A multi charged particle beam blanking apparatus includes a substrate, where a plurality of passage holes are formed, to let multi-beams of charged particle beams individually pass through a passage hole concerned; a plurality of reference electrodes, each arranged close to a corresponding passage hole, to be applied with a reference potential, not a ground potential, not via a transistor circuit, in an irradiation region of the whole multi-beams; and a plurality of switching electrodes, arranged at the substrate such that each of the plurality of switching electrodes and a corresponding paired one of the plurality of reference electrodes are opposite each other across a corresponding passage hole, to be applied with the reference potential and a control potential different from the reference potential in a switchable manner.

Disclosed is an electron beam emission device comprising a housing which defines a space in which electron beams are accelerated, and has an opening at the other side thereof through which the electron beams are emitted; a cathode which is disposed at one side in the housing, and emits the electrons; an anode which is positioned in the housing so as to be spaced apart from the cathode toward the other side, and accelerates the electrons emitted from the cathode; and an insulation holder which insulates a portion between the cathode and the housing, and fixes the cathode, wherein the cathode has a surface which faces the anode and is formed concavely to have a gradient, and a rim of the surface of the cathode, which has the gradient, is formed to be rounded.

An electron gun includes a cathode that is heated to emit thermions; a cathode heating power supply that supplies a cathode heating current for heating the cathode; a grid that has a first aperture formed therein and that has a grid voltage applied thereto, the grid voltage having a potential lower than that of the cathode, wherein the grid converges the thermions passing through the first aperture by the grid voltage; an anode that has a second aperture formed therein and that has an anode voltage applied thereto, wherein the anode causes the thermions extracted from the cathode to pass through the second aperture as an electron beam by the anode voltage; an anode-voltage power supply that applies the anode voltage to the anode; and a controller that causes the anode voltage having a positive potential to be applied from the anode-voltage power supply to the anode.

An electron beam generator, a plasma processing apparatus, and a plasma processing method, the electron beam generator including a side insulator configured to surround the substrate support, the side insulator having an electron beam chamber therein; a first electrode embedded in the side insulator and adjacent to a first side wall of the electron beam chamber; a second electrode on a second side wall of the electron beam chamber; and a guide in an outlet of the electron beam chamber, the guide including slits through which electron beams generated in the electron beam chamber are transmittable into the process chamber.

An electron beam generator, a plasma processing apparatus, and a plasma processing method, the electron beam generator including a side insulator configured to surround the substrate support, the side insulator having an electron beam chamber therein; a first electrode embedded in the side insulator and adjacent to a first side wall of the electron beam chamber; a second electrode on a second side wall of the electron beam chamber; and a guide in an outlet of the electron beam chamber, the guide including slits through which electron beams generated in the electron beam chamber are transmittable into the process chamber.

There is provided an ion source device including a pair of first electrodes for emitting an electron, a second electrode that defines a region in which the electron is enclosed and to which raw material source gas is supplied, between the pair of first electrodes, and that has a hole portion through which an ion generated by collision between the electron and the material gas is extruded, an extraction electrode disposed apart from the second electrode along an extraction direction of the ion extracted from the second electrode so that a potential difference is formed between the second electrode and the extraction electrode, and an intermediate electrode disposed between the second electrode and the extraction electrode. A first potential difference between the second electrode and the intermediate electrode is greater than a second potential difference between the second electrode and the extraction electrode.

There is provided an ion source device including a pair of first electrodes for emitting an electron, a second electrode that defines a region in which the electron is enclosed and to which raw material source gas is supplied, between the pair of first electrodes, and that has a hole portion through which an ion generated by collision between the electron and the material gas is extruded, an extraction electrode disposed apart from the second electrode along an extraction direction of the ion extracted from the second electrode so that a potential difference is formed between the second electrode and the extraction electrode, and an intermediate electrode disposed between the second electrode and the extraction electrode. A first potential difference between the second electrode and the intermediate electrode is greater than a second potential difference between the second electrode and the extraction electrode.

Provided is an ion beam processing apparatus including an ion generation chamber, a processing chamber, and electrodes to form an ion beam by extracting ions generated in the ion generation chamber to the processing chamber. The electrodes includes a first electrode disposed close to the ion generation chamber and provided with an ion passage hole to allow passage of the ions, and a second electrode disposed adjacent to the first electrode and closer to the processing chamber than the first electrode is, and provided with an ion passage hole to allow passage of the ions. The apparatus also includes a power unit which applies different electric potentials to the first electrode and the second electrode, respectively, so as to accelerate the ions generated by an ion generator in the ion generation chamber. A material of the first electrode is different from a material of the second electrode.

Provided is an ion beam processing apparatus including an ion generation chamber, a processing chamber, and electrodes to form an ion beam by extracting ions generated in the ion generation chamber to the processing chamber. The electrodes includes a first electrode disposed close to the ion generation chamber and provided with an ion passage hole to allow passage of the ions, and a second electrode disposed adjacent to the first electrode and closer to the processing chamber than the first electrode is, and provided with an ion passage hole to allow passage of the ions. The apparatus also includes a power unit which applies different electric potentials to the first electrode and the second electrode, respectively, so as to accelerate the ions generated by an ion generator in the ion generation chamber. A material of the first electrode is different from a material of the second electrode.

An electron beam system for wafer inspection and review of 3D devices provides a depth of focus up to 20 microns. To inspect and review wafer surfaces or sub-micron-below surface defects with low landing energies in hundreds to thousands of electron Volts, a Wien-filter-free beam splitting optics with three magnetic deflectors can be used with an energy-boosting upper Wehnelt electrode to reduce spherical and chromatic aberration coefficients of the objective lens.