Fiducial coordinates are obtained by aligning template with region of interest extracted from a workpiece image. Image values in the region of interest are projected along a template axis and the project values evaluated to establish a fiducial location which can be used as a reference location for locating workpiece areas for ion beam milling or other processing.

A scanning electron microscope receives a results file for a wafer from an optical inspection system. The results file includes an anchor point on the wafer. A defect review image at the anchor point on the wafer is generated using the scanning electron microscope. A design clip is aligned to the defect review image at the anchor point thereby generating an aligned defect review image. The aligned defect review image is used for defect detection.

In corner sections of first to fourth quadrants whose origin point is a center of an upper surface of a stage, three each of two-dimensional heads are provided. The three each of two-dimensional heads include one first head and two second heads. The stage is driven, while measuring a position of the stage using three first heads that face a two-dimensional grating of a scale plate provided above the stage from the four first heads, and during the driving, difference data of measurement values of the two second heads with respect to the first head in a measurement direction are taken in for head groups to which the three first heads belong, respectively, and using the difference data, grid errors are calibrated.

An active substrate alignment system for an ion implanter, the system including a platen, a registration device adapted to selectively move a substrate engagement surface disposed adjacent the platen for limiting movement of a substrate disposed on the platen, a camera configured to capture an image of the substrate before the substrate is disposed on the platen, and a controller in communication with the camera and the registration device, the controller configured to command the registration device to move the substrate engagement surface based on the image to limit movement of the substrate in a predetermined manner.

The invention relates to a charged particle beam exposure apparatus configured to expose cut patterns or via patterns on a substrate having a plurality of line patterns 81a arranged on an upper surface of the substrate at a constant pitch by irradiating the substrate with a plurality of charged particle beams B1 to Bn while moving a one-dimensional array beam A1 in an X direction parallel to the line patterns 81a, the one-dimensional array beam A1 being a beam in which the charged particle beams B1 to Bn are arranged in an Y direction orthogonal to the line patterns 81a.

By irradiating a sample with an unfocused ion beam, processing accuracy of an ion milling device for processing a sample or reproducibility accuracy of a shape of a processed surface is improved. Therefore, the ion milling device includes a sample chamber, an ion source position adjustment mechanism provided at the sample chamber, an ion source attached to the sample chamber via the ion source position adjustment mechanism and configured to emit an ion beam, and a sample stage configured to rotate around a rotation center. When a direction in which the rotation center extends when an ion beam center of the ion beam matches the rotation center is set as a Z direction, and a plane perpendicular to the Z direction is set as an XY plane, the ion source position adjustment mechanism is capable of adjusting a position of the ion source on the XY plane and a position of the ion source in the Z direction.

A charged particle beam apparatus includes a stage for fixing a sample, a driving mechanism for driving the stage, a focused ion beam column, an electron beam column, a detector that detects a secondary charged particle emitted from the sample irradiated with a charged particle beam, a gas supplying device that supplies gas for forming a deposition film on a surface of the sample, and a control device that generates image data indicating the position distribution of the secondary charged particle detected by the detector. The control device irradiates the sample with the electron beam prior to irradiating the sample with a focused ion beam, recognizes an alignment mark provided in the sample in the image data by the electron beam, and performs positioning of an irradiation region of the sample using the alignment mark.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to apparatus for the fabrication of waveguides. In one example, an angled ion source is utilized to project ions toward a substrate to form a waveguide which includes angled gratings. In another example, an angled electron beam source is utilized to project electrons toward a substrate to form a waveguide which includes angled gratings. Further aspects of the disclosure provide for methods of forming angled gratings on waveguides utilizing an angled ion beam source and an angled electron beam source.

In one embodiment, a multi charged particle beam writing apparatus includes processing circuitry that is programmed to perform the function of a data region determination part determining a data region based on boundaries of pixels obtained by dividing a writing area of a substrate into mesh-shaped regions, an irradiation range of multiple charged particle beams, and boundaries of stripe segments obtained by dividing the writing area into segments having a predetermined width such that the segments are arranged in a predetermined direction, a deflection coordinate adjustment part adjusting deflection coordinates of the multiple charged particle beams such that the boundaries of the pixels are mapped to a boundary of the irradiation range, and a correction part calculating a corrected dose of each beam of the multiple charged particle beams by distributing, based on a positional relationship between the beam and pixels in the data region, a dose of the beam corresponding to a pixel in the data region calculated based on write data to one or more beams, and adding doses distributed to the beam, and a writing mechanism, including a charged particle beam source, a deflector, and a stage on which a target object is placed, and the writing mechanism deflecting the multiple charged particle beams based on the adjusted deflection coordinates and applying the beams each having the corrected dose to write a pattern.

Systems, devices, and methods are described for providing, among other things, an intra-oral x-ray imaging system configured to reduce patient exposure to x-rays, reduce amount of scatter, transmission, or re-radiation during imaging, or improve x-ray image quality. In an embodiment, an intra-oral x-ray imaging system includes an intra-oral x-ray sensor configured to communicate intra-oral x-ray sensor position information or intra-oral x-ray sensor orientation information to a remote x-ray source.