Disclosed herein is an aperture array configured to define sub-beams that are scanned in a scanning direction in a charged particle apparatus, the aperture array comprising a plurality of apertures arranged in an aperture pattern that comprises: a plurality of parallel aperture rows, wherein apertures are arranged along the aperture rows and the aperture rows are inclined relative to the scanning direction; an edge aperture row defining an edge of the aperture pattern; and an adjacent aperture row adjacent the edge row; wherein the edge aperture row and the adjacent aperture row each comprise fewer apertures than another aperture row of the aperture pattern.

According to one embodiment, a charged particle beam writing apparatus includes, a writing mechanism, a writing control circuit, a deflection operation control circuit configured to generate control data for controlling the blanking of each of the charged particle beams based on the shot data, a storage, a blanking control circuit configured to control the blanking based on the control data, and a detector. The writing control circuit is configured to, when the detector detects the abnormality during the writing, interrupt the writing, and generate interrupt position information at a position where the writing is interrupted based on the shot data which has been stored at the storage and is related to the control data that has not been used for controlling the blanking.

A multiple electron beam writing apparatus includes an excitation light source to emit an excitation light, a multi-lens array to divide the excitation light into a plurality of lights, a photoemissive surface to receive the plurality of lights incident through its upper side, and emit multiple photoelectron beams from its back side, a blanking aperture array mechanism to provide, by deflecting each beam of the multiple photoelectron beams, an individual blanking control which individually switches each beam between ON and OFF, an electron optical system to include an electron lens, and to irradiate, using the electron lens, a target object with the multiple photoelectron beams having been controlled to be beam ON, and a control circuit to interconnect, for each shot of the multiple photoelectron beams, a timing of switching the excitation light between emission and non-emission with a timing of switching the each beam between ON and OFF.

A charged particle beam adjustment method includes scanning, with a charged particle beam an emission current of which is set to a first adjustment value smaller than a target value, an aperture substrate including a hole disposed to be a focus position of the charged particle beam using each of lens values in an electron lens and calculating first resolution, calculating a first function of lens values and the first resolution and calculating a lens value range, scanning, with the charged particle beam the emission current of which is set to a second adjustment value, the aperture substrate using each of lens values set to avoid the lens value range and calculating second resolution, calculating a second function of lens values and the second resolution and estimating a lens value at a just focus, and adjusting the electron lens to the lens value at the just focus.

The present invention quickly calculates values of optimal excitation parameters which are set in lenses in multiple stages. A multi charged particle beam adjustment method includes forming a multi charged particle beam, calculating, for each of lenses in two or more stages disposed corresponding to object lenses in two or more stages, a first rate of change and a second rate of change in response to change in at least an excitation parameter, the first rate of change being a rate of change in a demagnification level of a beam image of the multi charged particle beam, the second rate of change being a rate of change in a rotation level of the beam image, and calculating a first amount of correction to the excitation parameter of each of the lenses based on an amount of correction to the demagnification level and the rotation level of the beam image, the first rate of change, and the second rate of change.

Disclosed herein is an apparatus comprising: a first electrically conductive layer; a second electrically conductive layer; a plurality of optics element s between the first electrically conductive layer and the second electrically conductive layer, wherein the plurality of optics elements are configured to influence a plurality of beams of charged particles; a third electrically conductive layer between the first electrically conductive layer and the second electrically conductive layer; and an electrically insulating layer physically connected to the optics elements, wherein the electrically insulating layer is configured to electrically insulate the optics elements from the first electrically conductive layer, and the second electrically conductive layer.

A method for controlling operation of an electron emission source includes acquiring, while varying an emission current of an electron beam, a characteristic between a surface current of a target object at a position on the surface of the target object irradiated with the electron beam, and the emission current, calculating, based on the characteristic, first gradient values each obtained by dividing the surface current of the target object by the emission current, in a predetermined range of the emission current in the characteristic, calculating a second gradient value by dividing a surface current of the target object by an emission current in a state where the electron beam has been adjusted, and adjusting a cathode temperature to make the second gradient value in the state where the electron beam has been adjusted be in the range of the first gradient values in the predetermined range of the emission current.

A particle beam system, such as a multi-beam particle microscope, includes a multi-beam deflection device and a beam stop. The multi-beam deflection device is arranged in the particle-optical beam path downstream of the multi-beam generator and upstream of the beam switch of the particle beam system. The multi-beam deflection device serves collectively blanks a multiplicity of charged individual particle beams. These impinge on a beam stop, which is arranged in the particle-optical beam path level with a site at which a particle beam diameter is reduced or is at a minimum. By way of example, such sites are the cross-over plane of the individual particle beams or an intermediate image plane. Associated methods for operating the particle beam system and associated computer program products are disclosed.

Disclosed herein is an apparatus comprising: a first electrically conductive layer; a second electrically conductive layer; a plurality of optics element s between the first electrically conductive layer and the second electrically conductive layer, wherein the plurality of optics elements are configured to influence a plurality of beams of charged particles; a third electrically conductive layer between the first electrically conductive layer and the second electrically conductive layer; and an electrically insulating layer physically connected to the optics elements, wherein the electrically insulating layer is configured to electrically insulate the optics elements from the first electrically conductive layer, and the second electrically conductive layer.

Systems and methods for observing a sample in a multi-beam apparatus are disclosed. A charged particle optical system may include a deflector configured to form a virtual image of a charged particle source and a transfer lens configured to form a real image of the charged particle source on an image plane. The image plane may be formed at least near a beam separator that is configured to separate primary charged particles generated by the source and secondary charged particles generated by interaction of the primary charged particles with a sample. The image plane may be formed at a deflection plane of the beam separator. The multi-beam apparatus may include a charged-particle dispersion compensator to compensate dispersion of the beam separator. The image plane may be formed closer to the transfer lens than the beam separator, between the transfer lens and the charged-particle dispersion compensator.