A charged particle beam microscope system is operated in a transmission imaging mode. During the operation, the charged particle beam microsystem directs a charged particle beam to the sample to produce images. A time series of beam tilts is applied in a pattern to the charged particle beam directed to the sample to produce a sequence of images. At least some of the images in the sequence of images are captured while the charged particle beam is transitioning between one beam tilt in the time series of beam tilts and a sequentially adjacent beam tilt in the time series of beam tilts. The pattern is configured to induce image changes between the images in the sequence of images that are indicative of optical aberrations in the charged particle beam microscope system.

A charged particle beam device includes: a movement mechanism configured to hold and move a sample; a charged particle source configured to emit charged particles with which the sample is irradiated to obtain an image of the sample; and a control unit configured to control the movement mechanism to move the sample and to obtain the image of the sample. The control unit obtains a reference image of the sample in a reference arrangement state by the charged particles, generates a goal image of the sample in a target arrangement state different from the reference arrangement state by calculation from the reference image, moves the sample to each of different arrangement states by the movement mechanism, obtains a candidate image of the sample in each of the different arrangement states by the charged particles, and generates a comparison result between respective candidate images and the goal image.

The invention provides an ion milling device capable of cross-sectional milling on an all-solid-state battery while reducing an occurrence of a short circuit due to a redeposition film. The ion milling device includes a sample stage 5 on which a sample 8 is placed, an ion source 1 configured to emit an unfocused ion beam 4 toward the sample, a stage controller 6 configured to cause the sample stage to perform a swing operation centered on a swing axis S.sub.0 set to be orthogonal to an ion beam center B.sub.0 of the ion beam, and cause the sample stage to perform a sliding operation along a line of intersection between a plane (YZ plane) including the ion beam center and perpendicularly intersecting the swing axis and a sample placement surface of the sample stage, in which the stage controller causes, in a first mode operation, the sample stage to perform the swing operation and the ion source to emit the ion beam to mill the sample, and causes in a second mode operation, the sample stage to perform the sliding operation and the ion source to emit the ion beam to remove sputter particles adhered again to the sample in the first mode operation.

The present disclosure provides a flexible workpiece pedestal capable of tilting a workpiece support surface. The workpiece pedestal further includes a heater mounted on the workpiece support surface. The heater includes a plurality of heating sources such as heating coils. The plurality of heating sources in the heater allows heating the workpiece at different temperatures for different zones of the workpiece. For example, the workpiece can have a central zone heated by a first heating coil, a first outer ring zone that is outside of the central zone heated by a second heating coil, a second outer ring zone that is outside of the first outer ring zone heated by a third heating coil. By using the tunable heating feature and the tilting feature of the workpiece pedestal, the present disclosure can reduce or eliminate the shadowing effect problem of the related workpiece pedestal in the art.

A specimen holder includes a specimen shaft unit having a specimen and/or specimen mesh setting unit; an outer tubular unit capable of housing the specimen holder shaft unit; a cooling unit; and a thermoelectric element placed close to the cooling unit. In certain examples, the thermoelectric element may use at least one effect selected from the Peltier effect and the Thomson effect.

A method includes forming a resist pattern over a structure, the resist pattern having a trench surrounded by first resist walls extending lengthwise along a first direction and second resist walls extending lengthwise along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The method includes loading the structure and the resist pattern into an ion implanter so that a top surface of the resist pattern faces an ion travel direction of the ion implanter. The method includes tilting the structure and the resist pattern so that the ion travel direction forms a tilt angle with respect to an axis perpendicular to the top surface of the resist pattern. The method includes first rotating the structure and the resist pattern around the axis to a first position. The method includes first implanting ions into the resist pattern with the structure and the resist pattern at the first position.

The ion implantation method includes (a) moving a wafer adjusted to have a first implantation angle with respect to an ion beam from a beam irradiation range toward a beam non-irradiation range; (b) starting a change of the wafer from the first implantation angle to a second implantation angle while the wafer is moved within the beam non-irradiation range after the wafer having the first implantation angle is moved from the beam irradiation range; (c-1) reversing a movement direction of the wafer at an end of the beam non-irradiation range and moving the wafer toward the beam irradiation range; and (c-2) completing the change of the wafer from the first implantation angle to the second implantation angle while the wafer is moved within the beam non-irradiation range before the wafer is returned to the beam irradiation range.

A reference image is generated based on an illumination condition and element information of a specimen. The reference image includes a figure indicating a characteristic X-ray generation range, a numerical value indicating a characteristic X-ray generation depth, or the like. The reference image changes with a change of an accelerating voltage, a tilt angle, or an element forming the specimen. The reference image may include a figure indicating a landing electron scattering range, a figure indicating a back-scattered electron generation range, or the like.

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.

A method, a non-transitory computer readable medium and a three-dimensional evaluation system for providing three dimensional information regarding structural elements of a specimen. The method can include illuminating the structural elements with electron beams of different incidence angles, where the electron beams pass through the structural elements and the structural elements are of nanometric dimensions; detecting forward scattered electrons that are scattered from the structural elements to provide detected forward scattered electrons; and generating the three dimensional information regarding structural elements based at least on the detected forward scattered electrons.