A fine-adjustable charged particle lens comprises a magnetic circuit assembly including permanent magnets, a yoke body, and a shunting device comprising a shunting component, and this assembly surrounds a beam passage extending along the longitudinal axis (cx). The shunting device is placed in the yoke body besides the permanent magnets and may be composed of several sector components, comprising different high magnetically permeable materials. The permanent magnet and the yoke body form a magnetic circuit having at least two gaps, in order to generate a magnetic field reaching inwards into the beam passage, into which a sleeve insert having electrostatic electrodes can be inserted, which may also generate an electric field spatially overlapping said magnetic field. The shunting device partially bypasses the magnetic flux of said circuit assembly and thus reduces the magnetic field to a desired value.

A lens element of a charged particle system comprises an electrode having a central opening. The lens element is configured for functionally cooperating with an aperture array that is located directly adjacent said electrode, wherein the aperture array is configured for blocking 5 part of a charged particle beam passing through the central opening of said electrode. The electrode is configured to operate at a first electric potential and the aperture array is configured to operate at a second electric potential different from the first electric potential. The electrode and the aperture array together form an aberration correcting lens.

A charged particle beam optical system is provided with a plurality of irradiation optical systems each of which irradiates an object W with a charged particle beam EB, the plurality of irradiation optical system includes a first irradiation optical system and a second irradiation optical system that generates a second magnetic field having a characteristics different from a characteristics of a first magnetic field generated by the first irradiation optical system.

A method, a non-transitory computer readable medium and a system for compensating for an electromagnetic interference induced deviation of an electron beam. The method may include obtaining measurement information about a magnetic field within an electron beam tool, the measurement information is generated by at least one planar Hall Effect magnetic sensor that is located within the electron beam tool; wherein the at least one planar Hall Effect magnetic sensor comprises at least one magnetometer integrated with at least one magnetic flux concentrator; estimating the electromagnetic interference induced deviation of the electron beam, the estimating is based on the magnetic field; and setting a trajectory of the electron beam to compensate for the electromagnetic interference induced deviation of the electron beam.

An e-beam inspection tool is disclosed, the tool comprising, an electron optics system configured to generate an electron beam, an object table configured to hold a specimen, a positioning device configured to position the object table, the positioning device comprising an actuator, wherein the positioning device further comprises a heating device configured to generate a heat load and a heat load controller to control the generated heat load at least partly based on an actuator heat load generated in the actuator.

A Wien filter to be disposed inside a lens barrel made of a magnetic material includes: a plurality of electromagnetic poles disposed at equal angular intervals about a center axis of the lens barrel; a first magnetic shield disposed so as to cover the area around the plurality of electromagnetic poles; and a second magnetic shield disposed so as to cover the area around the first magnetic shield. The first magnetic shield is supported by a first support member made of a non-magnetic material provided at an inner surface of the second magnetic shield. The second magnetic shield is supported by a second support member made of a magnetic material provided at an inner surface of the lens barrel.

An e-beam apparatus is disclosed, the tool comprising an electron optics system configured to project an e-beam onto an object, an object table to hold the object, and a positioning device configured to move the object table relative to the electron optics system. The positioning device comprises a short stroke stage configured to move the object table relative to the electron optics system and a long stroke stage configured to move the short stroke stage relative to the electron optics system. The e-beam apparatus further comprises a magnetic shield to shield the electron optics system from a magnetic disturbance generated by the positioning device. The magnetic shield may be arranged between the positioning device and the electron optics system.

An ion microscope, a method of constructing an ion microscope, and a method of aligning an ion beam in an ion microscope. The microscope comprises a nano-aperture ion source; and a focusing system; wherein the focusing system is configured for selectively coaxially focusing an ion beam generated from an electron beam ionizing an ionizing gas in the nano-aperture ion source and the electron beam.

An e-beam apparatus is disclosed, the tool comprising an electron optics system configured to project an e-beam onto an object, an object table to hold the object, and a positioning device configured to move the object table relative to the electron optics system. The positioning device comprises a short stroke stage configured to move the object table relative to the electron optics system and a long stroke stage configured to move the short stroke stage relative to the electron optics system. The e-beam apparatus further comprises a magnetic shield to shield the electron optics system from a magnetic disturbance generated by the positioning device. The magnetic shield may be arranged between the positioning device and the electron optics system.

The invention relates to a particle beam apparatus comprising: a particle beam source configured to generate a particle beam; a magnetic coil configured to emit a magnetic field to manipulate the particle beam; an object table configured to hold a substrate; a positioning device comprising ferromagnetic material, the positioning device further comprising at least one motor configured to position the object table with respect to the particle beam; and a controller configured to provide a control signal to the at least one motor to at least partly compensate for a magnetic force induced by the magnetic field acting on the positioning device.