System and method for nanoscale X-ray imaging. The imaging system comprises an electron source configured to generate an electron beam along a first direction; an X-ray source comprising a thin film anode configured to receive the electron beam at an electron beam spot on the thin film anode, and to emit an X-ray beam substantially along the first direction from a portion of the thin film anode proximate the electron beam spot, such that the X-ray beam passes through the sample specimen. The imaging apparatus further comprises an X-ray detector configured to receive the X-ray beam that passes through the sample specimen. Some embodiments are directed to an electron source that is an electron column of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and is configured to focus the electron beam at the electron beam spot.

The present disclosure provides a method to adjust asymmetric velocity of a scan in a scanning ion beam etch process to correct asymmetry of etching between the inboard side and the outboard side of device structures on a wafer, while maintaining the overall uniformity of etch across the full wafer.

An electron beam apparatus includes an electron optics system to generate an electron beam, an object table to hold the specimen at a target position so that a target portion of the specimen is irradiated by the electron beam, and a positioning device to displace the object table relative to the electron beam. The positioning device includes a stage actuator and a balance mass. The stage actuator exerts a force onto the object table to cause an acceleration of the object table. The force onto the object table results in a reaction force onto the balance mass. The balance mass moves in response to the reaction force. The positioning device enables the balance mass to move in a first direction in response to a component of the reaction force in the first direction.

A sample holder tip for use in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for performing in-situ experiments is described which facilitates in situ analysis of air-sensitive samples and allows physical manipulation of the sample. This includes, but is not limited to translation, rotation, electrical biasing, and heating/cooling for one or more individual cradles. The sample holder tip incorporates a compact design which eases sample loading and enables direct linkages between consecutive cradles, allowing a single tilt actuator to rotate each cradle around its respective eucentric position. Each of the connecting wires incorporates one or more bends or kinks which enable conductive access to the sample holder tip while also preserving the ability to also retract/extend the tip and tilt individual cradles with at least two degrees of freedom.

There is provided an ion implanter including a beamline unit that transports an ion beam, an implantation processing chamber in which an implantation process of irradiating a wafer with an ion beam is performed, an illumination device that performs irradiation with illumination light in a direction intersecting with a transport direction of the ion beam in at least one of the beamline unit and the implantation processing chamber, an imaging device that generates a captured image captured by imaging a space through which the illumination light passes, and a control device that detects a particle which scatters the illumination light, based on the captured image.

A specimen machining device for machining a specimen by irradiating the specimen with an ion beam includes an ion source for irradiating the specimen with the ion beam, a specimen stage for holding the specimen, a camera for photographing the specimen, an information provision unit for providing information indicating an expected machining completion time, and a storage unit for storing past machining information. The information provision unit performs processing for calculating the expected machining completion time based on the past machining information, processing for acquiring an image photographed by the camera, processing for calculating a machining speed based on the acquired image, and processing for updating the expected machining completion time based on the machining speed.

The present invention refers to a method for improving a Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction, TKD pattern, wherein the method comprises the steps of: Detecting a TKD pattern (20b) of a sample (12) in an electron microscope (60) comprising at least one active electron lens (61) focusing an electron beam (80) in z-direction on a sample (12) positioned in distance D below the electron lens (61), the detected TKD (20b) pattern comprising a plurality of image points x.sub.D, y.sub.D and mapping each of the detected image points x.sub.D, y.sub.D to an image point of an improved TKD pattern (20a) with the coordinates x.sub.0, y.sub.0 by using and inverting generalized terms of the form x.sub.D=γ*A+(1−γ)*B and y.sub.D=γ*C+(1−γ)*D wherein $\gamma =\frac{Z}{D}$
with Z being an extension in the z-direction of a cylindrically symmetric magnetic field B.sub.Z of the electron lens (61), and wherein A, B, C, D are trigonometric expressions depending on the coordinates x.sub.0, y.sub.0, with B and D defining a rotation around a symmetry axis of the magnetic field B.sub.Z, and with A and C defining a combined rotation and contraction operation with respect to the symmetry axis of the magnetic field B.sub.Z. The invention further relates to a measurement system, computer program and computer-readable medium for carrying out the method of the invention.

A system and method that allows higher energy implants to be performed, wherein the peak concentration depth is shallower than would otherwise occur is disclosed. The system comprises an ion source, an accelerator, a platen and a platen orientation motor that allows large tilt angles. The system may be capable of performing implants of hydrogen ions at an implant energy of up to 5 MeV. By tilting the workpiece during an implant, the system can be used to perform implants that are typically performed at implant energies that are less than the minimum implant energy allowed by the system. Additionally, the resistivity profile of the workpiece after thermal treatment is similar to that achieved using a lower energy implant. In certain embodiments, the peak concentration depth may be reduced by 3 μm or more using larger tilt angles.

Embodiments described herein relate to methods of forming gratings with different slant angles on a substrate and forming gratings with different slant angles on successive substrates using angled etch systems. The methods include positioning portions of substrates retained on a platen in a path of an ion beam. The substrates have a grating material disposed thereon. The ion beam is configured to contact the grating material at an ion beam angle θ relative to a surface normal of the substrates and form gratings in the grating material. The substrates are rotated about an axis of the platen resulting in rotation angles ϕ between the ion beam and a surface normal of the gratings. The gratings have slant angles θ′ relative to the surface normal of the substrates. The rotation angles ϕ selected by an equation ϕ=cos.sup.−1(tan(θ′)/tan(θ)).

An ion milling device of the present invention is provided with a tilt stage (8) which is disposed in a vacuum chamber (15) and has a tilt axis parallel to a first axis orthogonal to an ion beam, a drive mechanism (9, 51) which has a rotation axis and a tilt axis parallel to a second axis orthogonal to the first axis and rotates or tilts a sample (3), and a switching unit which enables switching between a state in which the ion beam is applied while the sample is rotated or swung while the tilt stage is tilted, and a state in which the ion beams is applied while the tilt stage is brought into an untilted state and the sample is swung. Consequently, the ion milling device capable of performing cross-section processing and flat processing of the sample in the same vacuum chamber is implemented.