A multi-beam particle microscope can provide improved beam current control. Excess electrons discharged from one or just a few regions of an absorber layer provided on a multi-aperture array can be measured via an ammeter. The measured currents can be used as controlled variables in a closed loop control. The measurement can be large-area and low-noise. The multi-aperture array can be specifically structured to also realize a direction sensitive detection, for example via a quadrant detector or a tertial detector.

An ion beam current measurement device includes a first Faraday cup having a first ion beam entrance slit of a first width W.sub.1. The first Faraday cup is configured to generate a first current signal. The device further includes a second Faraday cup having a second ion beam entrance slit of a second width W.sub.2. The second Faraday cup is configured to generate a second current signal. The slit widths are designed such that W.sub.2 is greater than W.sub.1.

A system comprising a spinning disk is disclosed. The system comprises a semiconductor processing system, such as a high energy implantation system. The semiconductor processing system produces a spot ion beam, which is directed to a plurality of workpieces, which are disposed on the spinning disk. The spinning disk comprises a rotating central hub with a plurality of platens. The plurality of platens may extend outward from the central hub and workpieces are electrostatically clamped to the platens. The plurality of platens may also be capable of rotation. The central hub also controls the rotation of each of the platens about an axis orthogonal to the rotation axis of the central hub. In this way, variable angle implants may be performed. Additionally, this allows the workpieces to be mounted while in a horizontal orientation.

An apparatus for monitoring of an ion beam. The apparatus may include a processor; and a memory unit coupled to the processor, including a display routine, where the display routine operative on the processor to manage monitoring of the ion beam. The display routine may include a measurement processor to receive a plurality of spot beam profiles of the ion beam, the spot beam profiles collected during a fast scan of the ion beam and a slow mechanical scan of a detector, conducted simultaneously with the fast scan. The fast scan may comprise a plurality of scan cycles having a frequency of 10 Hz or greater along a fast scan direction, and the slow mechanical scan being performed in a direction parallel to the fast scan direction. The measurement processor may also send a display signal to display at least one set of information, derived from the plurality of spot beam profiles.

An electron microscope includes an electron source, an extraction electrode that extracts an electron beam emitted from the electron source, a monochromator having an energy filter that disperses the electron beam emitted from the electron source based on an energy thereof and an energy selection slit that selects the energy of the electron beam, an incident-side electrode provided between the extraction electrode and the monochromator, and an incident-side electrode controller that controls the incident-side electrode based on a change in a voltage applied to the extraction electrode.

In one embodiment, an aperture for inspecting a multi-beam allows passage of one beam among multi-beams applied in a multi-beam writing apparatus. The aperture includes a scattering layer that is provided with a through-hole through which the one beam passes, and by which the other beams are scattered, and an absorbing layer that is provided with an opening having a diameter greater than the diameter of the through-hole and that absorbs at least some of the beams entering it.

In one embodiment, a beam detector includes a first aperture plate including a first passage hole, a second aperture plate including a second passage hole that allows a single detection target beam passing through the first passage hole to pass therethrough, and a sensor detecting a beam current of the detection target beam passing through the second passage hole. The second aperture plate includes an electrically conductive material, a plurality of third passage holes are formed around the second passage hole, and the plurality of third passage holes allow light to pass therethrough.

There is provided an electron microscope capable of producing good images by reducing contrast nonuniformity. The electron microscope (1) includes: an electron beam source (11) for producing an electron beam; a noise cancelling aperture (12) and an amplifier (42) for detecting a part of the electron beam; an effective value computing circuit (44) and a low frequency cut-off circuit (46) for extracting a DC component of an effective value of a detection signal emanating from the amplifier (42); an image detector (15) for detecting a signal produced in response to impingement of the beam on a sample (A); a preamplifier circuit (20) and an amplifier circuit (30); a divider circuit (54) for performing a division of the output signal (X) from the amplifier circuit (30) by the output signal (Y) from the amplifier circuit (42) and producing a quotient signal indicative of the result of the decision (X/Y); and a multiplier circuit (58) for multiplying the quotient signal by a signal (Z) extracted by the low frequency cut-off circuit (46).

The invention relates to the measurement of current profiles of free-flying ion or electron clusters which impinge on a detector electrode of a Faraday detector. The detector electrode here consists of a large number of structural elements in a bipolar arrangement, where neighboring structural elements have opposite polarities and structural elements with the same polarity are electrically connected, and a voltage is applied between neighboring structural elements so that before ions or electrons impinge on the detection electrode, they are essentially deflected onto the structural elements with one of the two polarities. If the current profiles on the structural elements of the two polarities are measured separately and subtracted from each other, a current profile which corresponds to the pure ion or electron current profile is obtained without using a screen grid.

Even in a case where a disturbance is applied from an adjacently disposed power supply circuit or the like, in order to realize a reduction in ripple, a high-voltage power supply device is configured to include a drive circuit, a transformer that boosts an output voltage of the drive circuit, a boost circuit that further boosts a voltage boosted by the transformer, a shield that covers the transformer and the boost circuit, a filter circuit that filters, smoothes, and outputs a high voltage output from the boost circuit, and an impedance loop circuit configured by connection of a plurality of impedance elements into a loop shape. A grounding point of the boost circuit, a grounding point of the shield, and a grounding point of the filter circuit are configured to be grounded via the impedance loop circuit, and this is applied to a high-voltage power supply unit that applies a high voltage to an electron gun of a charged particle beam apparatus.