There are disclosed an aberration correction method and a charged particle beam system capable of correcting off-axis first order aberrations. The aberration correction method is for use in the charged particle beam system (100) equipped with an aberration corrector (30) which has plural stages of multipole elements (32a, 32b) and a transfer lens system (34) disposed between the multipole elements (32a, 32b). The method includes varying the excitation of the transfer lens system (34) and correcting off-axis first order aberrations.

Embodiments described herein relate to methods and apparatus for forming gratings having a plurality of fins with different slant angles on a substrate and forming fins with different slant angles on successive substrates using angled etch systems and/or an optical device. The methods include positioning portions of substrates retained on a platen in a path of an ion beam. The substrates have a grating material disposed thereon. The ion beam is configured to contact the grating material at an ion beam angle ϑ relative to a surface normal of the substrates and form gratings in the grating material.

A specimen preparation device prepares a cross section of a specimen by applying an ion beam, the specimen preparation device including: an ion beam generator that generates the ion beam; a specimen holder that holds the specimen; a shield plate that shields part of the specimen from the ion beam; and a tilted plate that is placed to intersect a path of the ion beam on a downstream side of the specimen, and has an incidence surface that is tilted relative to a direction in which the ion beam is incident.

Embodiments described herein relate to methods and apparatus for forming gratings having a plurality of fins with different slant angles on a substrate and forming fins with different slant angles on successive substrates using angled etch systems and/or an optical device. The methods include positioning portions of substrates retained on a platen in a path of an ion beam. The substrates have a grating material disposed thereon. The ion beam is configured to contact the grating material at an ion beam angle ϑ relative to a surface normal of the substrates and form gratings in the grating material.

Embodiments described herein relate to methods and apparatus for forming gratings having a plurality of fins with different slant angles on a substrate and forming fins with different slant angles on successive substrates using angled etch systems and/or an optical device. The methods include positioning portions of substrates retained on a platen in a path of an ion beam. The substrates have a grating material disposed thereon. The ion beam is configured to contact the grating material at an ion beam angle θ relative to a surface normal of the substrates and form gratings in the grating material.

Provided is a charged particle beam device capable of focusing with high accuracy even when a charged particle beam has a large off-axis amount. The charged particle beam device generates an observation image of a sample by irradiating the sample with a charged particle beam, and includes: a deflection unit that inclines the charged particle beam; a focusing lens that focuses the charged particle beam; an adjustment unit that adjusts a lens strength of the focusing lens based on an evaluation value calculated from the observation image; a storage unit that stores a relationship between a visual field movement amount and the lens strength; and a filter setting unit that calculates the visual field movement amount based on an inclination angle of the charged particle beam and the relationship, and sets an image filter to be superimposed on the observation image based on the calculated visual field movement amount.

A method, a non-transitory computer readable medium and a three-dimensional evaluation system for providing three dimensional information regarding structural elements of a specimen. The method can include illuminating the structural elements with electron beams of different incidence angles, where the electron beams pass through the structural elements and the structural elements are of nanometric dimensions; detecting forward scattered electrons that are scattered from the structural elements to provide detected forward scattered electrons; and generating the three dimensional information regarding structural elements based at least on the detected forward scattered electrons.

A system for manufacturing of three dimensional objects by layered deposition is provided. The system includes a base substrate for formation of three dimensional objects placed on a supporting plate; a functional assembly comprising a gas-discharge electron beam gun, a feedstock guide, a cold annular cathode and two annular anode electrodes, a high voltage power supply of the gas-discharge electron beam gun, a system of precise positioning of the supporting plate with the base substrate), a vacuum tight operation chamber, a vacuum subsystem for creating of necessary vacuum inside said operating chamber, a control system and a magnetic lens. The lens is placed on the underside of the gas-discharge electron beam gun coaxially with it and with the feedstock guide, providing the possibility of transformation of a primary hollow electron beam to the shape of a hollow inverted cone after leaving the discharge chamber of the gas-discharge electron beam gun.

A multi-beam apparatus for observing a sample with high resolution and high throughput is proposed. In the apparatus, a source-conversion unit forms plural and parallel images of one single electron source by deflecting plural beamlets of a parallel primary-electron beam therefrom, and one objective lens focuses the plural deflected beamlets onto a sample surface and forms plural probe spots thereon. A movable condenser lens is used to collimate the primary-electron beam and vary the currents of the plural probe spots, a pre-beamlet-forming means weakens the Coulomb effect of the primary-electron beam, and the source-conversion unit minimizes the sizes of the plural probe spots by minimizing and compensating the off-axis aberrations of the objective lens and condenser lens.

Embodiments consistent with the disclosure herein include methods and a multi-beam apparatus configured to emit charged-particle beams for imaging a top and side of a structure of a sample, including: a deflector array including a first deflector and configured to receive a first charged-particle beam and a second charged-particle beam; a blocking plate configured to block one of the first charged-particle beam and the second charged-particle beam; and a controller having circuitry and configured to change the configuration of the apparatus to transition between a first mode and a second mode. In the first mode, the deflector array directs the second charged-particle beam to the top of the structure, and the blocking plate blocks the first charged-particle beam. And in the second mode, the first deflector deflects the first charged-particle beam to the side of the structure, and the blocking plate blocks the second charged-particle beam.