A multi-beam inspection apparatus including an improved source conversion unit is disclosed. The improved source conversion unit may comprise a micro-structure deflector array including a plurality of multipole structures. The micro-deflector deflector array may comprise a first multipole structure having a first radial shift from a central axis of the array and a second multipole structure having a second radial shift from the central axis of the array. The first radial shift is larger than the second radial shift, and the first multipole structure comprises a greater number of pole electrodes than the second multipole structure to reduce deflection aberrations when the plurality of multipole structures deflects a plurality of charged particle beams.

A multi-beam writing method includes performing the k-th tracking control (k being a natural number) by beam deflection in order to follow movement of the stage while collecting each beam of multiple beams, performing a plurality of shots of the multiple beams by the each beam simultaneously shifting in a rectangular or square irradiation region, which is surrounded by the size of the beam pitch and corresponding to the each beam, while performing the k-th tracking control, and returning, after the period of the k-th tracking control has passed, the tracking position to a position which is obtained by adding an offset of an integer multiple of the size of the beam pitch to the tracking starting position of the k-th tracking control where the k-th tracking control started, to be as a starting position of the (k+1)th tracking control.

A charged particle beam device includes: a charged particle source; an optical system which acts on a charged particle beam emitted from the charged particle source; a control unit which controls the optical system; and a storage unit which stores previous setting values of the optical system. The optical system includes a first optical element and a second optical element for controlling a state of the charged particle beam to be incident on the first optical element. The control unit obtains an initial value of a setting value of the second optical element based on previous setting values of the second optical element; and changes a state of the charged particle beam by changing the setting value of the second optical element from the obtained initial value and obtains the setting value of the second optical element based on the change in the state of the charged particle beam.

An adjustment method for adjusting a path of an electron beam passing through an electron beam device including at least one unit having at least one lens and at least one aligner electrode, and a detector configured to detect the electron beam, the method including: a step of measuring, by a coordinate measuring machine, an assembly tolerance for each of a plurality of the units constituting the electron beam device; a step of determining a shift amount of the electron beam at a position of the at least one of the lenses; a step of determining an electrode condition for each of a plurality of the aligner electrodes included in the units in a manner such that a shift amount of the electron beam is to be the determined shift amount; and a step of setting each of the aligner electrodes to the corresponding determined electrode condition.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a charged particle beam apparatus that can quickly find a correction condition for a new aberration that is generated in association with beam adjustment. In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure proposes a charged particle beam apparatus configured to include an objective lens (7) configured to focus a beam emitted from a charged particle source and irradiate a specimen, a visual field movement deflector (5 and 6) configured to deflect an arrival position of the beam with respect to the specimen, and an aberration correction unit (3 and 4) disposed between the visual field movement deflector and the charged particle source, in which the aberration correction unit is configured to suppress a change in the arrival position of the beam irradiated under different beam irradiation conditions.

A wafer inspection system includes a controller in communication with an electron-beam inspection tool. The controller includes circuitry to: acquire, via an optical imaging tool, coordinates of defects on a sample; set a Field of View (FoV) of the electron-beam inspection tool to a first size to locate a subset of the defects; determine a position of each defect of the subset of the defects based on inspection data generated by the electron-beam inspection tool during a scanning of the sample; adjust the coordinates of the defects based on the determined positions of the subset of the defects; and set the FoV of the electron-beam inspection tool to a second size to locate additional defects based on the adjusted coordinates.

An ion beam processing tool includes a plasma source, a grid arrangement positioned proximate the plasma source to generate an ion beam, a beam deflector positioned adjacent the grid arrangement, and a controller configured to control the beam deflector to deflect the ion beam to generate a tilted ion beam. A method includes generating an ion beam, directing the ion beam at a target, deflecting the ion beam in a first direction to remove a first portion of material from the target, and deflecting the ion beam in a second direction different than the first direction to remove a second portion of material from the target.

When using a charged particle beam aperture having a ring shape in a charged particle beam device, the charged particle beam with the highest current density immediately above the optical axis, among the charged particle beams is blocked, so that it is difficult to dispose the charged particle beam aperture at the optimal mounting position. Therefore, in addition to the ring-shaped charged particle beam aperture, a hole-shaped charged particle beam aperture is provided, and it is possible to switch between the case where the ring-shaped charged particle beam aperture is disposed on the optical axis of the charged particle beam and the case where the hole-shaped charged particle beam aperture is disposed on the optical axis of the charged particle beam.

A Wien filter and a charged particle beam imaging apparatus are provided. The Wien filter Wien filter, including a Wien filter body which includes: an electrostatic deflector, including at least one pair of electrodes, respective two electrodes in each pair of which are opposite to each other, each electrode including an electrode body constructed in an arc-shaped form, and respective electrode bodies of respective two electrodes in each pair of the at least one pair of electrodes being arranged concentrically with and opposite to each other in a diameter direction, and the at least one pair of electrodes being configured to generate respective electric fields by cooperation of the respective two electrodes in each pair of the at least one pair of electrodes, in the condition of respective bias voltages applied individually thereon; and a magnetic deflector, including at least one pair of magnetic poles, respective two magnetic poles in each pair of which are opposite to each other, each magnetic pole including a magnetic pole body constructed in an arc-shaped form, and respective magnetic pole bodies of respective two magnetic poles in each pair of the at least one pair of magnetic poles being arranged concentrically with and opposite to each other in the diameter direction, and the magnetic pole bodies of the at least one pair of magnetic poles in the magnetic deflector and the electrode bodies of the at least one pair of electrodes in the electrostatic deflector being arranged concentrically and spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction, and the at least one pair of magnetic poles being configured to generate respective magnetic fields by cooperation of respective two magnetic poles in each pair of the at least one pair of magnetic poles; a resultant electric field formed collectively by all of the respective electric fields is perpendicular to a resultant magnetic field formed collectively by all of the respective magnetic fields; and each electrode is also provided with a respective first protrusion extending radially inwards from a radial inner side of the respective electrode body thereof, and each magnetic pole is also provided with a second protrusion extending radially inwards from a radial inner side of the respective magnetic pole body thereof.

Methods and systems for detecting charged particles from a specimen are provided. One system includes a first repelling mesh configured to repel charged particles from a specimen having an energy lower than a first predetermined energy and a second repelling mesh configured to repel the charged particles that pass through the first repelling mesh and have an energy that is lower than a second predetermined energy. The system also includes a first attracting mesh configured to attract the charged particles that pass through the first repelling mesh, are repelled by the second repelling mesh, and have an energy that is higher than the first predetermined energy and lower than the second predetermined energy. The system further includes a first detector configured to generate output responsive to the charged particles that pass through the first attracting mesh.