Atmospheric scanning electron microscope achieves a wide field of view at low magnifications in a broad range of gaseous pressure, acceleration voltage and image resolution. This is based on the use of a reduced size pressure limiting aperture together with a scanning beam pivot point located at the small aperture at the end of electron optics column. A second aperture is located at the principal plane of the objective lens. Double deflection elements scan and rock the beam at a pivot point first at or near the principal plane of the lens while post-lens deflection means scan and rock the beam at a second pivot point at or near aperture at the end of the optics column. The aperture at the first pivot may act also as beam limiting aperture. In the alternative, with no beam limiting aperture at the principal plane, maximum amount of beam rays passes through the lens and with no post-lens deflection means, the beam is formed (limited) by a very small aperture at or near-and-below the final lens while the aperture skims a shifting portion of the wide beam, which is physically rocked with a pivot on the principal plane but with an apparent pivot point close and above the aperture, all of which result in a wide field of view on the examined specimen.

A method of investigating a specimen using a tomographic imaging apparatus using a stage for producing relative motion of a source with respect to a specimen, so as to allow the source and a detector to image the specimen along a series of different viewing axes and a processing apparatus for assembling a tomographic image of at least part of the specimen. The investigation is carried out by considering a virtual reference surface that surrounds the specimen and is substantially centered thereon, considering an incoming point of intersection of each of said viewing axes with this reference surface, thereby generating a set of such intersection points corresponding to the series of viewing axes, choosing discrete viewing axes in the series so as to cause the set to comprise a two-dimensional lattice of points located areally on the reference surface in a substantially uniform distribution.

A method for evaluating a specimen, the method can include positioning an energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) detector at a first position; scanning a flat surface of the specimen by a charged particle beam that exits from a charged particle beam optics tip and propagates through an aperture of an EDX detector tip; detecting, by the EDX detector, x-ray photons emitted from the flat surface as a result of the scanning of the flat surface with the charged particle beam; after a completion of the scanning of the flat surface, positioning the EDX detector at a second position in which a distance between the EDX detector tip and a plane of the flat surface exceeds a distance between the plane of the flat surface and the charged particle beam optics tip; and wherein a projection of the EDX detector on the plane of the flat surface virtually falls on the flat surface when the EDX detector is positioned at the first position and when the EDX detector is positioned at the second position.

The present invention makes it possible to analyze trace carbon in a sample without the effects of contamination. In an electron probe microanalyzer, a liquid nitrogen trap and a plasma or oxygen radical generator are jointly used as a means for suppressing contamination, and two or more carbon detection units for detecting characteristic x-rays of carbon in the sample are provided.

A method capable of constructing an accurate three-dimensional image is offered. The method comprises the step (S10) of obtaining a first series of tilted images which are constituted by electron microscope images or elemental mapping images of a sample (S) at different tilt angles and which have been obtained by tilting the sample in angular increments, the step (S14) of obtaining a second series of tilted images which are constituted by electron microscope images or elemental mapping images of the sample at different tilt angles and which have been obtained by rotating the sample about an axis (P) perpendicular to a surface (Sf) of the sample and then tilting the sample in angular increments, and the step (S16) of constructing the three-dimensional image on the basis of the first and second series of tilted images.

An electron microscope includes: a display control unit which sequentially acquires electron microscope images of a sample and causes a display unit to display the electron microscope images as a live image; an analysis area setting unit which sets an analysis area on the sample based on a designated position on the live image designated by pointing means; and an analysis control unit which performs control for executing elemental analysis of the set analysis area. The analysis area setting unit sets, as the analysis area, an area on the sample which corresponds to a continuous area including the designated position and having brightness comparable to brightness of the designated position.

A compact charged-particle-beam microscope, weighing less than about 50 kg and having a size of less than about 1 m?1 m?1 m, is provided for imaging a sample. The microscope has a vacuum chamber to maintain a low-pressure environment, a stage to hold a sample in the vacuum chamber, a charged-particle beam source to generate a charged-particle beam, charged-particle beam optics to converge the charged-particle beam onto the sample, and one or more beam scanners to scan the charged-particle beam across the sample. A charged-particle detector is provided to detect charged-particle radiation emanating from the sample and generate a corresponding charged-particle-detection signal. At least one energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer (EDS) is provided to detect x-rays emanating from the sample and generate a corresponding x-ray-detection signal. A controller analyzes the charged-particle-detection signal and the x-ray-detection signal to generate an image of the sample and a histogram of x-ray energies for at least a portion of the sample.

The system described herein detects charged particles which, for example, are generated by interaction of a charged particle beam with an object to be analyzed using, for example, a particle beam device. Detection is carried out for imaging of the object. The system described herein allows detection of charged particles with the same detection principle when the ambient pressures in an object chamber are in a first pressure range being lower than or equal to 10.sup.3 hPa or in a second pressure range being equal to or above 10.sup.3 hPa. When operating with the object chamber in the second pressure range, the system described herein generates photons in a scintillator using cascade particles generated by using the charged particles and a gas, and detects the photons using a light detector.

Atmospheric scanning electron microscope achieves a wide field of view at low magnifications in a broad range of gaseous pressure, acceleration voltage and image resolution. This is based on the use of a reduced size pressure limiting aperture together with a scanning beam pivot point located at the small aperture at the end of electron optics column. A second aperture is located at the principal plane of the objective lens. Double deflection elements scan and rock the beam at a pivot point first at or near the principal plane of the lens while post-lens deflection means scan and rock the beam at a second pivot point at or near aperture at the end of the optics column. The aperture at the first pivot may act also as beam limiting aperture. In the alternative, with no beam limiting aperture at the principal plane, maximum amount of beam rays passes through the lens and with no post-lens deflection means, the beam is formed (limited) by a very small aperture at or near-and-below the final lens while the aperture skims a shifting portion of the wide beam, which is physically rocked with a pivot on the principal plane but with an apparent pivot point close and above the aperture, all of which result in a wide field of view on the examined specimen.

A method of analyzing a specimen using X-rays, comprising the steps of: Irradiating the specimen with input X-rays; Using a detector to detect a flux of output X-rays emanating from the specimen in response to said irradiation,
which method further comprises the following steps: Using the detector to intercept at least a portion of said flux so as to produce a set {I.sub.j} of pixeled images I.sub.j of at least part of the specimen, whereby the cardinality of the set {I.sub.j} is M>1. For each pixel p.sub.iin each image I.sub.j, determining the accumulated signal strength S.sub.ij, thus producing an associated set of signal strengths {S.sub.ij}. Using the set {S.sub.ij} to calculate the following values: A mean signal strength S per pixel position i; A variance .sup.2.sub.S in S per pixel position i. Using these values S and .sup.2.sub.S to produce a map of mean X-ray photon energy E per pixel.