A particle beam apparatus is used for imaging, processing and/or analyzing an object. A computer program product may be used to facilitate imaging, processing and/or analyzing the object. A magnification may be chosen from a first magnification range of the particle beam apparatus by driving a first amplifier unit and a second amplifier unit. If it is established that there are prerequisites which would actually result in the particle beam apparatus being switched to a different magnification from a second magnification range, the switching is avoided by feeding an analog amplifier signal from an amplifier unit to a scanning unit of the particle beam apparatus, guiding the particle beam over the object using the scanning unit, and imaging, processing and/or analyzing the object with the particle beam.

A charged particle assessment tool including: an objective lens configured to project a plurality of charged particle beams onto a sample, the objective lens having a sample-facing surface defining a plurality of beam apertures through which respective ones of the charged particle beams are emitted toward the sample; and a plurality of capture electrodes, each capture electrode adjacent a respective one of the beam apertures, configured to capture charged particles emitted from the sample.

A method includes receiving a spot beam profile is received for a spot ion beam; receiving a linear scanned beam profile for the spot ion beam; generating a calculated calibration spot profile, based upon the spot beam profile and the linear scanned beam profile; and implementing an adjusted scanned profile for the spot ion beam, based upon the calculated calibration spot profile.

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.

Methods and systems for imaging a sample with a charged particle microscope comprises after scanning a region of interest (ROI) of a sample with an electron beam and acquiring X-rays emitted from the sample, scanning the ROI with an ion beam and acquiring ion-induced photons emitted from the sample. A spatial distribution of multiple elements in the sample may be determined based on both the acquired X-rays and the acquired ion-induced photons.

Methods for drift corrected, fast, low dose, adaptive sample imaging with a charged particle microscopy system include scanning a surface region of a sample with a charged particle beam to obtain a first image of the surface region with a first detector modality, and then determining a scan strategy for the surface region. The scan strategy comprises a charged particle beam path, a first beam dwell time associated with at least one region of interest in the first image, the first beam dwell time being sufficient to obtain statistically significant data from a second detector modality, and at least a second beam dwell time associated with other regions of the first image, wherein the first beam dwell time is different than the second beam dwell time. The surface region of the sample is then scanned with the determined scan strategy to obtain data from the first and second detector.

A charged particle beam scanning module, a charged particle beam device, and a computer that can correct an INL error in a DAC circuit in real time. The charged particle beam scanning module includes a scanning controller configured to output a scanning digital signal of a charged particle beam, a DAC circuit configured to convert the scanning digital signal into a scanning analog signal and output the scanning analog signal, and an ADC circuit configured to convert the scanning analog signal into an evaluation digital signal. A sampling frequency at which the DAC circuit samples the scanning digital signal is a first frequency, and a sampling frequency at which the ADC circuit samples the scanning analog signal is a second frequency smaller than the first frequency. The scanning controller determines an output characteristic of the DAC circuit by evaluating the scanning digital signal and the evaluation digital signal.

A multi-beam charged particle microscope and a method of operating a multi-beam charged particle microscope for wafer inspection with high throughput and with high resolution and high reliability are provided. The method of operation and the multi-beam charged particle beam microscope comprises a mechanism for a synchronized scanning operation and image acquisition by a plurality of charged particle beamlets according a selected scan program, wherein the selected scan program can be selected according an inspection task from different scan programs.

A multi-electron beam inspection apparatus includes first sample hold circuits, each configured to include a capacitor and a switch arranged for each of electrodes of each of a plurality of multipoles, and to hold, using the capacitor and the switch, a potential to be applied to the each of the electrodes, power sources configured to apply potentials to the plurality of first sample hold circuits, a control circuit configured to control the plurality of first sample hold circuits such that the plurality of potentials having been applied to the plurality of first sample hold circuits are held, in synchronization with swinging back of the collective beam deflection by the objective deflector, by a plurality of second sample hold circuits selected from the plurality of first sample hold circuits, and a detector configured to detect multiple secondary electron beams emitted because the substrate is irradiated with the multiple primary electron beams.

Embodiments herein are directed to localized stress modulation by implanting a first side of a substrate to reduce in-plane distortion along a second side of the substrate. In some embodiments, a method may include providing a substrate, the substrate comprising a first main side opposite a second main side, wherein a plurality of features are disposed on the first main side, performing a metrology scan to the first main side to determine an amount of distortion to the substrate due to the formation of the plurality of features, and depositing a stress compensation film along the second main side of the substrate, wherein a stress and a thickness of the stress compensation film is determined based on the amount of distortion to the substrate. The method may further include directing ions to the stress compensation film in an ion implant procedure.