A low voltage scanning electron microscope is disclosed, which includes: an electron source configured to generate an electron beam; an electron beam accelerator configured to accelerate the electron beam; a compound objective lens configured to converge the electron beams accelerated by the electron beam accelerator; a deflection device arranged between the inner wall of the magnetic lens and the optical axis of the electron beam and configured to deflect the electron beam; a detection device comprising a first sub-detection device for receiving secondary and backscattered electrons from the specimen, a second sub-detection device for receiving backscattered electrons, and a control device for changing the trajectories of the secondary electrons and the backscattered electrons; an electrostatic lens comprising the second sub-detection device, a specimen stage, and a control electrode for reducing the moving speed of the electron beam and changing the moving directions of the secondary and the backscattered electrons.

A scanning electron microscopy system with improved image beam stability is disclosed. The system includes an electron beam source configured to generate an electron beam and a set of electron-optical elements to direct at least a portion of the electron beam onto a portion of the sample. The system includes an emittance analyzer assembly. The system includes a splitter element configured to direct at least a portion secondary electrons and/or backscattered electrons emitted by a surface of the sample to the emittance analyzer assembly. The emittance analyzer assembly is configured to image at least one of the secondary electrons and/or the backscattered electrons.

The invention relates to an image capture assembly and method for use in an electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) system. An image capture assembly comprises a scintillation screen (10) including a predefined screen region (11), an image sensor (20) comprising an array of photo sensors and a lens assembly (30). The image capture assembly is configured to operate in at least a first configuration or a second configuration. In the first configuration the lens assembly (30) projects the predefined region (11) of the scintillation screen (10) onto the array and in the second configuration the lens assembly (30) projects the predefined region (11) of the scintillation screen (10) onto a sub-region (21) of the array. In each of the first and second configurations the field of view of the lens assembly (30) is the same.

A method of imaging a specimen in a Scanning Transmission Charged Particle Microscope, comprising the following steps: Providing the specimen on a specimen holder; Providing a beam of charged particles that is directed from a source through an illuminator so as to irradiate the specimen; Providing a segmented detector for detecting a flux of charged particles traversing the specimen; Causing said beam to scan across a surface of the specimen, and combining signals from different segments of the detector so as to produce a vector output from the detector at each scan position, said vector output having components Dx, Dy along respective X, Y coordinate axes,
specifically comprising: Performing a relatively coarse pre-scan of the specimen, along a pre-scan trajectory; At selected positions p.sub.i on said pre-scan trajectory, analyzing said components Dx, Dy and also a scalar intensity sensor value Ds; Using said analysis of Dx, Dy and Ds to classify a specimen composition at each position p.sub.i into one of a group of composition classes; For a selected composition class, performing a relatively fine scan at positions p.sub.i assigned to that class.

An electron microscope includes: an electron detector which detects electrons emitted from a specimen upon irradiation of the specimen with an electron beam; an X-ray detector which detects X-rays emitted from the specimen upon irradiation of the specimen with the electron beam; and a processor which generates a three-dimensional element map based on output signals from the electron detector and the X-ray detector. The processor performs processing for generating a electron microscopic image based on the output signal from the electron detector, processing for generating a three-dimensional image of the specimen based on the electron microscopic image, processing for generating a two-dimensional element map based on the output signal from the X-ray detector, and processing for generating the three-dimensional element map by projecting the two-dimensional element map on the three-dimensional image.

A scanning electron microscopy system with improved image beam stability is disclosed. The system includes an electron beam source configured to generate an electron beam and a set of electron-optical elements to direct at least a portion of the electron beam onto a portion of the sample. The system includes an emittance analyzer assembly. The system includes a splitter element configured to direct at least a portion secondary electrons and/or backscattered electrons emitted by a surface of the sample to the emittance analyzer assembly. The emittance analyzer assembly is configured to image at least one of the secondary electrons and/or the backscattered electrons.

An examination container includes a main body, a membrane assembly and a cover. The main body has an accommodating trough for holding sample. The membrane assembly covers an opening end of the accommodating trough. The membrane assembly includes a support body and a membrane. The support body has a first surface and a second surface, wherein the support body is flat and has a first through-hole penetrating through the first surface and the second surface. The membrane is arranged on the second surface side of the support body and has a second through-hole. The second through-hole is opposite to the first through-hole and allows a charged particle beam to pass the second through-hole. The cover is detachably connected to the main body to secure the membrane assembly. The membrane assembly is easy to replace and uses less consumables. An electron microscope using the abovementioned examination container is also disclosed.

The present invention provides apparatuses to inspect small particles on the surface of a sample such as wafer and mask. The apparatuses provide both high detection efficiency and high throughput by forming Dark-field BSE images. The apparatuses can additionally inspect physical and electrical defects on the sample surface by form SE images and Bright-field BSE images simultaneously. The apparatuses can be designed to do single-beam or even multiple single-beam inspection for achieving a high throughput.

There is provided a tilting parameters calculating device for use in a charged particle beam device for making a charged particle beam irradiated to a surface of a sample mounted on a sample stage, the tilting parameters calculating device being configured to calculate tilting parameters, the tilting parameters being input parameters to control a tilting direction and a tilting value of the sample and/or the charged particle beam, the input parameters being necessary to change an incident direction of the charged particle beam with respect to the sample, the tilting parameters calculating device including a tilting parameters calculating unit for calculating the tilting parameters based on information that indicates the incident direction of the charged particle beam with respect to a crystal lying at a selected position on the surface in a state where the incident direction of the charged particle beam with respect to the sample is in a predetermined incident direction, the information being designated on a crystal orientation figure, which is a diagram illustrating the incident direction of the charged particle beam with respect to a crystal coordinate system of the crystal.

The disclosure relates to a method of examining a sample using a charged particle microscope. The method comprises the steps of detecting using a first detector emissions of a first type from the sample in response to the beam scanned over the area of the sample. Then, using spectral information of detected emissions of the first type, at least a part of the scanned area of the sample is divided into multiple segments. According to the disclosure, emissions of the first type at different positions along the scan in at least one of said multiple segments may be combined to produce a combined spectrum of the sample in said one of said multiple segments. In an embodiment, a second detector is used to detect emissions of a second type, and this is used to divide the area of the sample into multiple regions. The first detector may be an EDS, and the second detector may be based on EM. This way, EDS data and EM data can be effectively combined for producing colored images.