Aspects of the present disclosure provide an apparatus comprising a primary beam column configured to direct a primary beam of energetic particles onto a location of interest on a sample containing one or more integrated circuit structures, a detector configured to produce a signal in response to detection of secondary charged particles generated as a result of an interaction between the primary beam of energetic particles and the location of interest, and a signal processor coupled to the detector configured to measure the transient behavior of generation of the secondary charged particles from the signal produced by the detector, and a characterizing module configured to characterize the location of interest by comparing the measured transient behavior to a predetermined reference transient behavior. The detector has a response that is fast enough to detect a transient behavior of generation of the secondary charged particles.

A method of using a Charged Particle Microscope, comprising: A specimen holder, for holding a specimen; A source, for producing an irradiating beam of charged particles; An illuminator, for directing said beam so as to irradiate the specimen; A detector, for detecting a flux of emergent radiation emanating from the specimen in response to said irradiation,
additionally comprising the following steps: In said illuminator, providing an aperture plate comprising an array of apertures; Using a deflecting device to scan said beam across said array, thereby alternatingly interrupting and transmitting the beam so as to produce a train of beam pulses; Irradiating said specimen with said train of pulses, and using said detector to perform positionally resolved (temporally discriminated) detection of the attendant emergent radiation.

An apparatus includes an electron source coupled to provide an electron beam, a beam deflector arranged to provide a pulsed electron beam from the electron beam, a detector arranged to receive the pulsed electron beam after transmitting through a sample, and a controller coupled to control at least the beam deflector and the detector, the controller coupled to or including code that, when executed by the controller, causes the apparatus to establish the pulsed electron beam with pulse characteristics based on control of at least the beam deflector, wherein an illumination window is formed based on the pulse characteristics, the illumination window being a time frame when the sample is illuminated with a pulse of the pulsed electron beam, and to form a detection window for the detector and synchronize the detection window in relation to the illumination window, wherein detection events occurring in the detection window form the basis of an image, wherein the detection window determines a time frame when the detector converts the pulse of the pulsed electron beam transmitted through the sample to an electron induced signal.

Disclosed herein are radio frequency (RF) cavities and systems including such RF cavities. The RF cavities are characterized as having an insert with at least one sidewall coated with a material to prevent charge build up without affecting RF input power and that is heat and vacuum compatible. One example RF cavity includes a dielectric insert, the dielectric insert having an opening extending from one side of the dielectric insert to another to form a via, and a coating layer disposed on an inner surface of the dielectric insert, the inner surface facing the via, wherein the coating layer has a thickness and a resistivity, the thickness less than a thickness threshold, and the resistivity greater than a resistivity threshold, wherein the thickness and resistivity thresholds are based partly on operating parameters of the RF cavity.

The purpose of the present disclosure is to propose a charged particle beam device capable of allowing specifying of a distance between irradiation points for a pulsed beam and a time between irradiation points. Proposed is a charged particle beam device equipped with a beam column which has a scanning deflector for sweeping a beam and directs the beam swept by the scanning deflector onto a sample in pulses, wherein: the distance between irradiation points of the pulsed beam is set such that feature quantities of one or more specific regions of an image obtained on the basis of an output of a detector satisfy a predetermined state; the duration of time between irradiation points for the pulsed beam is changed when in a state in which the set distance between irradiation points is set or in a state in which multiple distances between irradiation points determined on the basis of the specified distance between irradiation points are set; and the beam emission is carried out according to the duration of time between irradiation points whereby the feature quantities of the multiple specific regions of the image obtained on the basis of the output of the detector satisfy the predetermined state.

A charged particle beam apparatus for scanning a specimen with a charged particle beam and acquiring a scan image. The charged particle beam apparatus including: an optical system that includes a pulse mechanism for illuminating the specimen with pulses of the charged particle beam, and a deflector that deflects the charged particle beam and scans the specimen with the deflected charged particle beam; and a control unit that controls the optical system. The control unit controls the optical system so as to satisfy T = n × t (n is a natural number). T represents a dwell time of the charged particle beam in each pixel of the scan image, and t represents a cycle of pulses of the charged particle beam.

A charged particle beam deflection device includes a substrate; a plurality of apertures provided in the substrate; a plurality of electrodes deflecting charged particle beams passing through the apertures; a plurality of light-receiving elements controlling voltages applied to the plurality of electrodes; a first optical coupler coupling continuous light to the substrate; a light distributor distributing light coupled by the first optical coupler into a two-dimensional plane; a plurality of modulators performing intensity modulation of light distributed by the light distributor; and a plurality of second optical couplers coupling the modulated light to the light-receiving elements.

Systems and methods for conducting charged particle beam modulation are disclosed. According to certain embodiments, a charged particle beam apparatus generates a plurality of charged particle beams. A modulator may be configured to receive the plurality of charged particle beams and generate a plurality of modulated charged particle beams. A detector may be configured to receive the plurality of modulated charged particle beams.

Charged particle beams (CPBs) are modulated using a beam blanker/deflector and an electrically pulsed extraction electrode in conjunction with a field emitter and a gun lens. With such modulation, CPBs can provide both pulsed and continuous mode operation as required for a particular application, while average CPB current is maintained within predetermined levels, such as levels that promote X-ray safe operation. Either the extraction electrode or the beam blanker/deflector can define CPB pulse width, CPB on/off ratio, or both.

A charged particle beam deflection device includes a substrate; a plurality of apertures provided in the substrate; a plurality of electrodes deflecting charged particle beams passing through the apertures; a plurality of light-receiving elements controlling voltages applied to the plurality of electrodes; a first optical coupler coupling continuous light to the substrate; a light distributor distributing light coupled by the first optical coupler into a two-dimensional plane; a plurality of modulators performing intensity modulation of light distributed by the light distributor; and a plurality of second optical couplers coupling the modulated light to the light-receiving elements.