An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus that quickly and precisely measures or evaluates a distortion in a field of view and a charged particle beam apparatus. To attain the object, an image processing apparatus or the like is proposed which acquires a first image of a first area of an imaging target and a second image of a second area that is located at a different position than the first area and partially overlaps with the first area and determines the distance between a measurement point in the second image and a second part of the second image that corresponds to a particular area for a plurality of sites in the overlapping area of the first image and the second image.

The scanning charged particle beam microscope according to the present invention is characterized in that, in acquiring an image of the FOV (field of view), interspaced beam irradiation points are set, and then, a deflector is controlled so that a charged particle beam scan is performed faster when the charged particle beam irradiates a position on the sample between each of the irradiation points than when the charged particle beam irradiates a position on the sample corresponding to each of the irradiation points (a position on the sample corresponding to each pixel detecting a signal). This allows the effects from a micro-domain electrification occurring within the FOV to be mitigated or controlled.

The present invention refers to a two-systems compact specimen holder (SH) easy to use which enables to analyse the same sample by employing either an atomic force microscope (AFM) or a scanning electron microscope (SEM), by preserving the setting reference of the details for both microscopies, so that it satisfies the requirements of size, conductivity, magnetization, tidiness, reference and adaptability.

The capacity of preserving the location reference of the details for both microscopies, in the scope of correlational microscopy, results essential to obtain information and images in both fields of microscopy, which can be correlated in order to acquire valuable combined information.

Beforehand, the device characteristic patterns of each critical dimension SEM are measured, a sectional shape of an object to undergo dimension measurement is presumed by a model base library (MBL) matching system, dimension measurements are carried out by generating signal waveforms through SEM simulation by inputting the presumed sectional shapes and the device characteristic parameters, and differences in the dimension measurement results are registered as machine differences. In actual measurements, from the dimension measurement results in each critical dimension SEM, machine differences are corrected by subtracting the registered machine differences. Furthermore, changes in critical dimension SEM's over time are monitored by periodically measuring the above-mentioned device characteristic parameters and predicting the above-mentioned dimension measurement results. According to the present invention, actual measurements of machine differences, which require considerable time and effort, are unnecessary. In addition, the influence of changes in samples over time, which is problematic in monitoring changes in devices over time, can be eliminated.

Methods for correcting one or more image aberrations in an electron microscopy image, including cryo-EM images, are provided. The method includes obtaining a plurality of electron microscope (EM) images of an internal reference grid sample having one or more known properties, the plurality of electron microscope images obtained for a plurality of optical conditions and for a plurality of coordinated beam-image shifts. The method may also include, among other features, determining an aberration correction function that predicts aberrations for every point in the imaged area using kernel canonical correlation analysis (KCCA).

A method of determining a depth of a feature formed in a first region of a sample, by: positioning a test structure with known dimensions in a processing chamber having a charged particle column tilted at a first tilt angle and first rotational angle; determining the first tilt angle and first rotational angle by: taking an image of the test structure with the charged particle column tilted at the first tilt angle and the first rotational angle, measuring, based on the image, distances between multiple edges of the test structure aligned with each other along a vector, determining ratios between the measured distances, and determining a calculated tilt angle and a calculated rotational angle of charged particle column from the ratios and the known dimensions of the structure; transferring the test structure out of the processing chamber and positioning the sample in the processing chamber such that the first region is under a field of view of the charged particle column; taking a first image of the feature with the column tilted at the first tilt angle and first rotational angle and taking a second image of the feature with the column is tilted at a second tilt angle, different than the first tilt angle, and a second rotational angle; and using stereoscopic measurement techniques to determine the depth of the feature based on the first and second images and the calculated tilt angle and calculated rotational angle.

A calibration method for a CD-SEM technique, includes determining a match function converting at least one parameter obtained by modelling a measurement supplied by the CD-SEM technique into a function of at least one parameter representative of a measurement supplied by a characterisation technique different from the CD-SEM technique, the match function being characterised by a plurality of coefficients; performing measurements on a plurality of patterns chosen to cover the desired validity range for the calibration, the measurements being done using both the CD-SEM technique to be calibrated and the reference technique; determining, from the measurements, a set of coefficients of the match function minimising the distance between the functions of the parameters measured using the reference technique and applying the match function to the parameters obtained by modelling measurements supplied by the CD-SEM; using the set of coefficients during the implementation of the calibrated CD-SEM technique.

A pattern inspection method includes: scanning an inspection substrate, to be inspected, to detect a secondary electron group emitted from the inspection substrate due to irradiation with the multiple beams; correcting individually distortion of a first region image obtained from a detection signal of secondary electrons corresponding to a corresponding first region for each beam of the multiple beams; correcting distortion of a corresponding second region image corresponding to a second region larger than the first region for each of the second region images, using data of each of the first region images in which the distortion of the corresponding first region image has been corrected; and comparing an inspection image to be inspected, in which the distortion of each of the plurality of second region images has been corrected, with a reference image of a same region to output a result thereof.

There is provided a method capable of calibrating a sample stage easily. This method is for use in a charged particle beam system having the sample stage for moving a sample and an imaging subsystem for capturing a charged particle beam image and obtaining a final image. The method includes the steps of obtaining the final image from the imaging subsystem (step S100), obtaining correlation information that associates a given position in the final image with a position of the sample stage assumed when the final image was taken (step S102), obtaining length information about a length per pixel of the final image at a final magnification (step S106), and finding a correction between coordinates of the final image and coordinates of the sample stage on the basis of the correlation information and of the length information (step S110).

Provided are methods to improve tomography by creating fiducial holes using charged particle beams, and using the fiducial holes to improve the sample positioning, acquisition, alignment, reconstruction, and visualization of tomography data sets. Some versions create fiducial holes with an ion beam during the process of milling the sample. Other versions create in situ fiducial holes within the TEM using the electron beam prior to acquiring a tomography data series. In some versions multiple sets of fiducial holes are made, positioned strategically around a region of interest. The fiducial holes may be employed to properly position the features of interest during the acquisition, and later to help better align the tilt-series, and improve the accuracy and resolution of the final reconstruction. The operator or software may identify the holes to be tracked with tomography feature tracking techniques.