A method of determining a local electric field and/or a local magnetic field in a sample and/or the dielectric constant of a material and/or the angle between the input and output surfaces of the sample, comprising illumination of the sample by an electron beam in precession mode using an illumination device, generation of a diffraction pattern, determination of the offset of the disk corresponding to the transmitted beam due to the electric field and/or the magnetic field, by comparison of the diffraction pattern and a reference diffraction pattern, determination of a deflection angle of the transmitted beam, and determination of the value of the local electric field and/or the local magnetic field of the sample and/or determination of the dielectric constant of materials and/or determination of the angle between the input and output surfaces of the sample.

A charged particle beam device which prevents an appearance of a shading contrast due to azimuth discrimination and obtains a clear magnetic domain contrast image with a high resolution and a high throughput. The charged particle beam device includes an electron beam source; a sample stage; an objective lens configured to focus electron beams on a sample; a detector that is mounted on a charged particle beam source side with respect to the objective lens and separately detects secondary electrons emitted in azimuth angle ranges of two or more different azimuths for the same observation region; an image processing and image management device including an image processing unit configured to perform synthesis after performing shading correction and contrast adjustment on an image obtained by detecting a first emission azimuth and an image obtained by detecting a second emission azimuth; an image database; and an image display unit.

The object of the present invention provides a scanning transmission electron microscope with the ability to formed at least one diffraction pattern. The scanning electron microscope comprises an electron source, which is configured to provide primary electron beam, a condenser lens system, an objective electromagnetic system, a projection lens system and a detection system, in addition, the objective electromagnetic lens consists of an upper pole piece and a lower pole piece, wherein each pole piece comprises a pole piece face, which is a flat surface oriented towards a sample plane. A salient feature of the present invention is to form at least one diffraction pattern located in the distance from the lower pole piece face outside the pole piece gap, wherein the pole piece gap is the space between the upper pole piece face and the lower pole piece face.

There is provided a charged particle system (100) that has: illumination optics (104) for illuminating a sample with charged particles; an imaging deflector system (112) disposed behind an objective lens (110); a detector (116) having a detection surface (115), imaging optics (114) disposed behind the imaging deflector system (112) and operative to focus the charged particles as diffraction discs (2) onto the detection surface (115); a storage unit (120) for storing intensity information detected by the detector (116); and a controller (130) for controlling the imaging deflector system (112). The controller (130) controls the imaging deflector system (112) to cause the charged particles passing through a given position of particle impingement on the sample to be deflected under successively different sets of deflection conditions and to bring the diffraction discs (2) into focus onto successively different regions of the detection surface (115).

A method for analyzing disturbing influences in a multi-beam particle microscope which operates using a plurality of individual charged particle beams arranged in a raster arrangement includes the following steps: providing an object; stationary scanning the object at a first position via the plurality of the individual particle beams during a predetermined irradiation time T, as a result of which latent structures are formed on the object; raster scanning the object comprising the first position with the formed latent structures via the plurality of the individual particle beams; and analyzing the latent structures.

A weak pattern identification method includes acquiring inspection data from a set of patterns on a wafer, identifying failing pattern types on the wafer, and grouping like pattern types of the failing pattern types into a set of pattern groups. The weak pattern identification method also includes acquiring image data from multiple varied instances of a first pattern type grouped in a first group, wherein the multiple varied instances of the first pattern type are formed under different conditions. The weak pattern identification method also includes comparing images obtained from common structures of the instances of the first pattern type to identify local differences within a portion of the first pattern type. Further, the weak pattern identification method includes identifying metrology sites within the portion of the first pattern type proximate to a location of the local differences within the portion of the first pattern type.

An electron beam image acquisition apparatus includes a deflector to deflect an electron beam, a deflection control system to control the deflector, a measurement circuitry to measure, while moving a stage for placing thereon a substrate on which a figure pattern is formed, an edge position of a mark pattern arranged on the stage by scanning the mark pattern with an electron beam, a delay time calculation circuitry to calculate, using information on the edge position, a deflection control delay time which is a delay time to start deflection control occurring in the deflection control system, a correction circuitry to correct, using the deflection control delay time, a deflection position of the electron beam, and an image acquisition mechanism to include the deflector and acquire an image of the figure pattern at a corrected deflection position on the substrate.

The object of the present invention provides a scanning transmission electron microscope with the ability to formed at least one diffraction pattern. The scanning electron microscope comprises an electron source, which is configured to provide primary electron beam, a condenser lens system, an objective electromagnetic system, a projection lens system and a detection system, in addition, the objective electromagnetic lens consists of an upper pole piece and a lower pole piece, wherein each pole piece comprises a pole piece face, which is a flat surface oriented towards a sample plane. A salient feature of the present invention is to form at least one diffraction pattern located in the distance from the lower pole piece face outside the pole piece gap, wherein the pole piece gap is the space between the upper pole piece face and the lower pole piece face.

A scanning transmission electron microscope is adapted to acquire high quality precession electron diffraction (PED) patterns by means of separated scanning deflectors and precession deflectors. Magnetic or electrostatic deflectors may be used for scanning and for precession. This enables independent optimization of parameters for each deflection system to achieve a broad operating range simultaneously for both deflection systems.

An object of the present invention relates to detecting a signal caused by a faulty point part of which the identification has been difficult with conventional EBAC. In an embodiment of the present invention, at least one probe is brought into contact with a sample on which a circuit is formed, the sample is scanned with a charged particle beam while power is supplied via the probe to the circuit identified by a contact of the probe, and a change in resistance value of a faulty point heated locally is measured via the probe. According to the present invention, even a signal caused by a high-resistance faulty point or a faulty point embedded in the sample can be easily detected.