Systems and methods for conducting charged particle beam modulation are disclosed. According to certain embodiments, a charged particle beam apparatus generates a plurality of charged particle beams. A modulator may be configured to receive the plurality of charged particle beams and generate a plurality of modulated charged particle beams. A detector may be configured to receive the plurality of modulated charged particle beams.

Sample preparation system and method which enable electron microscope observation of a sample slice with simple structure and process are provided. The sample preparation system includes at least one of a plasma treatment apparatus and a sputtering apparatus, as well as a slice collecting apparatus. The plasma treatment apparatus is configured to feed a resin tape in a plasma irradiation area to irradiate the resin tape with plasma, thereby continuously hydrophilizing the resin tape. The sputtering apparatus is configured to feed the resin tape in a sputtering area to continuously perform sputtering on the resin tape, thereby imparting conductivity to the resin tape. The slice collecting apparatus is configured to serially collect slices cut out from a sample onto the resin tape having been subjected to plasma treatment or sputtering.

An automated workpiece processing apparatus including a processing section including a processing module configured for processing a workpiece at a process location, a transport module including a first shuttle stage, a second shuttle stage independent of the first stage, and an end effector connected to at least one of the first and second stages, the end effector being configured to hold and transport the workpiece into and out of the processing module, and having a range of motion, defined by a combination of the first and second stage, extending from a workpiece holding station outside the processing module to the processing location inside the processing module so the end effector defines a processing stage of the processing module, and an automated loading and transport section including a load port module through which workpieces are loaded into the automated loading and transport section, and being communicably connected to the transport module.

An electron microscope system and a method of measuring an aberration of the electron microscope system are disclosed. A method of controlling an aberration of an electron microscope includes obtaining a dispersed energy distribution for electrons at a diffraction plane of the electron microscope and placing an aperture at a selected location of the dispersed energy distribution in the diffraction plane. The method measures displacement of an image of the aperture in an image plane of the electron microscope for the selected location of the aperture. The method determines an aberration coefficient of the electron microscope from the measured displacement and the selected location of the aperture and alters a parameter of an element of the electron microscope to control the aberration of the electron microscope based at least in part on the determined aberration coefficient.

A structure for grounding an extreme ultraviolet mask (EUV mask) is provided to discharge the EUV mask during the inspection by an electron beam inspection tool. The structure for grounding an EUV mask includes at least one grounding pin to contact conductive areas on the EUV mask, wherein the EUV mask may have further conductive layer on sidewalls or/and back side. The inspection quality of the EUV mask is enhanced by using the electron beam inspection system because the accumulated charging on the EUV mask is grounded. The reflective surface of the EUV mask on a continuously moving stage is scanned by using the electron beam simultaneously. The moving direction of the stage is perpendicular to the scanning direction of the electron beam.

Disclosed is a holder device for an electron microscope, which efficiently collects light emitted when electrons collide with a sample inside the electron microscope and is selectively usable in various electron microscopes since it can be easily attached to and detached from the electron microscopes. The holder device includes a frame; a sample support block configured to be supported on the frame and comprising a sample mounting portion to support an edge of a sample; a mirror unit configured to comprise an upper mirror and a lower mirror respectively arranged above and below the sample and reflect light radiating from the sample, which is mounted to the sample mounting portion and to which an electron beam is emitted, in a predetermined direction; a condensing lens configured to condense light from the mirror unit on a predetermined target; and an optical fiber configured to collect light from the condensing lens.

Systems and methods for conducting charged particle beam modulation are disclosed. According to certain embodiments, a charged particle beam apparatus generates a plurality of charged particle beams. A modulator may be configured to receive the plurality of charged particle beams and generate a plurality of modulated charged particle beams. A detector may be configured to receive the plurality of modulated charged particle beams.

An automated grid handling apparatus for an electron microscope including a transport module having a multistage shuttle, the multistage shuttle having a first shuttle stage having a single degree of freedom of motion for gross movement, a second shuttle stage having a single degree of freedom of motion independent of the first stage for fine movement, an end effector connected to at least one of the first and second shuttle stages, the end effector being configured to hold a grid carrier and transport the grid carrier holding the grid into and out of an electron microscope through a transport interface that is communicably connected to a multi-axis positioning stage port of the electron microscope, the end effector having a range of motion, defined by a combination of the first and second stage degrees of freedom of motions and the multi-axis positioning stage internal to the electron microscope, and an automated loading module connected to the frame and being communicably connected to the transport module, the automated loading module including a load port module through which grids are loaded into the automated loading and transport modules.

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.

The disclosure relates to a method for characterizing a two-dimensional nanomaterial sample. The two-dimensional nanomaterial sample is placed in a vacuum chamber. An electron beam passes through the two-dimensional nanomaterial sample to form a diffraction electron beam and a transmission electron beam to form an image on an imaging device. An angle between the diffraction electron beam and the transmission electron is obtained. A lattice period d of the two-dimensional nanomaterial sample is calculated according to a formula d sin d=, where represents a wavelength of the electron beam.