A charged particle beam device allowing an analysis position in a sample analyzable with an EBSD detector to be acquired beforehand, and allowing a sample to be adjusted to a desired analysis position in a short time. A charged particle beam device is provided with a charged particle source (111), a charged particle optical system (115), an EBSD detector (101), a sample stage (116), an image display unit (117) for displaying a portion of the sample observable with the EBSD detector and a non-observable portion of the sample such that said portions are distinguished from each other, an operation input unit (121) where a position to be observed by the EBSD detector is entered, and a control unit (118) for controlling a planar movement, an inclination movement and a rotation movement of the sample stage so as to allow the observation position entered from the operation input unit to be observed with the EBSD detector.

A specimen holder for a Charged Particle Microscope is disclosed. The holder has a support structure with an elongated member including a specimen mounting zone. The specimen mounting zone comprises a rotor with an axis perpendicular to the elongated member with a paddle connected to it which may be rotated. Specimens may be mounted on the paddle so that rotation of the paddle allows specimens to be rotated and/or inverted for microscopic observation on both sides. Specimens may either be directly mounted on the paddle, or on a grid, half-moon grid, lift-out grid, aperture frame, dielectric film, etc.

A multi-beam electron microscope for ECCI is provided. The electron microscope has a platform, on which a crystalline sample is placed. At least a first electron source and a second electron source of the electron microscope are mounted to a housing. The housing is tiltable with respect to a longitudinal direction through a pivot for forming a fulcrum, such that the first electron source and the second electron source are tilted simultaneously and are substantially equally distanced from the platform along a vertical axis when the housing is tilted. The electron microscope also has electron beam focusing assemblies for focusing the electron beams generated by the electron sources onto the crystalline sample to generate backscattered electrons. The electron microscope also has detectors for detecting the backscattered electrons.

An apparatus provided with a wafer processing chamber that houses a wafer supporting mechanism supporting a wafer and is used to irradiate the wafer supported by the wafer supporting mechanism with an ion beam and a transport mechanism housing chamber that houses a transport mechanism provided underneath the wafer processing chamber and used for moving the wafer supporting mechanism in a substantially horizontal direction, wherein an aperture used for moving the wafer supporting mechanism along with a coupling member coupling the wafer supporting mechanism to the transport mechanism is formed in the direction of movement of the transport mechanism in a partition wall separating the wafer processing chamber from the transport mechanism housing chamber.

Reciprocal space map of specific sample locations is generated based on the sample images acquired by irradiating the sample with a charged particle beam at multiple incident angles. The incident angles are obtained by tilting the charged particle beam and/or the sample around two perpendicular axes within the sample plane. The reciprocal space map of a selected sample location is generated based on intensity of pixels corresponding to the location in the sample images.

Methods include holding a sample with a movement stage configured to rotate the sample about a rotation axis, directing an imaging beam to a first sample location with the sample at a first rotational position about the rotation axis and detecting a first transmitted imaging beam image, rotating the sample using the movement stage about the rotation axis to a second rotational position, and directing the imaging beam to a second sample location by deflecting the imaging beam in relation to an optical axis of the imaging beam and detecting a second transmitted imaging beam image, wherein the second sample location is spaced apart from the first sample location at least at least in relation to the optical axis. Related systems and apparatus are also disclosed.

There is provided a control device for controlling a charged particle beam apparatus, wherein the beam apparatus comprises a workpiece stage having at least two turning axes which are not parallel to each other and an irradiation unit, and the control device comprises an angle calculation unit that based on a direction of a first processing in which a processed surface having a normal line not parallel to any of the turning axes is generated in the workpiece by the irradiation unit and a direction of a second processing to be processed by the irradiation unit from a direction different from the direction of the first processing with respect to the processed surface to be generated by the first processing, calculates turning angles about the turning axes that changes the direction of the stage from the direction of the first processing to the direction of the second processing.

Disclosed herein is a focused ion beam apparatus moving a micro sample-piece between the focused ion beam apparatus and a sample observation apparatus by using simple configurations. The focused ion beam apparatus includes: a sample tray on which a sample is placed; a focused ion beam column irradiating the sample with a focused ion beam to obtain a micro sample-piece; a sample chamber receiving the sample tray and the focused ion beam column therein; a side-entry-type carrier being inserted into and removed from the chamber, with a front end side holding the sample-piece; and a sample-piece moving unit moving the sample-piece between the plate and the carrier, wherein the plate is movable on at least X, Y, and Z-axes respectively, and an end of the plate is provided with a carrier engagement part detachably fastened with the carrier, the carrier engagement part being moved with the carrier in company with movement of the plate.

The present invention relates to a diffractometer for charged-particle crystallography of a crystalline sample, in particular for electron crystallography of a crystalline sample. The diffractometer comprises a charged-particle source for generating a charged-particle beam along a charged-particle beam axis, a charged-particle-optical system for manipulating the charged-particle beam such as to irradiate the sample with the charged-particle beam and a charged-particle detection system at least for collecting a diffraction pattern of the sample based on the beam of charged-particles transmitted through the sample. The diffractometer further comprises a sample holder for holding the sample and a manipulator operatively coupled to the sample holder for positioning the sample relative to the beam axis. The manipulator comprises a rotation stage for tilting the sample holder with respect to the incident charged-particle beam around a tilt axis, and a multi-axes translation stage for moving the sample holder at least in a plane perpendicular to the tilt axis. The multi-axes translation stage is operatively coupled between the sample holder and the rotation stage such that the multi-axes translation stage is in a rotational system of the rotation stage and the sample holder is in a moving system of the multi-axes translation stage.

A method and an apparatus are provided for inspecting a sample. The apparatus includes a sample holder for holding the sample, a charged particle column for generating and focusing one or more charged particle beams at one or more charged particle beam spots onto the sample, a scanning deflector for moving the charged particle beam spot(s) over the sample, a photon detector configured for detecting photons created when the one or more charged particle beams impinge on the sample or when the one or more charged particle beams impinge onto a layer of luminescent material after transmission through the sample, an optical assembly for projecting or imaging at least part of the photons from the charged particle beam spot(s) along an optical beam path onto the photon detector, and a shifting unit for shifting the optical beam path and/or the photon detector with respect to each other.