A system for performing diffraction analysis, includes a mill for removing a surface portion of a sample, and an analyzer for performing diffraction analysis on the milled sample.

An ion beam irradiation device is provided and including: a substrate holder that holds a substrate; a rotating mechanism that rotates the substrate holder about a center portion of the substrate being held; a reciprocating mechanism that reciprocates the substrate holder and the rotating mechanism in the moving direction; an ion beam irradiator that irradiates the substrate with an ion beam; and a control device that controls the rotating mechanism and the reciprocating mechanism. The ion beam has a center region where the beam current density is a predetermined value or more in the moving direction, and a peripheral region where the beam current density is less than the predetermined value, a center region size in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction is larger than a substrate size in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction.

An ion milling device capable of high-speed milling is realized even for a specimen containing a material having an imide bond. Therefore, the ion milling device includes: a vacuum chamber 6 configured to hold a specimen 3 in a vacuum atmosphere; an ion gun 1 configured to irradiate the specimen with a non-focused ion beam 2; a vaporization container 17 configured to store a mixed solution 13 of a water-soluble ionic liquid and water; and nozzles 11, 12 configured to supply water vapor obtained by vaporizing the mixed solution to a vicinity of a surface of the specimen processed by the ion beam.

A high energy beam verification, calibration, and profiling system includes a conductive base plate, supports extending from the base plate, a plurality of conductors, a data logger electrically connected to the conductors, and a computer electrically connected to the data logger. Each conductor is supported by some of the supports such that each conductor is insulated from the conductive base plate. Each conductor has a profile intersecting with profiles of at least some of the other conductors to define a multidirectional and two-dimensional array of conductors. The data logger receives and records data associated with electrical charges flowing through the conductors. The computer is adapted to receive, manipulate, and display the data recorded by the data logger for comparison of beam characteristics at different locations across a high energy beam build area.

Methods, apparatuses, systems and software for ion beam milling or machining are disclosed. The apparatus includes a specimen holder, a table, one or more ion sources, rotatable ion optics, and an imaging device. The specimen holder is configured to hold a specimen in a stationary position during milling or machining. The table is configured to change the stationary position of the specimen holder in any of three orthogonal linear directions and an angular direction. The rotatable ion optics are configured to emit an ion beam towards a predetermined location on the specimen from any of the one or more ion sources at any angle around an axis that is orthogonal to a horizontal surface of the table when the angular direction of the table is 0. The imaging device is configured to generate an image of the specimen including the predetermined location, thereby enabling real-time monitoring of the milling or machining process.

An ion beam irradiation device is provided and including: a substrate holder that holds a substrate; a rotating mechanism that rotates the substrate holder about a center portion of the substrate being held; a reciprocating mechanism that reciprocates the substrate holder and the rotating mechanism in the moving direction; an ion beam irradiator that irradiates the substrate with an ion beam; and a control device that controls the rotating mechanism and the reciprocating mechanism. The ion beam has a center region where the beam current density is a predetermined value or more in the moving direction, and a peripheral region where the beam current density is less than the predetermined value, a center region size in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction is larger than a substrate size in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction.

The subject matter of the invention is a method of uniformly removing material from a sample surface by sputtering by means of scanning the surface with a focused ion beam and a simultaneous observing of the sample during sputtering. Uniform sputtering of different materials is achieved by high-angle sputtering from multiple directions, wherein the directions are rotated relative to each other by a non-zero angle.

A system for performing diffraction analysis, includes a mill for removing a surface portion of a sample, and an analyzer for performing diffraction analysis on the milled sample.

Sample pillars for x-ray tomography or other tomography scanning are created using an innovative milling strategy on a Plasma-FIB. The strategies are provided in methods, systems, and program products executable to perform the strategies herein. The milling strategy creates an asymmetrical crater around a sample pillar, and provides a single cut cut-free process. Various embodiments may include tuning the ion dose as a function of pixel coordinates along with optimization of the beam scan and crater geometries, drastically reducing the preparation time and significantly improving the overall workflow efficiency. A novel cut-free milling pattern is provided with a crescent shape and optimized dwell-time values.

A high energy beam verification, calibration, and profiling system includes a conductive base plate, supports extending from the base plate, a plurality of conductors, a data logger electrically connected to the conductors, and a computer electrically connected to the data logger. Each conductor is supported by some of the supports such that each conductor is insulated from the conductive base plate. Each conductor has a profile intersecting with profiles of at least some of the other conductors to define a multidirectional and two-dimensional array of conductors. The data logger receives and records data associated with electrical charges flowing through the conductors. The computer is adapted to receive, manipulate, and display the data recorded by the data logger for comparison of beam characteristics at different locations across a high energy beam build area.