Apparatus and methods for generating a flow of radicals are provided. An ion blocker is positioned a distance from a faceplate of a remote plasma source. The ion blocker has openings to allow the plasma to flow through. The ion blocker is polarized relative to a showerhead positioned on an opposite side of the ion blocker so that there are substantially no plasma gas ions passing through the showerhead.

A charged particle beam apparatus for directing a charged particle beam to preselected locations of a sample surface is provided. The charged particle beam has a field of view of the sample surface. A charged-particle-optical arrangement is configured to direct a charged particle beam along a beam path towards the sample surface and to detect charged particles generated in the sample in response to the charged particle beam. A stage is configured to support and move the sample relative to the beam path. A controller is configured to control the charged particle beam apparatus so that the charged particle beam scans over a preselected location of the sample simultaneously with the stage moving the sample relative to the charged-particle-optical column along a route, the scan over the preselected location of the sample covering a part of an area of the field of view.

An object of the invention is to provide a technique of capturing images at higher speed and higher magnification when acquiring continuous tilted images with an electron microscope. The electron microscope of the invention includes a first spherical receiver fixed to a column of the electron microscope and configured to slide with a spherical fulcrum provided at a tip end of a sample holder; a spherical surface part provided on the column; and a second spherical receiver provided outside the column. The spherical surface part and the second spherical receiver slide on a contact part between the spherical surface part and the second spherical receiver, and a track of the slide is along a spherical surface centered on a central axis of the first spherical receiver, so that a view shift and a focus shift from an observation position of a sample can be reduced.

A substrate holding device is provided. The substrate holding device includes a substrate holder, a shaft attached to the substrate holder, a motor attached to the shaft, lifting pins, and a transmission assembly. The lifting pins are movable between a retracted position below a surface of the substrate holder, and a protruded position protruding from the surface. The transmission assembly is provided between the shaft and lifting pins and switches the substrate holding device between a transmittable state in which a driving force from the motor is transmitted to the lifting pins to move the lifting pins between the retracted position and the protruded position, and a non-transmittable state in which the driving force from the motor is not transmitted to the lifting pins but rotates the substrate holder.

Various embodiments herein relate to carriers for supporting one or more substrate as the substrates are passed through a processing apparatus. In many cases, the substrates are oriented in a vertical manner. The carrier may include a frame and vertical support bars that secure the glass to the frame. The carrier may lack horizontal support bars. The carrier may allow for thermal expansion and contraction of the substrates, without any need to provide precise gaps between adjacent pairs of substrates. The carriers described herein substantially reduce the risk of breaking the processing apparatus and substrates, thereby achieving a more efficient process. Certain embodiments herein relate to methods of loading substrates onto a carrier.

A charged particle beam device according to the present invention includes a first movement table and a second movement table disposed above the first movement table, measures a first relative position between a sample chamber and the first movement table, a second relative position between the sample chamber and the second movement table, and a third relative position between a lens barrel and a sample, and corrects a relative position between the first movement table and the second movement table according to the first relative position and the second relative position.

Provided is a machining technology to obtain a desired machining content while suppressing a possibility of causing a redeposition in a machining surface. The invention is directed to provide an ion milling device which includes an ion source which emits an ion beam, a sample holder which holds a sample, and a sample sliding mechanism which slides the sample holder in a direction including a normal direction of an axis of the ion beam.

Various embodiments herein relate to carriers for supporting one or more substrate as the substrates are passed through a processing apparatus. In many cases, the substrates are oriented in a vertical manner The carrier may include a frame and vertical support bars that secure the glass to the frame. The carrier may lack horizontal support bars. The carrier may allow for thermal expansion and contraction of the substrates, without any need to provide precise gaps between adjacent pairs of substrates. The carriers described herein substantially reduce the risk of breaking the processing apparatus and substrates, thereby achieving a more efficient process. Certain embodiments herein relate to methods of loading substrates onto a carrier.

Introduced here is a plasma polymerization apparatus and process. Example embodiments include a vacuum chamber in a substantially symmetrical shape to a central axis. A rotation rack may be operable to rotate about the central axis of the vacuum chamber. Additionally, reactive species discharge mechanisms positioned around a perimeter of the vacuum chamber in a substantially symmetrical manner from the outer perimeter of the vacuum chamber may be configured to disperse reactive species into the vacuum chamber. The reactive species may form a polymeric multi-layer coating on surfaces of the one or more devices. Each layer may have a different composition of atoms to enhance the water resistance, corrosion resistance, and fiction resistance of the polymeric multi-layer coating.

A movement system is provided for moving a non-flat substrate across a sputter flux distribution without circumferentially exposing the non-flat substrate to the sputter flux distribution. The movement system is arranged for a first movement of translationally transporting the non-flat substrate along the sputter flux distribution, and a second movement of translating and/or rotating the non-flat substrate with respect to the sputter flux distribution.