A mask member is provided at an entrance opening of a mirror unit. Of a first diffraction grating and a second diffraction grating, when the second diffraction grating is used, the mask member masks preceding mirrors. With this process, aberration caused by reflective X-ray is suppressed. When the first diffraction grating is used, the mask member does not function. Alternatively, the mask member and another mask member may be selectively used.

A method of evaluating a region of interest of a sample including: positioning the sample within in a vacuum chamber of an evaluation tool that includes a scanning electron microscope (SEM) column and a focused ion beam (FIB) column; acquiring a plurality of two-dimensional images of the region of interest by alternating a sequence of delayering the region of interest with a charged particle beam from the FIB column and imaging a surface of the region of interest with the SEM column; generating an initial three-dimensional data cube representing the region of interest by stacking the plurality of two-dimensional images on top of each other in an order in which they were acquired; identifying distortions within the initial three-dimensional data cube; and creating an updated three-dimensional data cube that includes corrections for the identified distortions.

A method of performing x-ray spectroscopy material analysis of a region of interest within a cross-section of a sample using an evaluation system that includes a focused ion beam (FIB) column, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) column, and an x-ray detector, including: forming a lamella having first and second opposing side surfaces in the sample by milling, with the FIB column, first and second trenches in the sample to expose the first and second sides surface of the lamella, respectively; depositing background material in the second trench, wherein the background material is selected such that the background material does not include any chemical elements that are expected to be within the region of interest of the sample; generating a charged particle beam with the SEM column and scanning the charged particle beam across a region of interest on the first side surface of the lamella such that the charged particle beam collides with the first side surface of the lamella at a non-vertical angle; and detecting x-rays generated while the region of interest is scanned by the charged particle beam.

A system for collection information from a sample includes a scan generator having a first communication channel and a second communication channel. The first communication channel provides data communication between the scan generator and one or more sampling location movement devices. The second communication channel provides data communication with one or more signal detectors.

Mineral definitions each include a list of elements, each of the elements having a corresponding standard spectrum. To determine the composition of an unknown mineral sample, the acquired spectrum of the sample is sequentially decomposed into the standard spectra of the elements from the element list of each of the mineral definitions, and a similarity metric computed for each mineral definition. The unknown mineral is identified as the mineral having the best similarity metric.

A mask member is provided at an entrance opening of a mirror unit. Of a first diffraction grating and a second diffraction grating, when the second diffraction grating is used, the mask member masks preceding mirrors. With this process, aberration caused by reflective X-ray is suppressed. When the first diffraction grating is used, the mask member does not function. Alternatively, the mask member and another mask member may be selectively used.

A method of evaluating a region of interest of a sample including: positioning the sample within in a vacuum chamber of an evaluation tool that includes a scanning electron microscope (SEM) column and a focused ion beam (FIB) column; acquiring a plurality of two-dimensional images of the region of interest by alternating a sequence of delayering the region of interest with a charged particle beam from the FIB column and imaging a surface of the region of interest with the SEM column; generating an initial three-dimensional data cube representing the region of interest by stacking the plurality of two-dimensional images on top of each other in an order in which they were acquired; identifying distortions within the initial three-dimensional data cube; and creating an updated three-dimensional data cube that includes corrections for the identified distortions.

A method of evaluating a region of interest of a sample including: positioning the sample within in a vacuum chamber of an evaluation tool that includes a scanning electron microscope (SEM) column and a focused ion beam (FIB) column; acquiring a plurality of two-dimensional images of the region of interest by alternating a sequence of delayering the region of interest with a charged particle beam from the FIB column and imaging a surface of the region of interest with the SEM column; generating an initial three-dimensional data cube representing the region of interest by stacking the plurality of two-dimensional images on top of each other in an order in which they were acquired; identifying distortions within the initial three-dimensional data cube; and creating an updated three-dimensional data cube that includes corrections for the identified distortions.

A method of performing x-ray spectroscopy material analysis of a region of interest within a cross-section of a sample using an evaluation system that includes a focused ion beam (FIB) column, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) column, and an x-ray detector, including: forming a lamella having first and second opposing side surfaces in the sample by milling, with the FIB column, first and second trenches in the sample to expose the first and second sides surface of the lamella, respectively; depositing background material in the second trench, wherein the background material is selected such that the background material does not include any chemical elements that are expected to be within the region of interest of the sample; generating a charged particle beam with the SEM column and scanning the charged particle beam across a region of interest on the first side surface of the lamella such that the charged particle beam collides with the first side surface of the lamella at a non-vertical angle; and detecting x-rays generated while the region of interest is scanned by the charged particle beam.

A semiconductor device includes a tube-like structure comprising a plurality of dielectric layers and conductor layers that are disposed on top of one another; a conductor tip integrally formed with a cap conductor layer that is disposed on a top surface of the tube-like structure, wherein the conductor tip extends to a central hole of the tube-like structure; and at least one photodetector formed within a bottom portion of the tube-like structure.