electron beam source configured to generate one or more primary electron beams. The inspection system may also include an electron-optical column including a set of electron-optical elements configured to direct the one or more primary electron beams to a sample. The inspection system may further include a detection assembly comprising: a scintillator substrate configured to collect electrons emanating from the sample, the scintillator substrate configured to generate optical radiation in response to the collected electrons; one or more light guides; one or more reflective surfaces configured to receive the optical radiation and direct the optical radiation along the one or more light guides; and one or more detectors configured to receive the optical radiation from the light guide.

A scanning electron microscope and a method for evaluating a sample, the method may include (a) illuminating the sample with a primary electron beam, (b) directing secondary electrons emitted from the sample and propagated above a first scintillator, towards an upper portion of the first scintillator, wherein the first scintillator and a second scintillator are positioned between the sample and a column electrode of the column; wherein the first scintillator is positioned above the second scintillator; (c) detecting the secondary electrons by the first scintillator; (d) directing backscattered electrons emitted from the sample towards a lower portion of the second scintillator; and (e) detecting the backscattered electrons by the second scintillator.