This disclosure relates to an apparatus and methods for applying X-ray reflectometry (XRR) in characterizing three dimensional nanostructures supported on a flat substrate with a miniscule sampling area and a thickness in nanometers. In particular, this disclosure is targeted for addressing the difficulties encountered when XRR is applied to samples with intricate nanostructures along all three directions, e.g. arrays of nanostructured poles or shafts. Convergent X-ray with long wavelength, greater than that from a copper anode of 0.154 nm and less than twice of the characteristic dimensions along the film thickness direction, is preferably used with appropriate collimations on both incident and detection arms to enable the XRR for measurements of samples with limited sample area and scattering volumes.

Testing systems and methods are provided for a smoking article to determine a characteristic of the smoking article, such as density of a material used therewith. The testing system may include a test fixture and an electromagnetic energy generating device The testing methods may be carried out by subjecting the material to the electromagnetic energy and determining the amount of energy absorbed by the material.

The present invention is intended to provide improved patterned X-ray emitting targets as well as X-ray sources that include patterned X-ray emitting targets as well as X-ray reflectance scatterometry (XRS) systems and also including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) systems and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) systems which employ such X-ray emitting targets.

A thin film analyzing device includes a processing and analyzing chamber for performing processing and analyzing of a subject having a thin film on a substrate. The processing and analyzing chamber includes a sample holder arranged to hold the subject, an X-ray irradiation source arranged to irradiate the subject with X-rays, a fluorescent X-ray detector configured to detect fluorescent X-rays which are emitted from the subject, a diffracted/reflected X-ray detector configured to detect reflected X-rays and diffracted X-rays which are emitted from the subject, and a substrate remover arranged to remove the substrate.

Methods and systems for determining one or more characteristics of light in an optical system are provided. One system includes first detector(s) configured to detect light having one or more wavelengths shorter than 190 nm emitted from a light source at one or more first angles mutually exclusive of one or more second angles at which the light is collected from the light source by an optical system for illumination of a specimen and to generate first output responsive to the light detected by the first detector(s). In addition, the system includes a control subsystem configured for determining one or more characteristics of the light at one or more planes in the optical system based on the first output.

An X-ray system includes, first and second X-ray channels (XCs), a spot sizer and a processor. The first XC is configured to: (i) direct a first X-ray beam for producing a spot on a surface of a sample, and (ii) produce a first signal responsively to a first X-ray radiation received from the surface. The spot sizer is positioned at a distance from the surface and is shaped and positioned to set the spot size by passing to the surface a portion of the first X-ray beam. The second XC is configured to: (i) direct a second X-ray beam to the surface, and (ii) produce a second signal responsively to a second X-ray radiation received from the surface, and the processor is configured to: (i) perform an analysis of the sample based on the first signal, and (ii) estimate the size of the spot based on the second signal.

The present disclosure provides an inspection system and a method of stray field mitigation. The system includes an array of electron beam columns, a first permanent magnet array, and a plurality of shielding plates. The array of electron beam columns each includes an electron source configured to emit electrons toward a stage. The first permanent magnet array is configured to condense the electrons from each electron source into an array of electron beams. The first permanent magnet array is arranged at a first end of the array of electron beam columns. The plurality of shielding plates extend across the array electron beam columns downstream of the first permanent magnet array in a direction of electron emission. The array of electron beams pass through a plurality of apertures in each of the plurality of shielding plates, which reduces stray magnetic field in a radial direction of the array of electron beams.

The present disclosure provides a substance identification device and a substance identification method. The substance identification device comprises: a classifier establishing unit configured to establish a classifier based on scattering density values reconstructed for a plurality of known sample materials, wherein the classifier comprises a plurality of feature regions corresponding to a plurality of characteristic parameters for the plurality of known sample materials, respectively; and an identification unit for a material to be tested, configured to match the characteristic parameter of the material to be tested with the classifier, and to identify a type of the material to be tested by obtaining a feature region corresponding to the characteristic parameter of the material to be tested.

According to an aspect of the present invention, provided is an information processing apparatus comprising a memory configured to store a program; and a processor configured to execute a program so as to output a parameter result in relation to a thin film by inputting a profile result in relation to an intensity of X-ray from the thin film to a neural network, wherein the neural network is a neural network that is allowed to machine-learn teacher data using profile data in relation to an intensity of X-ray from a thin film as input data and using parameter data in relation to the thin film as output data.

According to an aspect of the present invention, provided is an information processing apparatus, comprising: a processor configured to execute a program so as to output a diagnostic result diagnosing an analysis profile result by inputting an input profile result in relation to an intensity of X-ray from a thin film and the analysis result of the input profile result to a neural network, wherein the neural network is a neural network that is allowed to machine-learn teacher data using input profile data in relation to an intensity of X-ray from a thin film and analysis profile data obtained from the input profile data as input data, and using diagnostic data obtained by diagnosing the analysis profile data as output data.